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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 love this Crock Pot Mac and Cheese because it’s a low-effort slow cooker meal, and kids love it because it’s delicious! It’s definitely a dinner favorite.
Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
If your family is like mine and could eat mac & cheese every night of the week, then you’ve definitely gotta try this super easy slow cooker version!
Why you will love this
Check out the reasons below…
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.
Easy to customize. Use your favorite cheese, or add a bread topping or even mix-ins like bacon, if desired.
It’s a simple recipe, great to throw together when you have multiple things going on at home and don’t have time to be standing in front of the stove.
Ingredients
Here is all that you will need:
elbow macaroni – Elbow macaroni noodles are a Mac and Cheese classic, but you can use other similarly sized noodles like shell, cavatappi, penne, farfalle, fusilli, or rotini.
butter – salted or unsalted butter both work for this recipe
grated cheddar cheese – Other shredded cheese that melt well, or add a twist of flavor, include manchego, muenster, provolone, monterey jack, fontina, gruyere, or american cheese. Even Velveeta cheese works.
sour cream
condensed cheddar cheese soup
salt and black pepper – For added flavor, use garlic salt with parsley flakes
whole milk – Or at least 2% milk
HOW to make it
Three easy steps:
PASTA. Bring water to a boil and cook macaroni for 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.
SAUCE. In a medium pan, mix butter and cheese until cheese melts. Add sour cream, soup, salt, milk and pepper until combined.
SLOW COOK. Add the cheese sauce to the slow cooker (spray with nonstick cooking spray first) along with the cooked macaroni. Mix until combined and cook on low for 2 hours stirring every once in awhile.
TIPS and TRICKS
Here are some advanced tips to take it to the next level…
Thicken the sauce. The sauce should be creamy, not soupy. To thicken your Mac and Cheese, use a few methods:
remove the lid of the crock pot to allow for 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. Repeat if needed.
Add-ins. 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.
Pairings
Here are some other awesome recipes to make the perfect meal..
There are so many great sides to go with this Crockpot mac and cheese. Veggies and bread are great – so are salads. Here are some of the go-to recipes we like to pair best with this cheesy dinner idea:
STORE. 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.
FREEZE. 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.
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
STORE. Store leftover slow cooker Mac and Cheese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. 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.Note: Discard Crockpot Pot Mac and Cheese if left out for more than 2 hours at room temperature.FREEZE. 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.
My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!