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Everyone loves a good slow cooker recipe, and this crock pot mac and cheese is so simple, cheesy, and delicious!
Moms & Kids Approve!
If your family is like ours and could eat Homemade Mac and Cheese every night of the week, then you have to try this super easy slow cooker version!
Moms love this crock pot mac and cheese because it’s low-effort, and kids love it because it’s delicious! It’s great for busy nights, busy holidays and
It’s definitely a main dish favorite that everyone will love!
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- So delicious! Made with lots of cheese, butter, and sour cream, it’s very flavorful and the whole family loves the taste
- Great for holidays. It’s especially nice to have side dishes that can be made in the slow cooker on busy days like potlucks, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
- Quick prep. It preps in minutes and can be made the morning of for busy weeknights!
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOK TIME: 2 hours
- 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni – Elbow macaroni noodles are a mac and cheese classic, but you can use other similarly sized noodles like shells, cavatappi, penne, farfalle, fusilli, or rotini.
- 4 tablespoons butter – salted or unsalted butter both work for this recipe
- 2½ cups grated cheddar cheese – use any cheese that melts well, or add a flavor twist with manchego, muenster, provolone, Monterey jack, fontina, gruyere, or American cheese. Even Velveeta cheese works.
- ½ cup sour cream – or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup – or cream of chicken soup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole milk – whole milk makes the creamiest sauce but a lower fat milk can be used.
- black pepper, to taste – for added flavor, use garlic salt with parsley flakes
How to Make Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
- PASTA. Bring water to a boil and cook 2 cups of macaroni for only 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- SAUCE. In a medium pan, mix 4 tablespoons butter and 2½ cups shredded cheese until cheese melts. Add ½ cup sour cream, 1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 cup whole milk, and season with black pepper. Stir until combined.
- SLOW COOK. Spray the crock pot with nonstick cooking spray. Add the cheese sauce to the slow cooker and the cooked macaroni. Mix until combined and cook on low for 2 hours stirring every once in a while.
Use at least a 6-quart crockpot for this recipe. To double this recipe, which we do all the time, we have been able to have everything fit in out 8-quart slow cooker.
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Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil and cook macaroni for 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- In a medium pan, mix butter and cheese until cheese melts. Add sour cream, soup, salt, milk, and pepper until combined.
- Add this mixture to the slow cooker along with the cooked macaroni. Mix until combined and cook on low for 2 hours stirring every once in awhile.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
> Remove the lid of the crock pot to allow for some liquid to evaporate
> Add in more cheese
> Cornstarch slurry. in a separate bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of COLD water with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Stir it into the Mac and Cheese and the dish will thicken as it continues to cook.
When there are about 30 minutes left in the cooking time, add in some of these suggestions:
– cooked bacon bits, diced cooked ham, grilled chicken, or cooked hamburger
– parmesan cheese
– broccoli or roasted red peppers
– garlic powder, dry mustard, onion powder, red pepper flakes, or paprika
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Reheat. The key is to reheat slowly on low heat. Adding in a bit more milk can help smooth out the texture. You can reheat in the slow cooker, covered in the oven, stovetop, or microwave.
This pasta dish can be frozen for 2-3 months. When you’re ready to use, thaw it in the fridge and reheat slowly over low heat.
So I’ve made this many times. I usually prepare as directed, then dump into a casserole dish and top with butter breadcrumbs, then bake at 350° for 40 minutes or so. It’s perfect! Today, I’ve added shredded chicken and green onions. It smells amazing! I also usually add a pinch of ground mustard and a pinch of nutmeg, it really makes it pop.
Thanks for sharing what you did!! Sounds delicious! Glad you enjoy the recipe. 🙂
Awesome very easy recipe great taste. Only downfall is nothing
Aw, thank you!! So glad to hear that you love the recipe!
Very easy to make and delicious!!! Def will make again!!!
This has been my favorite Mac & cheese recipe for several years now!! Everyone loves it, I’ve passed it onto more people than I could countNn
I am going to attempt to make it with gluten-free pasta tomorrow night.. any suggestions? I don’t want the pasta to turn to mush, so I was thinking I’d probably only cook it halfway through.
Yay!! I’m so glad you love the Mac and cheese. It’s a favorite here too, for sure. I imagine you have already made the dish with gluten-free pasta. I’d be curious to hear how it turned out/what you did? Yeah, I would suggest to keep an eye on those noodles so it doesn’t cook too long.
So smooth, creamy & tasty! Another absolutely delicious recipe and the best homemade Mac & Cheese I have tried to date. I followed the recipe as is using sharp cheddar I grated/shredded myself, but also served it with fresh grated/shredded parmesan on top as mentioned in your add ins note. So many scrumptious possibilities for additional add ins, varying cheeses etc. and you noted some of my favs, lol, I will have to try some bacon or ham in it next time 😋
From my family to yours, thanks so much for sharing your time & talents in the kitchen. Your recipes are always the best!
Thank you so much for your kind words! They mean so much. I’m so glad that the recipe was a hit for your family. And yes, some of those add-ins and adaptations are a fun way to switch up the recipe. Thanks for giving the recipe a try!
Absolutely loved this recipe. Delicious Mac n cheese. Definitely don’t cook it for more than 2 hours and don’t use shredded cheese.
Thank you!! So glad that you enjoyed the recipe!
Hey there I’m looking to make this for a crowd of 20+ can you double this recipe
Thank you
You can! It may take a bit longer to heat up in your crockpot since it will be more full. Depending on the size of your crockpot, you may need to do each batch in a separate crockpot.
He6 there 8m looking to make this fir a crowd of 20+ can you double this recipe
Thank you
Literally THE best mac and cheese ever! My husband (whom will only eat Kraft!!!.. yes Kraft) LOOOOOOVED it. I only had 2 cups of cheddar so I added .5 of colby jack to it. I cooked mine for 2.5 hours and it was perfect!
Oh that makes me SO happy to hear! I bet the Colby Jack was great in it. So glad your hubby was a fan, too. Thanks for sharing!!
This was awesome!! I needed a quick mac and cheese recipe to take to small gathering yesterday. This literally took less than 5 minutes to throw together after I boiled the noodles. I was skeptical about the can of cream of cheese soup. My go-to recipe for macaroni and cheese is to make a white sauce on the top of the stove and then add the cheese, boil the macaroni mix it together and then bake it in the oven. I’m going to try this recipe again but put it in the oven and bake it with my usual bread crumbs on the top and I think it’s going to be delicious!
So glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe!! I’m sure you could bake and top with bread crumbs and it would be fabulous! You’ll have to let us know how it turns out.
Made this for my grandkids, they really loved it. Will be making it again!!
I love All your recipes!
Thank you SO much! I’m so happy to hear the recipe was a hit with your grandkids!