Homemade Macaroni and Cheese CrockPot Recipe

Published: Tue, 05/23/17

May 23, 2017

Hello there, Slow Cookerers!

Macaroni and Cheese is pure comfort food. This is a fantastic recipe that has the noodles cook right along inside the crockpot with the milk and cheese.

It calls for using 1% or 2% milk instead of evaporated milk -- I wanted to find a way to make macaroni and cheese from scratch using the stuff I already had in the house! :-)

This is the best macaroni and cheese, ever. 

BUT. this is not a Set it and Forget it recipe.

I wouldn't recommend putting this in the crockpot unsupervised. 

There is a lot of liquid and the noodles cook VERY quickly. 

 Our pasta was perfectly cooked and al dente after about 90 minutes on high, but I left it on and accidentally fell asleep on the couch when I should have been folding laundry. 

 An hour later, the pasta was still amazingly delicious, but it got mushy.

I tell you this so you can *learn from my mistake!* :-)


Image
serves 6

1/2 pound uncooked macaroni or hearty pasta (I used a gluten free pasta)
4 cups of milk (I used skim cow's) 
1 egg 
4 cups shredded cheese (I used all cheddar * )
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried mustard


* I am usually a bagged shredded cheese girl, but for this recipe I recommend shredding your own. I'm sorry. But the bagged stuff sometimes has an anti-caking agent which will keep it from melting as nicely as when you use block cheese.

Don't shoot the messenger; I'm only trying to help!! :-)


The Directions.

Use a 4-quart slow cooker for best results.  If you only have a 6-quart, that is okay, but for reals pay attention -- your noodles will soften even faster.

Spray crock well with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, whip egg and milk together. 

Stir in spices.

Add cheese and noodles, and stir well to combine. 

 Pour the mixture into the crockpot.

It will be very liquidy.

Cover and cook on low for 2-5 hours, or on high for 1-3. 

CHECK AFTER 1 HOUR. ALL CROCKPOTS ARE DIFFERENT! Check no matter what!

---> [ Trust me! this still beats having to watch the stove and drain water and mix in the cheese sauce ingredients. I promise. You can fold laundry, watch Gossip Girl, take a bath, etc. Just check after an hour so you can judge the cooking time correctly.] <--

 The cooking time will vary depending on what size crockpot you are using, and how quickly it heats and cooks. 

 I was quite surprised at how quickly our pasta got fork-tender. 


The Verdict. 

Woah. This tastes like macaroni and cheese should taste. 

 The cheese on top was bubbly and brown and had the neat texture it gets when baked in the oven. The pasta was perfectly cooked.

Until I fell asleep. 

The kids each ate 2 bowls, and my little one has requested that I make this every single day for lunch from now on.

In the crockpot.

I was a little surprised that the ingredients called for only a half-pound of pasta. 

This was more than enough food for 6 people to eat. The pasta swelled and completely filled a round 4qt. 

Enjoy!! Happy Slow Cooking!!

steph



PS: My wonderful, wonderful site designer made the website even easier to use/navigate by installing a super cool way to print.
At the top and bottom of each recipe, you will see a Green Printer. When you click on this, you can toggle it to get rid of all photos and also delete the extraneous text. 

YAY! Thank you to all who wrote in and asked for this feature to be more user friendly!

steph