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Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
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If your family loves Mac and Cheese you have to try this easy Crock Pot Mac and Cheese that is over the top creamy! Tender macaroni noodles smothered in a cheese sauce. It’s the ultimate, classic comfort food. It’s perfect for a holiday side dish, potluck or weeknight dinner.
Sometimes you just need a big helping of creamy, cheesy macaroni and cheese, am I right? When that comfort food craving hits this crock pot mac and cheese is the answer. It’s a really easy way to make a big batch of cheesy pasta goodness – you are going to love it!
Why I Love this Recipe
- The sauce is extra creamy and cheesy!
- I’ve made this recipe so many times and it always works – the pasta comes out perfectly cooked and the sauce has just the right consistency.
- It’s the perfect side dish for so many dinners. For holidays, it’s great with baked ham and turkey! For weeknight dinners, try it with my air fryer chicken legs or baked mini meatloaf!
Ingredients
Crock pot macaroni and cheese is different from ones cooked in the oven, Instant Pot, or stovetop. In order for the sauce and pasta to cook properly, there are a few ingredients that you might not find in traditional mac and cheese but I can promise it’s just as good!
- The sauce gets it creamy texture from sour cream, condensed cheddar cheese soup and milk.
- Butter adds richness and shredded cheddar cheese adds the extra “cheesiness”.
- There’s a small amount of ground mustard that adds just a hint of sharpness that balances out the richness of the sauce. It’s one of those ingredients that makes a big difference even though you can’t really tell it’s in there!
Steps to Prepare
- The first thing you will want to do is par boil the pasta on the stove first. This gives it a little head start so it ends up perfectly tender when the mac and cheese is done.
- To make the sauce, melt the butter with the shredded cheese on the stove. Doing this first, before you add them to the crock pot, stabilizing the shredded cheese so it’s creamy instead of stringy.
- Once it’s melted, combine it with the sour cream, soup, salt, milk, dry mustard, and pepper in the slow cooker. Add the drained pasta and stir it all together.
- Cook it on low for two to two and half hours or until it’s hot. Stir it occasionally and once the pasta is tender it’s ready to serve. Be sure to check on it because you don’t want the pasta to overcook – it will turn mushy!
Recipes FAQs!
Can I use a different pasta shape?
Timing is everything with this recipe and I haven’t tested it with a different kind of pasta. Depending on the shape it may need more or less time so I recommend sticking with elbow macaroni!
Can I use evaporated milk instead of regular?
Some macaroni and cheese recipes have evaporated milk, but for this one we’re using a combination of the condensed soup and regular milk. I can’t say how it would work with evaporated milk so please let me know if you try it!
Will a different kind of cheese work?
I think you could substitute Monterey jack, pepper jack, gruyere, American cheese or other good melting cheese in this recipe. It just depends on what flavors you like. My family loves cheddar so that’s what we always use!
Can I make it ahead?
I don’t recommend making it ahead because it has a better texture when it is served right after cooking.
I think it tastes best the day it’s made, but you can keep the leftovers in the fridge and rewarm them. The sauce will be thicker so you can add a little more milk to loosen it up.
Help! My pasta is mushy!
Be sure to stir and check on it while it’s cooking. I recommend every 30 minutes or so and once the pasta is tender it’s ready to serve. The pasta will get mushy if it’s overcooked.
Are you ready to treat yourself to some serious comfort food? You should make this mac and cheese for your family this week – I know they’re going to love it! Be sure to try some of these other family-favorite recipes, too!
More Comfort Food Recipes
- Spaghetti Pie will be a new family favorite for dinner! The crust is made of spaghetti noodles then piled with cottage cheese, a meat sauce and shredded cheese. It’s one our family’s favorite dinner meals.
- My Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole is a quick recipe that you can prep in 10-minutes! It’s the perfect casserole recipe for busy weeknights.
- For a warm and cozy dinner on a cold night, you have to try my easy Instant Pot Chili with all of your favorite toppings!
- Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan is so easy to make and delicious served with pasta on the side!
Did you try this recipe and love it?! Be sure and comment below with a five-star rating so I get to hear what you think!!
Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats that way I’m sure to see your pictures!!
Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
Your Favorite Macaroni and Cheese Made in Your Crock Pot! Easy, Creamy, Deliciousness!
Ingredients
- 2 c. uncooked elbow macaroni
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 2 1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 c. sour cream
- 10.75 oz condensed cheddar cheese soup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 c. milk
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Spray Crock Pot with non-stick cooking spray.
- Boil the macaroni in water for six minutes, drain. You don't want to overcook this!
- Mix butter and cheese over medium high heat in a saucepan. Stir until it melts.
- In your Crock Pot combine the cheese mixture, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper. Add drained macaroni. Stir to combine mixture.
- Cook in Crock Pot for 2 – 2 1/2 hours on low, stirring occasionally. Just until it’s hot. If you let it cook to long the noodles will turn to mush!
