Over the years, I’ve built a reputation for sharing recipes that are perfect for busy people. This Crockpot Mac and Cheese is one of those gems that delivers comfort with minimal effort. You simply dump all of your ingredients into the pot. My own journey through dinnertime burnout and tackling weeknight stress taught me how to simplify without sacrificing flavor. I’m here to make dinnertime a little easier, and a lot more delicious.
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Why You Should Make This
It's the perfect hands-off way to enjoy a classic Southern favorite, it's delicious and so simple to make.
- Convenience: Using your Crockpot makes this whole thing easy, we’re talking true hands-off cooking. Just dump everything in, set it, and walk away while the slow cooker does the work.
- No boiling the pasta: No need to boil the pasta first (yes, really!).
- Easy serving for a crowd: This method’s perfect for busy days or when you’ve got a crowd to feed, because everyone can scoop their own straight from the pot.
- Tender pasta: Plus, the pasta turns out perfectly tender since it gets time to slowly soak up all that cheesy sauce, creamy perfection without the extra steps.
Mac and Cheese (Crockpot) Ingredients
- Pasta: The most common choice is elbow pasta. Elbows are short, curved pasta tubes that are ideal for holding onto the cheesy sauce. I use elbows or cellentani pasta, also known as cavatappi. I would say I use cellentani the most often. You can also use shells, penne, fusilli, or rotini.
- Butter
- Milk
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Onion Powder, Salt, and Pepper
What Type of Cheese to Use
I designed this recipe to be the most simple and quick way to make mac, so I only used sharp cheddar and mozzarella. I only added the mozzarella to give the dish a creamy texture and an amazing cheese pull. Mozzarella is the best for cheese pulls!
When you only use these two types of cheese, the dish will lack depth of flavor (in comparison to my normal mac and cheese). There's a reason that recipe has 5 different flavors of cheese! Mixing it up means you get a variety of flavors fused together in one dish.
For a weeknight dinner, not having all of that is ok! If you plan to make this for the holidays or a crowd, I recommend you use a couple of cups of cheddar cheese along with a cup or two of any of these: gruyère, Parmesan, muenster, romano, or fontina.
How to Make Crockpot Mac and Cheese (without evaporated milk & no boil)
Detailed measurements and full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- In a slow cooker, combine pasta, heavy whipping cream, milk, unsalted butter, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Sprinkle the shredded cheese throughout.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook and stir halfway through.
Crockpot Mac and Cheese (without evaporated milk)
Want to save this recipe for later?
I'll email it to you, so you can come back to it later! You will also get my FREE Thanksgiving menu, exactly what I'm cooking, plus my tips for making it a stress-free meal seasoned to perfection. Let me do the planning for you!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni or cellentani pasta
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups milk Whole milk or 2%.
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese I used sharp.
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a slow cooker (mine is 7quart), combine the pasta, heavy whipping cream, milk, unsalted butter, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine.1 pound elbow macaroni or cellentani pasta, 4 tablespoons butter, 2 cups milk, 1 cup heavy whipping cream, salt and pepper to taste, ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Sprinkle the shredded cheese throughout. Do not stir.3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook on Low for 1 hour.
- Remove the lid and stir to combine the dish. (If you don't stir it halfway through, you will likely end up with areas of pasta that are stiff and aren't soft and tender.)
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for an additional 30-60 minutes on Low until however long it takes for the pasta to soften, the cheese to melt, and for the ingredients to become well combined. Taste repeatedly and adjust the spices to suit your taste.Do not use the Warm setting once the dish is finished. You will risk mushy pasta.
- Cool before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Data
Macros are provided as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. This information is calculated using MyFitnessPal.com. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
No Boil Crockpot Mac and Cheese Frequently Asked Questions Tips
The dish will need an hour and a half to two hours to cook. Every slow cooker cooks at varying speeds so if this is your first time making the dish you will need to monitor it if you want to avoid an overcooked dish with mushy pasta.
This is not a dish you should make in the morning and leave the house to go to work. You can start it once you're home and hop in the shower!
Once the dish has cooked for an hour, open the pot and give everything a stir. From here you will cook it for an additional 30 minutes to an hour or however long it takes for the pasta to soften, the cheese to melt, and for the ingredients to become well combined. If you don't stir it after an hour, some of your pasta will have areas that are stiff and hard.
I have 3 different slow cooker models, all Crockpot brand, and they are each a little different. One runs hotter than all of them. Keep this in mind.
My baked macaroni and cheese is one of the most popular recipes on this website for a reason! In my opinion, nothing beats that top layer of crust using the baked method.
This method is not going to provide you a crispy, browned topping that you'd achieve with a traditional oven-baked, Southern soul food version. I have some tips below to help you achieve this if it's what you're looking for. Keep reading.
