Slow Cooker Crockpot Mac and Cheese with Uncooked Pasta
This Slow Cooker Crockpot Mac and Cheese is the perfect comfort food indulgence! This recipe is no boil, which means you can use uncooked pasta, allowing you to skip an extra step and save time. The dump-and-go dish comes together easily to create a creamy, cheesy masterpiece without using evaporated milk.
Servings 10 servings
Calories 509kcal
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
- 1/2 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, 1/2 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
You can adjust the amount of butter and cheese used in the recipe to suit your taste. Feel free to use less butter if you wish.
Feel free to add more cheese to get it cheesier! The recipe should be made and adjusted to suit your taste and preference. When I make mac and cheese for my family, I don't measure how much cheese I use. I let the spirits of my ancestors guide me! Feel free to do the same.
I don't recommend plant based milk. It will alter the texture of the dish. Use it you wish.
You can use milk or half and half instead of heavy whipping cream. It will alter the texture, it won't be as creamy.
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!
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.
This dish was created to be a simple dump and go recipe that only uses 2 common types of cheese that can be found in any store. When you only use these two types of cheese, the dish will lack depth of flavor (in comparison to my Baked mac and cheese recipe). 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 the following: gruyère, fontina, romano, Parmesan, or muenster.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 509kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 31g