Thanksgiving – wait, what?
Ok, I know I totally say this every year but how fast has this year gone by? It’s Thanksgiving time already? I mean, I am ready for cool fall weather but I just can’t wrap my mind that it’s the holidays. So, in writing this blog post, I am going to mentally prepare myself and start writing my list of things to do to get ready for Thanksgiving. Are you ready yet? If not, we’ll do this together!
ALL the fried turkey!
My husband absolutely goes bonkers for fried turkey so that’s his main assignment on Thanksgiving. He is the Chief Turkey on that day. Come to think of it – he’s kinda the Chief Turkey everyday. 😉 Anyhoo, he buys the turkey, thaws it and does all the preparation for the turkey.
I’m pretty much in charge of the sides. Be sure to check out my recent post on how we prepare and fry our Thanksgiving turkey (pssst: the electric turkey fryer has been the best invention!)
Gimme the Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese, please!
So, let’s get to this recipe for Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese. The slow cooker is your friend during the holidays. This isn’t really a “fix-it and forget-it” type slow cooker recipe but it does free up precious oven space and keeps you from having to stand guard the whole time and making sure things don’t burn or over-cook.
Ingredients:
1 (16 oz.) box elbow macaroni
4 tbsp. salted butter, cubed
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups half & half
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided use
3/4 lb. block white American cheese, cubedÂ
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Cook’s Notes: Just go to your grocery store’s deli counter and ask for 3/4 pound of white American cheese. Tell them you don’t want it sliced, just a big block. 
Directions:
Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente (should still have a little ‘bite’ to it.)
Spray a 4-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
Place the cooked macaroni into the slow cooker. Add the butter and stir until coated.
Pour in evaporated milk & half & half. 
Then add 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, cubed American cheese salt & pepper. Stir to blend.
Cover and cook on low for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (gently stir occasionally as it cooks.)
During the last 15 minutes of cooking, top with remaining cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Â Cover and allow cheese to melt. 
Once done, turn the slow cooker to the warm setting until ready to serve. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. 
Enjoy!
- 1 16 oz box elbow macaroni
- 4 tbsp salted butter cubed
- 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 cups half & half
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided use
- 3/4 lb block white American cheese cubed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente (should still have a little 'bite' to it.)
- Spray a 4-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the cooked macaroni into the slow cooker.
- Add the butter and stir until coated.
- Pour in evaporated milk, half & half, 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, cubed American cheese salt & pepper. Stir to blend.
- Cover and cook on low for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (gently stir occasionally as it cooks.)
- During the last 15 minutes of cooking, top with remaining cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Cover and allow cheese to melt.
- Once done, turn the slow cooker to the warm setting until ready to serve.
Recipe Video
Just go to your grocery store's deli counter and ask for 3/4 pound of white American cheese. Tell them you don't want it sliced, just a big block. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Crock Pot Million Dollar Mashed Potatoes
This looks so delicious! The fact I can make this in a slow cooker is even better because I always make it from scratch on the stovetop and it takes foooreevver. Thanks for this – thanksgiving dinner just got a little easier 🙂
My job is done!! Yes, this does cut out a lot of work. Hope you enjoy 🙂
We’re going camping and this came along at the right time. How do you think this would be with the cheddar, baby Swiss, & a Parmesan, Romano and asiago blend? Cause I’ve got that already
I say go for it, make it your own! It should work just fine.
Needed a mac ‘n cheese recipe for my son’s Friendsgiving at school. This crock pot version sounds like the perfect recipe! I also have a clogged bathroom drain….thanks for solving both of my dilemmas! Thanks for your post! Have a great Thanksgiving!
Ha – I love it (well, not the part about you having a clogged drain!) 🙂 Hope you love this mac & cheese recipe!!
Hi! Can you make this recipe in a 6 quart slow cooker?
I made it using a 6qt slow cooker and did 1.5x the recipe. I easily could have doubled it though. Came out delicious!!
Hi! This looks perfect for the party I’m hosting before Christmas. Question for you: I am not a fan of mushy pasta. Does the pasta retain a classic aldente or should I undercook it by half the time? For example, I never add the pre cooked pasta to a soup until the very last minute just to warm it before serving. Any help appreciated!
I undercooked the pasta by about a minute or so. I thought the consistency came out great, but you could probably undercook by half the time so it would be more al dente.
Whole box (16 oz) or measuring out 12ounce?
Do you cook the macaroni before placing it in crockpot or do you put it in uncooked?
Step one gives directions for the macaroni – “Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente . .(should still have a little ‘bite’ to it.)
anyone ever make this with only american cheese? I am not a huge fan of cheddar
Claudia – a mild cheddar would work great but you could certainly go with American 🙂
I found this via Pinterest 🙂 would I be able to freeze the leftovers? Then later thaw and bake in the oven ornate example?
I did not make this recipe yet but am going to give to a friend. I have a catering business and I will make extra when we make it for a job and I will freeze for our family for later use. You can slow cook it frozen or thaw first but you will need to add milk or water as the noodles will have sucked up some of the liquid. I prefer water but either is fine.
Has anyone ever made this with jus regular 2% milk instead of half & half?
How long can I leave it on low after cooking. Trying to figure out if I should cook it and leave on low during church or cook it while church is going on. I wouldn’t be able to stir it as much if cooking while church is going.