Notes
Can I use a different pasta shape?
Timing is everything with this recipe and I haven’t tested it with a different kind of pasta. Depending on the shape it may need more or less time so I recommend sticking with elbow macaroni!
Can I use evaporated milk instead of regular?
Some macaroni and cheese recipes have evaporated milk, but for this one we’re using a combination of the condensed soup and regular milk. I can’t say how it would work with evaporated milk so please let me know if you try it!
Will a different kind of cheese work?
I think you could substitute Monterey jack, pepper jack, gruyere, American cheese or other good melting cheese in this recipe. It just depends on what flavors you like. My family loves cheddar so that’s what we always use!
Can I make it ahead?
I don’t recommend making it ahead because it has a better texture when it is served right after cooking.
I think it tastes best the day it’s made, but you can keep the leftovers in the fridge and rewarm them. The sauce will be thicker so you can add a little more milk to loosen it up.
Help! My pasta is mushy!
Be sure to stir and check on it while it’s cooking. I recommend every 30 minutes or so and once the pasta is tender it’s ready to serve. The pasta will get mushy if it’s overcooked.
Nutrition
Calories: 646kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 28gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 105mgSodium: 882mgPotassium: 436mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1210IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 609mgIron: 1.3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
What size crock are you using for this recipe?
I used a 6 quart for this recipe.
This has been my go-to mac and cheese recipe for the past four years!! I love everything about it and I never change a thing. It never lasts long enough for seconds.
I no longer have a crock pot and was curious if this recipe could be baked in the oven instead? I need to cure my
craving!
I’m so glad you love it, Mallorie! Yes, I think it would work in the oven! You basically just need to bake it to finish off the noodles and combine the flavors so maybe 30 minutes at 350? Try that and see how it goes!
OMG- love this stuff! Used to make Welsh Rarebit using this soup. Nothing boring about it….will try the tip putting the Mac in the last hour so it doesn’t soak up all the sauce!
So glad you love it!
Arg ! I messed up and put noodles in uncooked ? Should I just start all over ?
Maybe add broth or water and let them cook in the crock pot?!
Made this for a party and it was a hit! Not a single noodle left over.
Wahooo! That’s the best compliment you can get!
I made this a little while ago and I am very sad to say that 2 hours was definitely far too long in the crock pot, and 6 minutes may not have been long enough for boiling the macaroni. I was so excited that it didn’t call for cream or evaporated milk, so I could at least do some lactose-free substitutions (even with the cheddar cheese soup, it means a lower dose of lactaid will be needed to eat the mac and cheese). I could have stopped at an hour if the macaroni was cooked for longer. I’m hoping it will be better next time.
I made this for Thanksgiving this year. Doubled it for 11 ( 3 being small kids) and we ran out!! this was sooo good and I was asked to make it again.
So glad you enjoyed it Fawn!!
Made this recipe two weeks ago and it was such a big hit that I will be making it again for our Super Bowl party (GO BRONCOS!). It was easy and oh so creamy. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it Jeanette! Thanks for stopping back to let me know!
So if I want to make a big crock pot full for a party do I need to 4x this recipe?
The regular recipe makes about 4 cups of cooked pasta. Please adjust according to that and how many people you will be serving.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I was very skeptical while preparing the butter & cheese mixture, wondering why there was no flour for a roux, & the butter & cheese just separated & seemed weird. But I just dumped it in the crockpot with the rest of the ingredients & hoped for the best. I was very pleasantly surprised! My 17 year old kept eating it out of the crockpot before it was even finished cooking, & everyone said it was the best homemade Mac n cheese I’ve ever made! I used mini shells instead of elbows since that’s what we prefer. It was so delicious & every bit of the leftovers was eaten the next day! Delicious!!
So glad you enjoyed it Reese!
Made this for dinner last night and it was SO yummy! To make it a complete meal, I added two cooked, shredded chicken breasts (seasoned) and some broccoli. I was concerned there wouldn’t be enough cheese sauce, but it was perfect! I might play with the spices a bit next time, but overall, this was wonderful. I made it on the stove top this time because I didn’t have time to wait for the Crock-Pot, so I just skipped the milk in the sauce and boiled the pasta till it was done. Husband raved about it! I’ll definitely make this one again…like next week 🙂
Great ideas Christin!
please add print but ton to print window so that when it is open you can print from it
I literally just dump all but the noodles in the crock on low and it melts into a beautiful cheese sauce. Add the 6 min boiled noodles and hour before you want to eat and voila, done! It’s much simpler and just as amazing.
Great tip Taryn!
Taryn, how long do you cook it that way? Thank you!
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If you are going to use canned soup, you might as well make the blue box kind
Joan, I have nothing against the blue box and never claimed this was any “healthier” or “better” than that. That is your own preference.