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This Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese is creamy, comforting and perfect for potlucks. Best of all, it comes together easily in the crock-pot — even the pasta!
Hey everyone, Kelly here from Life Made Sweeter back again to share another easy dinner recipe! It’s officially fall which means bring on all the hearty comfort foods! Once the cooler weather hits, my kids crave for a giant bowl of mac & cheese regularly.
They love a classic baked macaroni and cheese but with the busy school season we’ve had so far, we’ve been using our slow cooker a lot lately.
This version couldn’t be easier since everything cooks right in the crock pot – even the pasta.
You can boil the pasta first if you prefer but I chose to keep things simple by throwing the uncooked macaroni together with the rest of the ingredients. For the cheeses, I used sharp cheddar, Mozzarella and added some Provolone near the end.
Slow cookers vary by brand and size, so be sure to keep your eye on this and stir every so often so that the pasta cooks evenly.
Mine was perfectly al dente around 90 minutes in a 6-quart cooker.
This slow cooker macaroni and cheese is perfect for camping, potlucks or those busy days when you don’t want to be tied down in the kitchen.
Serve hot with some freshly chopped parsley and toasted panko crumbs.
Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 1/3 cups uncooked dry elbow Macaroni or Cavatappi pasta
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed
- 1 10 oz can condensed cheddar cheese soup
- 2 cups half and half or 1 cup whole milk and 1 cup heavy cream (plus more to thin out as needed)
- 2 cups 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese + ½ cup reserved for topping
- 1 cup 4 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese (or Monterey Jack)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1-2 teaspoons salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper or more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dry ground mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 2 slices of Provolone cheese optional - for extra gooeyness
- Freshly chopped parsley for garnish
- Toasted panko crumbs for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Spray a 5-6-quart slow cooker with non-stick spray.
- Add the dry pasta to the slow cooker. Dot with cubed butter then stir in the condensed cheddar cheese soup, half and half, shredded cheddar, shredded Mozzarella, sour cream, salt, black pepper, mustard, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire and evaporated milk.
- Stir to combine, making sure that the pasta is covered in as much liquid as possible.
- Cover and cook on low heat (about 1 ½ - 2 ½ hours but total time will vary according to your slow cooker - mine was done at 90 minutes). Check pasta after 30 minutes and stir. Cover and continue cooking. Check and GENTLY stir sides every 30 minutes until pasta is tender and liquid is thick and creamy. Top with Provolone cheese and remaining ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk as needed. Turn off slow cooker and cover for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
- Serve immediately with freshly chopped parsley and toasted panko crumbs, if desired.
- Transfer any remaining pasta from the slow cooker into a separate casserole dish or pot. If any pasta is left in the slow cooker, even when it's off, it will continue to cook and dry out.
Notes
Nutrition
Serves: 4
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
Thanks for this recipe! I took this to a Memorial Day BBQ and it was a huge hit. I doubled the recipe for a crowd and used my larger crock pot- it took all of the 2.5 hours but came together nicely. I didn’t need to add any cheese on top but I did crisp up 1 lb thick cut counter bacon instead of the panko/parsley for the top- WOW. Great stuff! Will print this out and keep! I agree with others about not wanting to add the cheese soup- however we don’t use canned soups like that often and there was a lower sodium version. Special occasions I’m not going to worry about it 😉
Hi, I was wondering if the nutrition facts are for 4 servings or one? 🙂 Thank you lovely recipe
It is based off of 4 servings.
Is there room in the crockpot to double this?
I know it says 4 serving sizes. I want to make this for a party of 30. Suggestions?
Hi Maris!
Thanks for the great question. You should be just fine to double so long as you have a large crockpot. I hope this works out great for you! Thanks for following along with me!!
hey girl- this looks so delish!
Insanely easy to make and incredibly good! A winner!
That is AWESOME! Thanks so much! XOXO
Hi was looking at this recipe looks good and was anxious to try it, but when I read the ingredients wasn’t so happy with the chedder cheese soup is there something I could replace it with,for the rest it looks fast and easy would like to try it out. Thanks
All together you have great recipes.