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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Question- i want to make the homemade condensed cream of chicken for the mac n cheese but your recipe for condensed chicken states not to use in slow cooker
Just make sure to make the condensed cream of chicken soup with evaporated milk to ensure it doesn’t curdle in the slow cooker!
This looks great, but would you be able to keep this warm in a crock pot for several hours?
Hi Joan, yes you can keep this on the warm setting for up to 2-3 hours I’d say. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn’t get too hot and burn. Enjoy!
I havnt made this yet, but all of your other recipes I have tried have been superb and I plan to (maybe add some bacon) I dont have a 4 quart crock pot, would it be ok to make this in a 6 quart without doubling it?
Yes you can definitely make this in a 6 qt, Chuck! :) Bacon sounds delish, let us know how it turns out!
Like everyone else, I was VERY skeptical of the ingredients. However, this was VERY good and I liked how easy it was. I would have NEVER have tried this without all of the great reviews so I feel compelled to add to the rave reviews. I have been on the hunt for a good mac and cheese recipe. Some are too oily and some are too runny and creamy and some get grainy too easily. I really liked the texture of this one – creamy without being runny at all. It seemed like a lot of wet ingredients and I was worried it was going to be too runny. It wasn’t at all. I really think you could add a splash of chicken stock or cream if you like it looser.
The one thing I would suggest would be adding the weights for the cheese and the pasta since you don’t buy block cheese in cups and pasta is sold by weight not volume. I think that would add a lot of clarity to the recipe. I saw quite a few reviews with questions about the measurements.
I gave it a taste as I was making it to check for seasoning. It was quite tangy with sour cream, mayo, and I used sharp cheddar (glad I didn’t use extra sharp). I like the tang and sharpness but I didn’t think everyone I was serving it to would. I didn’t have quite enough sour cream and I really didn’t want to go to the store to get more plus I was worried about it being too tangy. I added what I had (probably half the amount) and then just added milk for the rest.
Leftovers also heated really well which is rare for mac and cheese. I doubled the recipe. I also boiled my pasta early and cold shocked it to stop cooking. Stored in fridge in ziptop bag until ready to add to crock pot. I think I will probably serve this for our Christmas Eve dinner since it can be made ahead of time and frees up an oven. THANK YOU for a wonderful recipe.
Thank you so much for the review, Tara! So glad you enjoyed this recipe :)
Does anyone have any tips on the best way to make this ahead of time? I’m making it for a holiday pot luck and the lunch is around noon. Any chance I can make this the night before and bring it into the office in the morning to have it ready by lunch?? I don’t want it to dry out…
Hi Samantha, you can make this ahead but I would suggest keeping the pasta and sauce separate and combining them just before cooking. This will keep the pasta from soaking in the sauce and getting mushy.
Hello! So just put all of the ingredients in the crockpot but the noodles, cook that, put the in the fridge and then the next day, put the noodles in the crockpot and warm it up for the few hours before the party?
Yes, that will work just fine doing it that way!
Made this tonight exactly as the recipe instructed and it was delicious ! My mother in law’s recipe is the only one we’ve ever made as it was my husband’s favourite growing up. This will now be our go to! Anytime I have tried your recipes they have always been awesome, thank you :)
HELP! I goofed and cooked a whole 1lb box of elbows. What would the dry equivalent had been?
Hi Tara, 2 cups of dry elbow macaroni would weigh approx 8 ounces.
Can you use other cream soups if you have vegetarian?
Yes, cream of celery or cream of mushroom taste great in this recipe!
Am I supposed to add the cooked noodles in the beginning when it says add all ingredients together? Will that make the noodles overcooked?
Yes, the noodles are cooked and no, they won’t overcook.
Okay all I have to say is WOW. I tried this for my 8 year old who loves mac n cheese and I wanted to surprise her so I doubled this. Also, for reference to folks checking reviews like “Please tell me someone has tried this with pre-shredded cheese.” Yes, yes I did. I’m sorry but this mama was busy yesterday and I basically on my doubled recipe did 32 oz of pre-shredded (the smaller shred vs larger FYI) of sharp cheddar.
For me I always use pre-shredded in my lasagnas/casseroles etc and my carpal tunnel squawked a bit at the idea of shredding 4 blocks of cheese. It worked out GREAT. Yes there is some grease with the cheese (which is pretty typical of all the things I make above anyways). I did not experience any gritty texture with my cheese (for reference midwest I used Farway’s pre-shredded sharp cheddar).
