Homemade macaroni and cheese is a process. You need to make a cheese sauce while also cooking pasta in another pot. You need to make a cheese sauce while also cooking pasta in another pot.
How to make the best homemade creamy cheesy macaroni and cheese in the Crock-Pot! So many of you loved my soul food and southern baked macaroni and cheese recipes!
As I mentioned many times, I have 100s of recipes for mac and cheese. During the holidays, so many of you asked if I had a recipe for macaroni and cheese that could be made in the slow cooker. A few of you even asked if I could make a macaroni and cheese that required less expensive, and easier to find cheeses. I actually do have a bargain friendly Crock-Pot macaroni and cheese recipe! I can’t believe that it’s taken me this long to upload it, but I guess it’s better late than never right? Anyhow for this recipe you will need a few basic ingredients.
All to the ingredients that I use for this macaroni and cheese can be found at your local grocery store. This recipe will feed about 10 people, and it cost under $10 to make ( if you’re a bargain shopper like I am!).
The most expensive ingredients were the cheeses. I kept it real simple and I used sharp cheddar, and colby cheese. I bought the cheeses in blocks instead of pre shredded because.
I find that when you shred your own cheese, it melts better. If you want to use pre shredded cheese, you can – but I highly recommend shredding it yourself for a creamier cheesier macaroni and cheese.
Watch my video tutorial for this recipe! YES, you CAN double this recipe. Just make sure that your slow cooker is big enough to do so. There is this soul food place where I live and I had their mac and cheese (white cheeses) at a catered event.
They won’t cater unless I order a minimun of 500. It was the best mac and cheese and I have experienced different ways and cannot find their way. It melted it your mouth, it was so good! The cheese wasn’t thick and sticky like most recipes I have tried.
Would you happen to have a similar recipe? It seemed like they topped it with yellow cheese but underneath all that was white cheeses. I found this recipe a few days ago,and decided to make some in my 2.5 qt. Crockpot to try it. I halved the recipe,as there’s just the 2 of us.The soup can here in Canada is 10 ounces,so I used it all and used a bit less half and half. I didn’t have Colby cheese,but did have Gruyere,so I used that. I used smoked paprika.
It was so quick and easy to put together; it was delicious,my husband loved it too! I’ve never put uncooked pasta in my crockpot befote today; I won’t hesitate to make other recipes calling for uncooked pasta.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! Loved this recipe. I have a 6 qt oval crockpot. I measured and 1 lb box of elbows is just shy of 4 cups so I bumped the 1/2 &1/2 up to 3 1/4 c. The soup you show is a bonus size which isn’the always available so I just used 2 of the standard 10 3/4 oz cans which was fine because of the extra macaroni.
PLEASE shred your own cheese. Pre-shredded is coated with anti caking powder to keep it from sticking & clumping together in the package. It also prevents the cheese from melting smoothly in recipes like this. Think this is my final search for a mac & cheese recipe. Definitely subscribing and excited to try more of your recipes!!
I made this last night, and it’s a-ma-zing!!! Everyone kept raving about how good it was!
I made a double recipe, and 3 hours was the perfect amount of time. One helpful hint: If you plan to keep in warm for an extended period of time at a party like I did, turn it from the “low” setting down to “warm” or it will dry out. Keep extra half-and-half on hand if that happens. A little splash of that, a quick stir, and it’s back to being perfect!
For the record, I used bagged shredded cheese, mixed all ingredients together, and just poured it all into the crockpot at once. This recipe is a keeper!!! Thanks for sharing! Hi Rosie, I don’t know why I let the Women’s Ministry ladies talk me into making the Mac & Cheese (you know I use the box stuff). I needed a recipe to cook in the crock pot to serve after church, so I google’d, and God sent me you! Deacon Delicious turned his nose up at crock pot mac & cheese until his wife tasted it. Then he wanted to know “how you make that?” (I still haven’t told him.) It was the best I’ve ever made.
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I doubled the recipe and none was left. The texture after 3 hours was absolutely perfect and the taste.scrumptious! It’s my new Go-To. And I’m trying out your other recipes as well. You are very gifted. Love you, Girl! YOU ARE A GENIUS!
