This Crock Pot Mac and Cheese is a family favorite and appears at every holiday! With just minutes of prep, the sauce is unexpected and always gets rave reviews!
Serve this slow cooker macaroni as a holiday side dish or alongside baked ham for Sunday supper. This comes out of the slow cooker perfect every time!
Holly’s Notes From the Test Kichen
Elbow macaroni noodles are slow cooked in a rich, cheesy sauce. Homemade mac and cheese is my personal favorite food, and I can assure you that this is the best crock pot macaroni and cheese I’ve ever had!
- Unusual ingredients, amazing flavor. Thousands of reviews can’t be wrong!
- It has a perfect consistency every time, and the pasta is not mushy.
- This recipe takes only about 10 minutes of prep, and the slow cooker does the rest.
- This recipe can be doubled for a crowd and left on warm for serving.
- Everyone loves this recipe , it’s the best.
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Why This is the Best Crockpot Mac & Cheese Ever
1. Precooked Pasta
To ensure a perfect texture, precook the pasta to ensure it is perfect every time.
After testing countless “no boil” mac and cheese recipes that call for uncooked pasta, I’ve found the results to be inconsistent, with some brands becoming mushy or gummy.
Tip: Boil the macaroni about 2 minutes less than indicated on your package to keep it from getting mushy.
2. Sauce Ingredients
I prefer crock pot macaroni and cheese without Velveeta or evaporated milk. This sauce uses an unusual mixture that I created, and while some of the ingredients may seem odd, they come together to make the best cheesy sauce!
A traditional cream sauce or cheese sauce doesn’t hold up well in the slow cooker, as dairy can curdle and/or separate in the crock pot. The mayonnaise keeps the sauce silky smooth, you can’t taste it, and either regular or light mayonnaise or dressing will work.
Crock Pot Mac and Cheese is perfect for camping or potlucks, basically, anywhere you don’t have an oven. It’s also a great way to save oven space for Thanksgiving dinner (including turkey and stuffing!) and cook this on the side.
How to Make Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
This slow cooker macaroni and cheese takes less than 10 minutes to get into the Crock Pot and then it’s ready to go!
- Boil pasta for about 2 minutes less than the package indicates.
- While pasta is boiling, shred the sharp cheddar cheese.
- Put all of the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook per the recipe below.
Tips for Perfection
- Pasta: Do not overcook the pasta, it should be very firm after boiling. Rinsing the pasta stops it from cooking.
- Cheese: Our recent recipe tests have shown little difference between shredding your own cheese and pre-shredded cheeses.
- Cooking time: Check the pasta early, slow cookers can vary.
- Slow cooker size: A single batch of this slow-cooker mac can be cooked in a 4QT slow cooker. If using a 6QT slow cooker, it will cook faster so check it early.
- Double the recipe: To double this recipe, use a 6QT crockpot. Cook on high for 2 1/2 hours, stirring after 1 hour and 2 hours. (When stirring, try to do it as quickly as possible to keep the heat inside).
- Make ahead: To prepare this ahead of time, mix all of the ingredients except the pasta. The pasta can be cooked ahead, rinsed, and cooled. Combine the pasta and sauce ingredients in the crock pot just before cooking.
- Baking in the oven: If you prefer or if you are short on time, you can bake this in the oven (and I have many many times!) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake 30 minutes covered and 30 minutes uncovered.
Note: Slow cookers can vary! You may have to slightly adjust the time for your slow cooker. If your Crock Pot Mac and Cheese is done early, you can turn your slow cooker onto warm.
More Crock Pot Holiday Sides
- Crock Pot Creamed Corn
- No Boil Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
- Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes
- Crockpot Sweet Potato Casserole
- Crock Pot Stuffing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups elbow macaroni uncooked
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup 1 can
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream regular or light
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Boil macaroni noodles according to directions to make them very al dente. (I cook them for at least 1-2 minutes less than directed on the bag. Mine boiled for 5 minutes). Drain and rinse under cold water.
- Combine all ingredients in a 4qt* slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 3 hours, stirring once or twice.
- Serve hot.
Video
Notes
- Pasta: Do not overcook the pasta, it should be very firm after boiling. Rinsing the pasta stops it from cooking.
- Cheese: If you do not have gruyere cheese, you can use an additional cup of cheddar instead (4 cups in total).
- Cooking time: Check the pasta early, slow cookers can vary.
- *Slow cooker size: A single batch of this slow-cooker mac should be made in a 4QT slow cooker. If using a 6QT slow cooker, it will cook faster so check it early.
- Double the recipe: To double this recipe, use a 6QT crockpot. Cook on high for 2 ½ hours, stirring after 1 hour and 2 hours. (When stirring, try to do it as quickly as possible to keep the heat inside).
- Make ahead: To prepare this ahead of time, mix all of the ingredients except the pasta. The pasta can be cooked ahead, rinsed, and cooled. Combine the pasta and sauce ingredients in the crockpot just before cooking.
- Baking in the oven: If you prefer or if you are short on time, you can bake this in the oven (and I have many many times!) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake 30 minutes covered and 30 minutes uncovered.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole, Main Course, Pasta, Side Dish
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Delicious! My husband and I love it!!
