Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese
Creamy Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese with Velveeta is made with parboiled pasta and only takes 3 hours to make the creamiest homemade mac and cheese. It is so easy to make this easy slow cooker mac and cheese recipe. All you do is mix the ingredients together and let the crockpot do all the work.
Ingredients
- 16 oz box Large Elbow Macaroni
- 16 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese (divided)
- 12 oz Velveeta Cheese (cut into cubes)
- 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 1 cup half and half or milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Parboil the elbow macaroni in a large pot of salted water for 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain well.
- Pour the parboiled and drained elbow macaroni into a large crock pot.
- Add 12 ounces of the shredded sharp cheddar cheese, reserving 4 ounces for the topping. Add the cubed Velveeta cheese, the evaporated milk, half and half or milk if using and the salt and pepper to the crock pot.
- Stir the ingredient together well.
- Heat for one hour and stir the melted cheese into the macaroni.
- Continue to slow cook on low for 1 ½ hours occasionally stirring until the macaroni is cooked through. If it starts to look dry (and it shouldn't if using parboiled pasta) add ½ cup of half and half or milk. (see notes)
- 30 minutes before the end of cooking time add the remaining 4 ounces of shredded sharp cheddar to the top of the mac and cheese.
- Cover the crock pot and cook until the cheese is melted.
- Turn the crock pot to the warm setting and serve as needed. Once done serving immediately transfer to a bowl for storage to prevent burning.
- 8 to 12 servings.
Video
Recipe Expert Tips
- What size crock pot: Use a larger crock pot an 8 or 9 quart crock pot is perfect. I used an 8 quart crock pot. A larger crock pot allows enough room for the macaroni to cook quickly. The macaroni will cook in 2 ½ hours if parboiled. If you use a smaller crock pot like a 6 quart it will take longer to cook because the layer of ingredients will be deeper and it will take longer for the center to heat up and cook the pasta.
- Cooking times: Crock Pots can heat and cooked differently depending on the size and brand used.
- brown bits: Expect some of the cheese to get brown and stick to the sides of the crock pot where the crock pot heats hotter. Cooking on low will help keep it from burning. Some scorching may occur. Some crock pots have hot spots that may cause scorching along the edges of the thick cheese sauce.
- Stirring: Occasionally stir to prevent scorching. If it starts to look like the cheese is getting scorched or too thick and may start drying out before the macaroni has cooked completely add ½ cup of half and half or milk as needed.
- How to make no boil crock pot version with uncooked noodles: Double the amount of half and half in the ingredients. Check the macaroni frequently as you need to add more half and half as the macaroni cooks. It will take longer to cook. You also run the risk of the cheese burning if you don't have enough liquid. Add more half and half as needed. Expect the recipe to take at least 4 hours to cook.
- Homemade macaroni and cheese for a crowd: If you are feeding a large group of people this recipe will serve about 12 people. You can double the recipe but it will not fit in a 8-quart crock. You should use two crock pots.
Nutrition
Serving: 1ServingCalories: 340kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 20gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 67mgSodium: 917mgPotassium: 266mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 797IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 534mgIron: 1mg
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