I have a 10 y/o grandson, RaShawn who orders mac’n’cheese for his Kid’s Meal almost everytime we go out to eat (& you know that stuff is straight outta the Kraft box – ugh)! So, I made this to show him what REAL mac’n’cheese should taste like & our whole family is hooked! But I was wicked & used heavy whipping cream instead of half & half!
I have since made it twice for potlucks & although each time I doubled the recipe THERE WERE NO LEFT OVERS! Love all your recipes – do you have any chicken & dumpling secrets? I just tried this and it was delicious! I decided to make some modifications the second time I made it. I needed to make enough for a party of about 20 guests, but as main dish as I was creating a Mac & Cheese Bar with a bunch of toppings. I pretty much doubled the recipe in my crock pot and did two crock pots full (4qt & 4.5qt) and cooked ea crock pot for 3 hrs. It was the perfect amount for 20 guests as a main dish.
Here are the changes that I made first to the SINGLE recipe before I doubled it. Instead of 15 oz of the condensed cheese soup I did 5 ounces of the cheese condensed soup + 5 oz of the NACHO cheese condensed soup. For the elbow noodles instead of 3 cups I bumped it up to 32oz (I think that is about 6 cups) To make it a hair healthier, I used margarine instead of butter and fat-free half-and-half. Super easy & soooo good. A hit with kids AND adults!
I received lots of compliments & some even said it tasted like Luby’s mac n cheese. I used margarine instead of butter, doubled the salt, & I used 1/2 whipping cream & 1/2 whole milk instead of half and half. Since I needed it quick, I boiled the macaroni in a pot until it was ALMOST done then I drained & dumped it in the Crock Pot. I mixed the cooked pasta with the sauce, then added the remaining cheese on top & cooked on HIGH for 45 minutes.
I kept it on WARM at the party. This would also be great baked in the oven! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, it’s fantastic! Every time I make this it’s an absolute hit.
I made two crockpots worth yesterday for thanksgiving and there were no leftovers! Quick question, so the Campbell’s soup at my grocery store only comes in a 10 1/2 size so I usually use 1 and a half cans but when I watch your video my half and half and condensed soup mixture always looks so much more “liquidy” than yours.
It still comes out perfect but just wondering if I’m doing anything wrong. I measure 2 3/4 cups of half and half exactly. Thanks a bunch!!
Instructions. In a pot bring the chicken broth and add enough water to fill the pot 3/4 of the way, to a boil.
Add the macaroni and cook it till it is done. As the macaroni is cooking, combine the cream of celery soups in a crock pot that is set on LOW.
Add 1 can full of the milk and 1 can full of heavy cream to the crock pot. Stir it all together.
Add the cheese and the butter to the mix. Cover the crock pot until the macaroni is done boiling. When the macaroni is done boiling, drain it and then add it to the the cheese mixture in the crock pot. Stir it all together then cover it back up. Continue to cook the macaroni and cheese on low for about 3 hours. Every once in a while as it cooking for that 3 hours, just give it a stir.
When it is done, spoon some out and ENJOY! Very good questions! Crock pots cook at a slower rate then an oven, (it lower temp plus it also an even temp as well that is why) so why you will see recipes that call for say an 1 hour in the oven but you see a simular recipe say 4 hours on low in a crock pot. It because the lower/slower rate it cooks. Many crock pot lovers like the lower slower and an even cooking cooking temp because it can cook all day while at work, they do not have to worry. Normal conversion for an oven times too crock pot times is this: OVEN OR STOVETOP COOKING TIME LOW CROCKPOT TIME HIGH CROCKPOT TIME 15 TO 30 MINUTES 4 TO 6 HOURS 1-1/2 TO 2-1/2 HOURS 35 TO 45 MINUTES 6 TO 8 HOURS 3 TO 4 HOURS 50 MINUTES TO 3 HOURS 8 TO 16 HOURS 4 TO 6 HOURS As this was cooking it was soupy, the cheese literally was baking into the macaroni and it took a good 3 hours to get to what I like macaroni to be like, and if you look at my chart above for oven to crock pot conversions, it was right on mark.
It all due to that low/ slow/ even cooking in the crock pot. I hope that helps!