Sooo delicious. Love it without cheese sauce or milk as an ingredient. Super easy to make and I could eat it for every meal.
I just love your website. I look forward to it every morning. Your recipes are relatively simple and do not require obscure ingredients. I have tried many of them. Tonight the lentil sloppy joes. (I’ll use pasta instead). Keep up the good work.
Kathy, thank you so much for your kind words, you made my day!! I hope you love the sloppy joes!!
Your dishes are always a hit. Thanks.
Thanks Kyli! So happy you enjoy them. :)
I cook this a lot and love it, my little twigg add speck and 1 cup milk… AWESOME.
I’m excited that the comments section is still active for this recipe and I get to tell you how much I love this dish! I’ve made it several times since coming across it and it never fails to please the crowd. It’s especially great for office potlucks because it holds up so well and never gets gluey like other recipes. I’ve even found my name prefilled on the potluck signups sheet with demands to bring this in! Sometimes when I’m feeling extra fancy I toss the cooked pasta with a bit of truffle-infused olive oil and it gives the dish another hint of umami complexity. Thanks for helping to make so many yummy memories!
Made this tonight in the oven! So. Friggin. Good! Used recipe exactly. Wish I knew how to post a pic, because this dish is lovely in the oven! Thanks!
So glad you loved it Marin, it’s a fave for us too!! If you use Instagram, you can post there and tag us in your image!
Every time I make this someone asks for the recipe and I am delighted to tell them about your website. This mac and cheese is the bomb and so easy. I always double the batch hoping for leftovers.
Thank you so much Sarah, what a compliment. So glad you love it!
The flavor of this recipe is amazing. Having said that I would like to include that I have to pick out the chunks of chicken meat from the condensed soup before adding it to the recipe. My daughter does not like running into a piece of chicken within her macaroni and cheese. I agree. It’s a foreign object within this recipe.
I also do not boil my noodles. I put them in uncooked. They cook quickly enough in the crockpot and prevents it from getting mushy too quickly.
If you leave this on warm in the crockpot, I have found that the whole thing gets too mushy after a few hours. So for me, I pull it after about an hour and then I put it in the oven with cracker crumb topping and bake it for the last 25 minutes to get it crusty. Then I stick it back in my slow cooker and serve it. crock pot off.
I have a 4.5 qt slow cooker. Should I make the single batch, or do you think I could get away with making a 1.5 batch? Thanks!
As long as your slow cooker is less than ¾ full it should be fine. 1.5x should fit.
Any suggestions for toppings if it’s baked in the oven please? Thank you so much.
You can top it with just cheese or a bread crumb topping. Combine 1 cup Panko bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons butter melted, 1 teaspoon parsley (you can add a bit of parm too if you’d like).
My mother baked every casserole with crumbled potato chips on top. They were all delicious !!!
Hi! Did a test run on a single batch. I have to make a double batch next week to feed my daughters basketball team. I personally am not a fan of mac and cheese.. but this was tasty. Mine cooked waaaaay quicker than 3 hrs on low. I feel like one hour it was ready to eat..melted and heated thru. Could I just cook it on warm? Double batch might take longer? My crock pot was way to big for the single batch..is that why it cooked faster? Any tips?
If your slow cooker was larger than suggested you’ll have more surface area on the mac and cheese and it will cook a bit quicker, a double batch might need a bit of extra time. It is not generally recommended to cook on warm however you can start the mac and cheese on low and turn it to warm once it’s heated through.
I hope that helps, let us know how it goes!
I have made this about 5 times now and it is always a huge it. The flavors are amazing together and it is so easy to make. Thank you. for sharing.
Awesome Mac & Cheese
I will be trying thees Recipe they look delicious
Best Mac & Cheese, ever! I’ve made it a few times and have had people request the recipe time and time again. Thank you. But a quick question, I wanted to make a double batch to split in two meals to bring an easy “reheat” meal for my daughter and her family. Can this be kept in the freezer after being made until she’s ready to use it. Again, thanks for the recipe.
Do you think if I doubled the recipe, and used one can of condensed cream of chicken, and one can of condensed cheddar soup, it would be good?
Yes, cream of “pretty much anything” works well in this recipe!
Can I prep the noodles a few days in advance so I don’t have to boil them when camping?
Absolutely! As long as you don’t mix until just before cooking it’ll be just fine!
Can you use cream of mushroom soup?
Hi Tammie, it will change the flavor but I think that would be a delicious substitution.
I just made this using cream of mushroom soup and it is delicious! I made a couple of other tweaks to the recipe too- added a 1/2 tsp of paprika and used 2c cheddar, 1c gruyere & 1c Monterey jack and cooked on low for 1 hour (my crockpot runs very warm!).
This is so good! Definitely will be making this often.
This was a hit on Christmas Eve. I doubled the recipe and it was almost gone entirely. If your crockpot runs hot, cut back on cook time. I definitely also recommend grating your own cheese for a creamier result. This is also the perfect base to add components like chicken, broccoli, etc. It’s a keeper.
Love it!!!!!!