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The creamiest Crockpot Mac and Cheese! This recipe is my all time favorite way to make the BEST mac and cheese and it’s super easy too!
I’m a sucker for an extra cheesy, extra delicious mac and cheese recipe (after all, I am human) and this crock pot mac and cheese hits all the right notes.
Creamy, cheesy, easy, and perfect for a busy weeknight when you need to start the dinner prep early OR perfect for a holiday dinner when you need to save space in the oven and get the prep work done early!
We love our mac and cheese casserole recipe that gets layered with different cheeses and baked in the oven, but when you want a classic cheddar extra gooey and creamy mac? This crockpot mac and cheese is the first stop!
This recipe is pretty similar to the Paula Deen crockpot mac and cheese, but I skip the eggs in favor of cream cheese. Sorry – eggs don’t belong in mac and cheese in my house.
Stir some leftover crockpot ham into this one to make it a full meal or throw in some jalapenos to spice things up like we did with our jalapeno mac and cheese!
♥ What We Love About This Recipe:
- No Oven: The crockpot makes this recipe simple to prepare without heating up the oven (hello summer mac and cheese!) or using up precious oven space during a holiday dinner (because that’s where the turkey needs to be).
- Any Time: This mac and cheese is great for weeknight dinners when you just want to toss it together before the dinner rush, but it’s also perfect for a holiday meal when you need to feed a crowd and want to prep in advance.
- Cheesy: This mac and cheese recipe does not skimp on the cheese! There is freshly grated cheddar, cream cheese, and condensed cheese soup – we’re talking the ultimate melty gooey cheesy goodness here.
What Readers are Saying!
“Have made this twice now and it’s so good. It’s become my go to recipe for mac and cheese. So easy to make. Thanks so much for sharing. ” – Mary
Ingredient Notes:
Macaroni – We keep it classic with macaroni, but shells work great here too!
Cheese – Grate your own cheddar for the maximum meltability. You’ll also need cream cheese and a can of condensed cheddar soup.
Butter – We use salted butter for the best flavor.
Sour Cream & Milk – I like my macaroni and cheese to be extra rich and creamy so I’m adding in whole milk and sour cream.
Seasoning – To balance out all that creamy, cheesy flavors I’m adding salt, cracked pepper, and a bit of dry mustard powder.
Variations:
We love a good classic mac and cheese, but there are all kinds of ways to dress it up.
- Buffalo Sauce: Take a little inspo from our buffalo chicken mac and cheese and drizzle on some buffalo sauce and ranch. You could even stir in chicken!
- Crispy Bacon: Fry and crumble some bacon to stir in for a crispy, salty punch of flavor.
- Cheese: We love the classic flavor of cheddar in this slow cooker mac and cheese, but you can swap it for another variety or a mix of cheese. Gruyere, monterey jack, white cheddar, and pepperjack are all great options for macaroni and cheese.
- Taco: Make our Taco Mac and Cheese for a twist on Taco Tuesday!
- Smoked Sausage: Make it a meal by searing some smoked sausage and the stove and then stirring it into your crockpot mac and cheese!
Crockpot Recommendation!
In the market for a new slow cooker? We love this 7 quart Crockpot. It’s simple to use, cooks evenly, and is very budget friendly. Plus, it has a 4 1/2 star rating with over 5,000 reviews on Amazon!
Step by Step Photos:
Boil your macaroni for 6 minutes – it should still be a bit firm. Drain well.
Melt the cheddar and butter together in the microwave. It’ll be a gloppy mess, but don’t worry – it’s going to come together in the crockpot.
Add the drained pasta to the crockpot and dump the melted cheddar over the top.
Add the remaining ingredients, stir well, cover, and cook on low for 3 hours.
SPECIAL TOOLS USED:
- Food Processor: I prefer to grate my own cheese for most recipes and the Breville Sous Chef is my FAVORITE way to do that. It’s a total workhorse and I use it every day. It makes shredding, chopping, and slicing a total breeze.
- Snap and Strain: This little gadget clips onto any pot to make draining your pasta super quick and easy.
Pro Tips:
Pasta – Don’t overcook the pasta! We want it barely al dente so that it doesn’t turn mushy in the slow cooker.
Cheese – It’s going to look like a weird, thick, greasy mess after melting it in the microwave, but trust the process. It will combine with the other ingredients and turn into a thick, creamy sauce as it slow cooks.
Keep Warm – The edges of this will likely start to brown/stick to the crockpot if you keep this in the crockpot for longer than 3 hours. If you need to leave this on the ‘warm’ setting for any length of time after cooking, stir well and stir in an extra splash of milk so the crockpot mac and cheese doesn’t dry out.
Storage & Reheating:
Storage: Keep this in an airtight dish in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. I do not recommend freezing this recipe as it’s likely to get mushy upon reheating.
Reheating: Reheat this in the microwave until warm and then stir in a splash of milk and continue heating through until hot. The milk will help keep this dish creamy even after reheating.
What to Serve with Crockpot Mac and Cheese Recipe:
- Stuffed Chicken Breast: Simple, filling, and there’s spinach involved.
- Turkey Meatballs: Toss the meatballs right over your mac and cheese – totally kid friendly!
- Slow Cooker Ribs: My favorite way to make ribs!
- Mississippi Pot Roast: The ultimate comfort food!
