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slow cooker mac and cheese

🧀🎉🙌🏻 The EASIEST mac and cheese you'll ever make! Add everything to your slow cooker and let it do the work for you in just a couple hours. A simple recipe that uses real cheddar cheese and cream without any condensed soup in sight. PERFECT creamy texture, RICH cheesy taste, and an absolute family FAVORITE! Make it during the week or as a holiday side dish that frees up your stove and oven.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 8
Cuisine: Chinese
Calories: 120
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Main Ingredients
  • 4 cups elbow macaroni dry, uncooked (small shells, cavatappi, or wheels may be substituted)
  • 3 cups milk whole milk recommended, or 2%
  • 1 cup heavy cream half-and-half may be substituted but mac and cheese will be thinner and not as rich
  • 16 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
  • 8 ounces Colby cheese grated (grate your own for best results)
  • 2 tablespoons butter salted or unsalted
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 0.5 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
  • 0.5 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 0.5 teaspoon onion powder
  • 0.5 teaspoon dry mustard powder optional but recommended

Method
 

Preparation Steps
  1. If desired, spray the slow cooker liner with cooking spray. Then add dry uncooked pasta, milk, heavy cream, stir, and make sure all the pasta is submerged under the dairy.
  2. Add all remaining ingredients, gently stir again, making sure the pasta remains covered.
  3. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW for about 1 hour.
  4. Quickly open the lid and stir the mixture, then cover and continue cooking for another hour (approximately), stirring every half hour until it gets to your desired consistency. Tips - Cook time will depend a lot on the heat output of your slow cooker, some are very powerful and run hot, others don't. Cook as long as necessary for the pasta to have softened and the cheese sauce mixture to thicken as desired. The longer you cook it, the thicker it will get. Resist the urge to take the lid off and "check on" the progress because every time you do so, it unnecessarily lengthens the cooking time.
  5. Taste for seasoning balance, and if desired, add additional salt, pepper, or other spices and serve.

Notes

This mac and cheese is perfect for weeknights or as a holiday side dish, freeing up your stove and oven. For best results, avoid pre-cooking the pasta.