Slow cooker macaroni and cheese cooks everything at once in your crockpot for creamy delicious cheesy noodles in a couple of short hours.
Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
My recipe of the day is for slow cooker macaroni and cheese made in the crock pot or slow cooker as part of a blogging event for Holiday and Thanksgiving Side Dish recipes.
One Pot Cooking
The great part about this is that it cooks in one pot- you just add everything in. No boiling the noodles first. Keeping the macaroni weighted down by the cheese for the first half of cooking is key, so parts of it don’t stick up and miss their chance to absorb the milk. After that, the cheese is stirred in to disperse, and while the pasta is almost done, it cooks a bit longer to get nice and tender.
Protein in Cheese
And one of the funny things about cooking with cheese is that it actually enjoys being cooked in the crock. You may have noticed if you overheat cheese on the stove, the protein strands in it break down and separate, leaving the cheese a stringy rubbery mess. That is the reason when I make cheese dishes stovetop, I will always remove from heat to melt in the cheese and will only briefly put it back on the heat if it cools off too fast.
But since the crock hovers around 250F you don’t have to worry so much, and the end result is uber creamy melted gooey cheese.
It does thicken a bit towards the end, but don’t worry. Some people really like it that way, but I prefer to stir in some milk at the last and give it that nice runny character (before it thickens up again, as it always does). When reheating, you have to loosen it up the same way with some more milk before heating.
Unwrapped Cheese
The American cheese I picked for this is a perfect melting cheese for pasta, and the gruyere/butterkase blend adds tons of flavor along with the Parm. I did pick the deluxe version of the cheese because I dislike unwrapping those. It’s kind of like making caramel apples and having to unwrap all those squares. What a pain. Of course, you might also find some American that you can get sliced at the deli counter, and that’s great too. Gluttons for punishment can just go ahead and unwrap. I won’t judge. Maybe you got a great price on the wrapped ones or your brand is simply fantastic. You decide.
Don’t forget to check out the other awesome Holiday Side Dishes posted today:
- Balsamic Mustard Brussels Sprouts from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Broccoli Cheese Casserole from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Cheddar Green Bean Casserole from Kate’s Recipe Box
- Dutch Oven Honey Glazed Carrots from Dutch Oven Daddy
- Easy Southern Succatash from Blogghetti
- Herbed Hasselback Potatoes from Family Around the Table
- Honey Roasted Carrots with Thyme from Sweet Beginnings
- Hot Honey Skillet Corn from Our Good Life
- Okra Casserole from The Spiffy Cookie
- Par-Baked Dinner Rolls from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Pepper Bacon Mac N Cheese from Simply Inspired Meals
- Roasted Garlic and Herb Mushrooms from Cook with Renu
- Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon from Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
- Sauteed Chayote Squash with Onions and Bacon from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese from Palatable Pastime (You are Here!)
Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
Other Mac & Cheese You Might Also Like:
Swiss Chalet Mac & Cheese
Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Macaroni and Cheese with Ham
Fried Macaroni and Cheese
Layered Chili Mac & Cheese
Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
Equipment
- Slow Cooker or Crock Pot
Ingredients
- 12 ounces uncooked macaroni noodles
- 12 ounces Kraft Deluxe American cheese slices cubed
- 6 ounces Murray macaroni and cheese blend (or substitute 3 ounces gruyere cheese and 3 ounces butterkase cheese)
- 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup whole milk
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Additional milk (1-3 cups; optional)
Instructions
- Place the uncooked noodles in the bottom of the crockpot.
- Bring the milk, evaporated milk, cream, mustard, paprika, salt and black pepper just to the boil (so it is good and hot).
- Pour over the noodles and stir.
- Toss the other shredded/cubed cheeses together and cover the noodles.
- Cover and cook on low for one hour and give it a good stir.
- Place lid back on and cook on low another 45 minutes or until noodles are tender, adding in additional milk to thin the macaroni to be as loose/creamy as you prefer.
Notes
Don’t Forget to Pin!
Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
Mac and cheese is such a classic side dish and there are so many different versions. I think of it like pizza.,….even bad mac and cheese is pretty darn good so I know this recipe is amazing.