Okay, so back to the review. This stuff is like crack. It is AMAZING. One my kid LOVED it and I have a feeling she’ll be wanting this version every time she wants mac n cheese. I’ll try it on my stepkids over winter break but I’m sure they’ll love it too. Two this Mama LOVED it. Wow! It felt so decadent eating this. Truly! The ingredients DO seem weird but it is like the perfect blending for mac n cheese.
I made split pea soup in my other crockpot for hubs and I while making this and that one also on this site was like complete 5 stars. So what I’m trying to say is the 2 recipes I got from this site yesterday at last minute to figure out dinner but in the slow cooker for ease were from this site and complete 5 stars :D completely stalking this site for more crockpot recipes that don’t always involve some meat/cream of whatever soup LOL!
Blessings and thank you Spend with Pennies for affordable/easy hands off recipes that are completely delicious. Seriously anything that makes my day easier is just wonderful and I loved both recipes.
Keep these amazing delicious recipes coming and I already know I’m going to request “please more recipes for slow cooker” :D Delicious!
Ah Chelsea, your comment made my day, I’m so glad they both were great, this is definitely a family favorite for us too :) I hope your step kids love it just as much as your daughter does. I’ll add some more slow cooker recipes to my list.
I’m so glad Holly to have made your day! Truly I was extremely appreciative of how yummy both recipes were and like truly pretty hands off :D I’m sure the stepkids are going to fight over it haha and I’ll probably get a request of at least once a week in the summer but we’ll see :) And yes please on the slow cooker ones! I just love easy but tasty and somewhat unique ones and yeah you are obviously a talented cook :D thanks again and I’m sure you’ll see me in your comments later lol :)
Best I’ve ever had and I love me some Mac and cheese. If you bake it I suggest doing one and a half to two times the amount of sauce as it dries out in the oven.
Followed this recipe to the T and it was amazing. My family enjoyed it. The ingredients are not what you would think should go into this, but give it a try. It was the best mac & cheese I have ever made. This is a keeper! Thank you!
So happy you enjoyed it, Norma!
I made this for my Office Holiday Party. It was fantastic. Now I am required to make it for every work function. LOL!
Loved it. taste was so good. I used pepper jack instead of gruyere. that’s the only thing I changed.
only thing it could have used a little more crunch but I’m not sure what to add.
For a little crunch, you could toast some breadcrumbs in a skillet with a little butter until golden and sprinkle them on top just before serving.
I’ve used this recipe for the last two years and EVERYONE LOVES IT! It even repeats amazing days later for leftovers. This is a keeper. Thank you for sharing!
This is the best Mac and cheese recipe! I just fixed this for Thanksgiving and the whole family raved about. They were fighting for leftovers.
I have been attempting recipes for the perfect mac-n-cheese for years and always failed—until now! I cannot believe this recipe is so simple, too! The only thing I added was a splash of heavy cream (because I added a little extra cheese and macaroni) and Hot Hungarian Paprika. I will volunteer to bring this dish to every family and work occasion from here forward!
I just made this for Thanksgiving and it was gross. The texture was fine but I had to add some milk at end to actually make the sauce somewhat creamy. No one like the flavor. Complete miss.
I am sorry to hear that, Kim! This recipe is usually such a hit with readers.
I followed the instructions and cooked on low for 2.5hrs. The Mac n Cheese came out really gritty and dry. I made this for Thanksgiving, so a little sad it wasn’t good.
I am sorry to hear that, Cassie. Did you use pre-shredded cheese? It has additives that can make this dish come out really gritty, we recommend shredding your own cheese for the best results.
i will admit that the ingredients list threw me off, but i think you said somewhere in the recipe “before you dismiss it, look at the reviews. they speak for themselves” so i did, swallowed my pride, and just went for it. i brought it to my dads house for thanksgiving and it was a hit!
Best Mac and cheese recipe by far. I’ve made this via the crock pot and baked and both are wonderful. I have to say I do like baked better but the recipe itself is so good. I was skeptical about putting cream of chicken soup in my Mac and cheese but it goes together. I love the fact that this recipe has no butter in it. You don’t need butter when you have the oils of all the cheese. it’s a very simple recipe and it tastes great. This will be my go to Mac and cheese recipe from now on. Followed the recipe to the T and didn’t have to change a thing!