I made this for our 4th of July cookout and it is great. Thanks for sharing.
I made this recipe exactly as it is listed, and it seemed a bit bland for me. I added two small cans of mild diced chillies and it came out amazingly. What flavor! This will now be my go to recipe 🙂
I like my Mac & Cheese a little more creamier. How much more Evaporated Milk and Half & Half should I use?
i wonder how this would work with gluten free noodles? any thoughts
I want to double this to use at a school banquet. Do I need to increase cook time? Thanks!
I have a huge guest list for Thanksgiving this year, so i wondered the same thing. Can we double it?
Hi Karen! You can. In all honesty, I would probably just use two separate slow cookers. That will make sure everything cooks/melts evenly. Hope that helps!
I made this last year, guys and let me tell y’all…it was a huge hit!! Even better was the easiness of it for the already frazzled Thanksgiving cook! Making it again this year!
You are so sweet to come back and let everyone know your thoughts! Thanks again Karen!
This seems just perfect! Thanks for the recipe! Any thoughts on using heavy cream instead of half and half?
This recipe is just amazing. I made it today for a test run before the holidays, and let me say it’s DELICIOUS! The Mac is very creamy and flavorful! Definitely making this for the holidays. Just need to get a bigger Crock Pot to serve more people.
Hi Jesus!! Yay! I really appreciate you coming back to let me know what you thought! So happy you love this one as much as we do. Happy Thanksgiving!
I have made many, many Country Cook recipes over the last 3 years. Some are requested faves every holiday (the Southern praline pecan cake is one that I just made for Thanksgiving at work!). I just made this one for the first time (I usually make the no boil macaroni and cheese). This one is another winner! However, I did let the woman at the Publix deli talk me into different cheeses and she did not steer me wrong! I used 1/4 lb. each of white American, havarti, smoked gouda and aged asiago in addition to the cheddar. Followed everything else as written. Omg. It is amazing!! Try it, Brandie! I feel like I know you. LOL You won’t regret It!
Hi Mandi! Thank you SO very much! I just loved reading your comment! I love that she talked ya into some different cheeses. I love ALL of those so I will definitely have to give it a try! Thank you for sharing!!
Hello, I’ve made many of your recipes and they have all been amazing! I am in charge of bringing Macaroni & Cheese to my in-laws on Thanksgiving and am trying to find the best recipe to feed roughly 20 people. I saw in the comments where you had mentioned that the best way to double this recipe may be to cook it in separate crock pots, would it work if I was to make two separate batches and put one in a foil pan while the other cooked? And mix the two back in the crock pot to keep warm? And would it be possible to add in shredded pepper jack cheese along with the cheddar and white American? Sorry for all the questions & thank you for your help and amazing recipes!
Update- made two separate batches and kept both warm in the crock pot. The recipe was a hit, everyone commented that it was great! Thank you again for your recipes!
Do you think I could put some cream cheese in this? Or sour cream?
Should I drain the noodles before putting it in the slow cooker?
Steph, yes. ????
We are on a grain free diet. I was wondering if i can use spaghetti noodles ? I don’t have the attachment to make macaroni noodles.
I made this without cooking the elbows cause we were camping and its a pain to boil water and it came out great
I needed to decide on a dish for a pot luck lunch at work. Several meat and tomato sauce dishes were already on the list, so I decided to try a mac and cheese. Well, as much as my family loves mac and cheese, I have never made it home made. So I went searching and came across many different recipes, but for some reason, this one hit me as looking delicious. We were not disappointed. Everyone loved it. I made the pasta and mixed in the butter the night before, refrigerating it until morning. Before leaving for work, I put everything in the crock pot, Plugged it in when I got to the office and it was ready to eat in a couple of hours! I can’t wait to make this for my family!
Love hearing that. Glad you enjoyed the ease of making it. Can’t wait to hear how much your family enjoys it.
Made this for a pot luck at work and was a huge hit! Such an easy recipe, this will be my go to from now on! Thank you!
Can I make this ahead of time and reheat the next day ?
Made this for my yearly bbq where I also have a big crowd. It was very easy to put together and everyone loved it. I doubled the recipe and my guests even took home some of the leftovers. When reheating the leftovers I had I heated on the stove and added a splash of half and half and it was nice gooey again. I will make this again.
I made a double batch of this for the Fourth of July cookout and there wasn’t any left!! It was amazingly creamy and delicious. One bad thing: after sitting on low in the crock pot for 2 hours the cream sauce got a bit dry/not creamy. I was told to put more butter in next time to avoid that but I’m just thinking we need to eat it much sooner 😉
Super easy to fix and delicious! I followed the recipe except that I added a dash of dry mustard and more salt & pepper for seasoning and used American cheese slices instead of block white American cheese.
My crock pot is too small. Can I bake in oven? How long and what setting? Thanks.
Hi Marie, you may want to try my recipe for No-Boil Mac and Cheese. It’s an oven recipe. 🙂
I just made for a family dinner. I didn’t have half and half so I added two cans of evaporated milk and it was nice and creamy. I also used a combination of sharp cheddar, monterey jack and a small amount of velvetta as that’s what I had on hand. Makes a wonderful, creamy mac and cheese. My family likes to spice things up a bit so after reserving some for children in the group, I added white pepper, red pepper flakes and a tiny bit of garlic powder. Yum!!!
Excellant and so easy!