For Dessert:
- Brookies: When you can’t decide between brownies and cookies, this is the way to go.
- Homemade Brownies: The fudgiest!
- Buttermilk Pie: A Southern classic!
- Lemon Blueberry Dump Cake: So simple and fresh.
Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 ½ cups shredded cheddar
- 2 ounces cream cheese cut into small cubes
- 10.5 ounces condensed cheddar soup
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
Instructions
- Spray your slow cooker with nonstick spray to make for easier clean up.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the macaroni for 6 minutes. Drain and add to a 6 quart slow cooker.
- Add the shredded cheddar and butter to a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second increments, stirring each time, until melted. This mixture will be thick and greasy, but it will come together as it cooks in the slow cooker. Pour the cheese mixture over the macaroni.
- Add the cream cheese, cheddar soup, sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, and mustard powder to the slow cooker and stir well to coat the noodles.
- Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.
- Stir well before serving.
Twila Pickrell says
Is there a sub for condensates cheddar soup?
Add more cheese?
Thanks.
Karly says
Hi Twila! I’ve only made this with the cheese soup. You could use cream of chicken and a bit more cheese or maybe even up the sour cream with more cheese, but I haven’t tried it.
Carla says
Great idea, Karly, as my husband is gluten intolerant, and I have yet to find a G.F. Cheddar Soup
Debbie says
I’m going to double this and make it for Thanksgiving!! Can’t wait to try it. I know it’ll be good, so I’m not even “worried” about making it for guests for the first time!!
Karly says
I’m sure it’ll be a huge hit! 🙂
Em says
Any advice for making this for 40 people as a side dish for a camping trip?
Karly says
Oh goodness, that would be a lot of mac and cheese. Haha! You could probably double it as long as you’re using a 6-7 quart crockpot, but you’d still need 3 crockpots worth.
Lindsay Schuster says
I made this tonight and it was delicious even according to my very food picky boyfriend! I did add a 1/4 can extra soup and a little milk and shredded a little Havarti and Muenster just because I’m a cheese nut but it would’ve been great without. My slow cooker runs really hot so at 2 hours it was done. I’ve tried several Mac n cheese recipes and this was by far the best ???
Lindsay Schuster says
Meant !!! Not??
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed! 🙂
Gigi says
I love Mac and Cheese and remember that my grandma used to add sliced tomatoes to the mac and cheese as it cooked. It was delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Carla Skidmore says
I love Mac and Cheese, so does my husband. After 60 years of cooking, I love easy, comfort food once a week, sometimes more. Much to some folks’ dismay, I jazz up that Mac and Cheese, with cooked hamburger, or cooked, cut up hotdogs. I add them to while they are still hot to the hot Mac and Cheese. My husband suggested these change, and much to my surprise, I liked them.
Karly says
I love adding goodies to my mac and cheese too! Have you ever browned smoked sausage and added that? It’s my favorite. 🙂
Carla Skidmore says
That sounds like a great idea, I like smoked sausage, as long as it is not Hot Smoked Sausage. I never thought of adding it to the Mac and Cheese but that should be a winner. Thank you.
I might add the Hot Smoked Sausage to some of the Mac and Cheese, as my husband loves very spicy foods. The spicier the better is his motto.
I will have to improvise on your recipe, using a G. F. pasta, due to my husband’s gluten intolerance, but it certainly is an easy change to make now that the supermarkets are offering more G. F. items.
Mary says
Have made this twice now and it’s so good. It’s become my go to recipe for mac and cheese. So easy to make. Thanks so much for sharing.
Karly says
Yay! Glad to hear that!
Ellie says
Can’t wait to try this
Jeffery Cohen says
This is probably a stupid question, but if I double this recipe would the crockpot cooking time double also?
Karly says
The crockpot time might increase a bit, but definitely not double. I’d just keep an eye on it…the macaroni should be cooked through and the cheese melty. 🙂
Jo Thrasher says
Wow this looks so incredibly cheesy – I’ll have to give it a try!
rick reed says
I made this years ago . Its a Paula Deen recipe. Give her credit .
Karly says
If you read the blog post, you would have seen that I did give her credit.
Jennifer says
Made this yesterday, it was awesome. My boys are mac n cheese connoisseurs and they liked it better than El Pollo Loco Mac N Cheese! I would like it a bit “soupier” do you think adding another can of the cheese soup would work or is there a better option?
Karly says
Hi Jennifer!
So glad the boys loved it! 🙂 I haven’t tried making it soupier as I like it thick, but I think an extra can of cheese soup and maybe a bit more milk would be a good starting point!
Jennifer says
Karly,
The extra soup and milk made it perfect! Boys loved it more.
Thanks again.
Jennifer
Karly says
Oh good! Glad to hear! 🙂
Hannah@butterloveandcowboys.com says
A good bowl of mac and cheese is one of those ultimate comfort foods that I have the hardest time saying no to! I’m definitely giving this recipe a try next time I make cheddar mac and cheese!
Susan says
This looks really yummy and I see lots of places I can make it more diet friendly (need to lose a bunch). Fat free cheeses and sour cream, etc. Going to give it a shot this week end.
Terry Johnson says
Can long macaroni be used. My family does not like it when elbow macaroni is used.
Karly says
As long as you’re using something thicker, like penne or ziti, it should be fine. Spaghetti will take much less time to cook, though.