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Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
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Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese

We love this easy slow cooker mac and cheese recipe, perfect for feeding a crowd.

Author: Kami | NoBiggie.net
Ingredients
  • 1 pound macaroni pasta uncooked
  • 4 tablespoons salted butter sliced into slabs
  • 4 ounces cream cheese
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream (or more whole milk)
  • 2 cups freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup freshly grated Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder optional
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
Instructions

  1. Place the uncooked pasta into the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the butter, cream cheese, milk and cream. Add the grated cheese and stir to combine.

  2. Cover and cook on low for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, or until the pasta is tender and the cheese is melted. During the cook time check on it and stir occasionally to keep pasta from sticking together.

  3. Stir before serving. Season with salt, pepper, dried mustard, garlic powder and cayenne to taste. If you’re not serving immediately, turn the slow cooker to the warm setting until ready to serve. If needed add more milk to help thin out the sauce.

Recipe Notes

Tips and Tricks for Success:

  • Rinse your dry uncooked pasta to remove factory pasta dust.
  • Grate your own cheese. Do not use the pre-grated bags of cheese, this will result in a gritty mac and cheese.
  • If you need to thin out the sauce add additional milk (1/2 cup at a time) and stir to combine.
  • Before adding the ingredients to your crock pot, spray the inside with non stick cooking spray to keep anything from sticking to the bottom
  • Once the pasta is cooked to the al dente stage (slightly undercooked, move the setting on the slow cooker to warm. The pasta will continue to cook. Don’t let this mac and cheese cook too long or too fast or it will get mushy.
  • Sometimes older crock pots can cook too hot even on the low setting.
  • You can swap out the cream cheese for Velvet cheese or grated American cheese (not the package of slices)
  • Leave the lid on for one hour on low. Avoid increasing the temperature to high. Stir after one hour then check after 30 more minutes. Check and stir every 15 minutes.
  • We found that on average it's done cooking at about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
  • Gluten free macaroni noodles do not hold up in this recipe.
  • The actual cooking time will vary from crock pot to crock pot. It can take UP TO 3 hours depending on the crock pot.