The creamiest crockpot macaroni and cheese! This recipe is my all time favorite way to make the BEST mac and cheese and it’s super easy too!
I love this recipe for any weeknight dinner since it gets started before the dinner rush, but it’s especially perfect for holidays! Saves you oven and stovetop space and the prep work is all done before guests arrive.
It’s super easy and it’s always a hit with family and friends.
I’m not joking when I say this is the BEST macaroni and cheese recipe! It’s my all time favorite. So creamy, cheesy, and just really good comfort food.
It’s 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.
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
How to make slow cooker macaroni and cheese:
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I’ve experimented with slow cooker mac and cheese quite a bit and I always want to start with uncooked noodles because it’s easier, but I’m here to tell you that you just get a better result by boiling your noodles first. That extra step is worth it, promise.
That said, you want to boil your noodles for only 6 minutes. We don’t want mushy noodles!
Add the cooked macaroni to a slow cooker and then pop some cheddar and butter in a glass bowl and microwave it until melted.
It seems a bit strange to melt cheese and butter like this in the microwave, but it creates a really creamy mac and cheese and it’s so easy!
Spoon that gooey mess over the macaroni, top it off with some chunks of cream cheese, a little sour cream, some condensed cheese soup, and your seasonings.
Stir everything up and pop the lid on. This cooks on low in 3 hours. Just give it a stir before serving.
ADDITIONS!
There are all kinds of great toppings/additions you can try, such as:
- Hot Sauce
- Crispy Bacon
- Crumbled Crackers
- Chives
Mac and Cheese Tips & Tricks:
You can keep it warm in the crockpot for about 8 hours after cooking as long as you stir occasionally. You can also make a batch and store it in your fridge, covered, for 2 to 3 days.
You can reheat this in a large pot on your stove or heat it again in the crockpot. Add milk, if needed, to get the consistency you prefer.
SPECIAL TOOLS USED:
- Slow Cooker: We love the shape of this slow cooker. Plus, it heats evenly and has loads of 5 star reviews!
- 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.
What to serve with this 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!
The Pioneer Woman Meatloaf: Doesn’t this look amazing?!
Crockpot Whole Chicken: So juicy and easy!
Pork Tenderloin: There’s garlic butter involved.
For dessert, give these recipes a try:
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!
Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 ½ cups grated cheddar
- 2 ounces cream cheese diced
- 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
- 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 grated cheddar and butter to a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second increments, stirring each time, until melted. 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.