Crock Pot Mac and Cheese (+Video)
Crock Pot Mac and Cheese is a creamy, cheesy and easy macaroni and cheese recipe that is always a hit! Everyone will be begging for the recipe!
A CREAMY MAC AND CHEESE RECIPE
This recipe is my go-to Mac and cheese recipe when I don’t have oven space and I want a recipe I know that everyone will love. There’s nothing quite like a comforting bowl of mac and cheese, and when it comes to making it, the crock pot is a game-changer. Whether you’re feeding a crowd or just looking for a comforting weeknight meal, this crock pot mac and cheese recipe is sure to become a new favorite in your household. So, grab your crock pot and let’s get cooking!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S)
Yes, it’s important to cook the macaroni before adding it to the crock pot. This will ensure that the macaroni cooks evenly and doesn’t become mushy.
I don’t recommend it. If possible, use freshly grated cheese. Obviously, if you’re short on time then certainly use it. I don’t mind using it for my No-Boil Macaroni and Cheese – but for this, because it’s hanging out in the slow cooker for a while, I think freshly grated cheese seems to hold up a bit better to the process. Also the American cheese in this recipe helps to keep it so creamy. Don’t skip it!
In some stores you can find it with the other block cheese. However, you may need to go to your store’s deli counter. Just ask for a 3/4 pound of white American cheese. Tell them you don’t want it sliced, just a big block.
Yes, this recipe is easily doubled. However, you will need a larger crock pot. The cooking time should be about the same.
Just replace the white American cheese in this recipe for Velveeta. One block of Velveeta is one pound (16 ounces) so you’d use 3/4 of a block.
Sort of, yes. The reason you can’t just throw it all in a bowl then stick it into the refrigerator to add into the crock pot the next day is that the cooked macaroni will soak up a lot of the liquid while it is sitting in the refrigerator. Then it will not turn out properly.
You can prepare the macaroni noodles the night before. It’s a good idea to rinse off the pasta after it’s finished cooking. Then put it into a covered container. Rinsing the noodles will help keep them from sticking together when you store them in the fridge overnight. You can also pre-shred any cheese and store in a ziploc bag or covered container.
So the next day, you can quickly pop everything into the crock pot and get it going.
This adds creaminess without the heaviness of milk or heavy cream. It also doesn’t curdle like milk tends to do. I like to use a bit of half and half to give it a richness without overloading. However, if you really want, you could certainly use milk instead of evaporated milk.
You can but it’s not recommended. Some newer slow cookers get very hot, very quickly and you could accidentally end up burning some of the noodles or cheese that may get stuck to the sides. If you choose to cook it on high, I would suggest cooking for about 40-50 minutes and checking it often for burning.
Store them in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It can also be frozen (if stored properly) for up to 3 months.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- elbow macaroni – you could use other small pasta shapes like shell pasta.
- salted butter – you want to use real butter here not margarine.
- evaporated milk – not to be confused with sweetened condensed milk although you can usually find them near each other in the baking aisle in the grocery store so make sure you’re looking closely at the label.
- half and half – you could technically substitute with milk but half and half is going to make it much creamier.
- shredded cheddar cheese – freshly shredded is best (if possible).
- white American cheese – I prefer to cube this rather than shredding it – just make sure it’s small cubes, if you don’t want to use this you can use all cheddar cheese but this adds a lot of creaminess to the mac and cheese.
- salt and pepper – you can use a white pepper here if you don’t want to see black specks in your mac and cheese .
HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT MAC AND CHEESE
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 and the half and half.
Then add 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, cubed American cheese salt and 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. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Originally published: November 2016
Photos updated and republished: March 2024
Best Ever Crock Pot Mac and Cheese (+Video)
Ingredients
- 16 ounce box elbow macaroni
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter, cubed
- 12 ounce can evaporated milk
- 1 ½ cups half and half
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- ¾ pound block white American cheese, cubed (can substitute Velveeta)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Cook 16 ounce box elbow macaroni according to the package directions until al dente (should still have a little 'bite' to it) then drain well.
- Spray a 4-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Place the cooked macaroni into the slow cooker.
- Add 4 Tablespoons salted butter, cubed and stir until coated.
- Pour in 12 ounce can evaporated milk, 1 1/2 cups half and half, 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, 3/4 pound block white American cheese, cubed, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir to combine.