If you have an oven-safe slow cooker base, pop the cooked mac and cheese in the oven on Broil until the top begins to bubble and form a crust. If you don't have an oven-safe dish, you will have to transfer it to one.
If you have been around here long enough, you know I don't recommend Velveeta (it's a pasteurized process cheese product made to taste like real cheese) and I always recommend you grab blocks of cheese and grate them yourself. I use the shred blade on my food processor to save time with this process.
Freshly grated cheese just hits different, y’all. Those pre-shredded bags might be convenient, but they’re coated with stuff like potato starch and cellulose to keep the cheese from clumping, and that same coating messes with how smoothly it melts.
When you grate your cheese fresh, it melts creamy and velvety, no weird texture in sight. Plus, pre-shredded cheese tends to dry out faster and lose flavor. Grating it yourself keeps all that rich, cheesy goodness locked in, and your dishes will taste way better for it.
Sure, if you want. I would not because it's so easy to dump and go and it's ready in less than 2 hours. The texture and flavor is not exactly the same as when it's fresh.
You can store leftovers in the fridge, tightly covered for 3-4 days.
I don't recommend prepping the ingredients in advance to cook later. This will ruin the texture of the cheese. When cheese hits the air it starts to stiffen.
The best way to reheat it is in the air fryer at 350 degrees for 4-5 minutes or until warm. You can also use the oven at the same temperature. Heat until warm. You can use the microwave, but it doesn’t result in the best texture in my opinion.
I enjoy freezing my leftovers and I reheat them in the air fryer (after defrosting in the fridge overnight first). When you reheat frozen dishes with dairy, there’s almost always some separation. If this bothers you, you may not enjoy freezing this recipe.
What to Serve with Crockpot Mac and Cheese
More Mac and Cheese Recipes
Southern Soul Food Baked Mac and Cheese
Seafood Mac and Cheese
Bacon Mac and Cheese
Lobster Mac and Cheese
Shadi says
Love how easy this recipe is. It’s perfect for our family!
staysnatched says
So glad to hear it!
Camila says
This is one amazingly simple recipe to make. My girl loves mac and cheese and this recipe is from now on my go-to! Absolutely delicious! Thanks for the recipe
staysnatched says
You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Felicia says
Made this tonight to go with dinner and my family loved it. I used 3 different cheeses to add some dimension. I’ve been making Brandi’s baked Mac and cheese since I found her site and I didn’t want to change it up, BUT this was delicious and EASY! And I didn’t turn on my oven. Perfect for a hot day. Thank you!
staysnatched says
I love hearing that!
Cynthia says
Giiirrrllll!! You’ve gone & done it again!! Just whipped this up for my work week of lunches! The convenience of just 2hrs in the slow cooker made it a no brainer! And in typical fashion I had to taste test 🤤🤤- can’t wait to show it off to my coworkers!
staysnatched says
Haha! I love it.
Kasey says
I wasn’t sure how this one was going to compare to Bandi’s southern mac and cheese (that one is perfection), but it was amazing! There weren’t any leftover and it was a huge hit. Super easy to make and tastes great. Thanks for sharing! I’ll definitely add this to my regular rotation!
staysnatched says
So glad to hear it!
Jim says
Made this on vacation with sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, and it was a huge hit. We’ll definitely be making it again.
staysnatched says
So glad to hear it was a hit!
Ashley says
Made this in lieu of THE Mac and cheese recipe the other day and it was great! Such an easy way to get a classic Mac and cheese on the table and it was a hit! Thanks for the recipe!
staysnatched says
You're welcome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
Shunta says
My son who never tries Mac and cheese ate this and loved it! I was looking for a simple and quick to get together Mac and cheese and this delivered. I added fontina and put in oven on broil for that good crunch on top. This will be my go to during the week. Of course my all time favorite recipe for Mac is your southern Mac and cheese. My daughter is asking for seconds as I type this review! Thanks Brandi!
staysnatched says
I love when the kids are happy!
Tauri says
Best Mac n cheese ever! I found this somehow and made it for thanksgiving and i lost the recipe! I was searching everywhere for this recipe bc the others use velveeta or they say make the pasta first or use ounces for measuring and I’m not about it. I also remember reading your blog post with tips n stuff which I’m bad about doing so i remember some of what you said. I’m so happy i found you!
staysnatched says
Yay! I'm glad you found me, too!
Tauri says
Ahh i forgot to select the star rating!! BEST Mac n cheese ever!!!
staysnatched says
Yay! So glad to hear it.
Janice Patterson says
I only have a 4 quart slow cooker. Should I cut this recipe in half?
staysnatched says
Test to see if the pasta fits.
Kayla says
How big is a serving is it a cup or something else
staysnatched says
Yep, 1-2.