- 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 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Cover and allow cheese to melt.
- Once done, turn the slow cooker to the warm setting until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I would like to try this for our upcoming Super Bowl party, if I double the recipe does it need a longer cook time… we also love love bacon, and would like to add some pre cooked bacon to this, is it beat to add into the mixture at the beginning or end of cook time..thank you ..
Hi Wendy, it shouldn’t need a longer cook time. Just keep an eye on it. You may want to cook it in two separate crock pots so you have more even cooking.
Hi! I’m planning on making this recipe this weekend. I’d prefer not to cook the noodles…could I just cook it longer in the crockpot? Or do I really need to cook the noodles beforehand?
You really need to cook them beforehand for this particular recipe. 🙂
This recipe is the best. My family loves it.
This definitely is a new favorite recipe of mine. Even my picky toddler loved it!
I only have 1% milk will it be ok to use in this recipe
Hi Brandie, How many people does this feed? I have a work party I’d like to make this for. Can the ingredients just doubled? If so, how big of a crock pot is needed? I think My crock pot holds six quarts. Thank you for your help..
Hi Harriet! If this is just going to be a side dish – it should serve about 8-10 people. You could double it and it should still fit into a 6-quart or larger.
Thanks for sharing this recipe, made it for a friendsgiving get together and it was a hit! Directions were spot on and I only made one addition to add texture to the mac & cheese; Picked up some Parmesan cheese and used a skillet to brown a few cheese pancakes (very thin browned cheese that is crispy) which I tossed in under the last cheddar addition for additional texture. It was a wonderful result. I will definitely use this again, appreciate the posting.
Hi John! Thanks so much for coming back to review! That is a really neat idea. I would have never thought of that. Thanks so much for sharing!
This is the best Mac and Cheese!! Kids and adults love it!!
Absolutely love hearing that! Thanks so much Lisa!
This worked out really well for my family. I didn’t use white American cheese but I replaced it with Colby/ Monterey Jack. I only did that because those were the cheeses my grandma used and I knew all my cousins and such would like that. Next time I think I’ll try crumbling some corn flakes on top. I also want to try it with white American for my kids.
Love it!! So happy you added a bit of your Grandma’s extra special touch to it. Makes it so much more special!! Thank you Anna!!
Brandie,
This is the best mac and cheese ever! Just the way I like it, dense and cheddar cheesy. Although, I have to say I think the magic ingredient is the white American cheese. I made this for a party as a side to bbq ribs (perfect) and one of my meat eaters said “I don’t really eat mac and cheese but this is great. Will you give my wife this recipe?” And did I mention how easy it is to make without heating up the kitchen?
Oh my gosh – thank you Gale! And you are a woman after my own heart by serving them with ribs – ha!! I love it! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know how it turned out for you!!
I don’t have half & half, can I use heavy cream instead and how much ?
Hi Elaine, I would start with the recipe measurements then add more if necessary to make it creamier. 🙂
I want to make this for my son’s 6th birthday party. So far I’ve got 14 adults and 15 kids that have rsvp’d yes. How many does this recipe serve and would I just double everything to make more?
Thanks
Robyn
Quick, easy and a BIG HIT for our family get-together. I made this for a family luncheon and took a lot of time trying to find it again for my daughters first birthday party. IMHO, the best slow cooker, mac and cheese recipe on-line. It’s printed as my go-to from here on out!
Woo hoo!! So awesome to hear this. Thank you Sarah!!
Amazing recipe! I’ve made this 3 times for family get-togethers, and this is THE HUGE HIT. My family is so excited to see me walk in with a crockpot of this Mac & cheese recipe. I actually had my deli go ahead and put it into slices for me, which made it easier on me to just lay the slices down in the crockpot instead of having to go home and cube it!
Hi Courtney! You made my day – thank you!! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave such a wonderful review!
Can I make the cheese sauce in the crockpot and pour over the cooked pasta later? Thanks.
I use 2/3 Mexican cheese blend and 1/3 shredded pepper jack. White American for the block cheese. And add 2 eggs to the mixture. It keeps the consistency great and comes out delicious! It’s a hit at any gathering I make it for.
Excellant and so easy!
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!!!
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. 🙂
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.
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 😉
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.
This was a HUGE hit! Thank you!!
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!
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.
Amazing!