The secret to the Creamiest Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese is evaporated milk – it's ultra creamy and velvety, and cooks on low in one pot!
How to make mac and cheese in a slow cooker
This will be one of the easiest recipes you ever make! Here's how:
- Assemble all ingredients.
- Spray the slow cooker in cooking spray.
- Add everything (except for chives) to slow cooker and stir.
- Cook on low for 2 hours, stirring once per hour.
- Serve garnished with chives.
- Enjoy!
Ingredients in this recipe
Here's what you need for this recipe:
- Cooking spray
- macaroni or mini shells (not cooked)
- chicken broth
- evaporated milk
- butter
- cheddar cheese
- Swiss cheese
- salt
- mustard powder
- Chives, for garnish (optional)
Ingredient substitutions
- Macaroni or mini shells – Any high-quality pasta will work. Elbow macaroni, farfalle, or rotini (corkscrew) hold the most sauce. Whole wheat and gluten-free pasta don’t work well in the slow cooker as they will turn mushy.
- Chicken broth – The noodles need to be in liquid to cook and chicken broth adds flavor and liquid. Vegetable broth would work well here to keep it vegetarian. If you don’t have broth, you can use whole milk.
- Evaporated milk – You can substitute the evaporated milk with half & half or cream. Regular milk can make the sauce very runny and less creamy.
- Butter – It’s best to use unsalted butter to keep the sauce from being too salty. If what you have is salted, just adjust the salt to taste.
- Cheddar cheese/Swiss cheese – What is your favorite cheese? Use it! Gruyere, fontina, and Monterey Jack cheese taste good together and melt well. Just don’t use pre-grated cheese. It is coated to keep it from sticking together in the bag and will make the sauce gritty.
- Mustard powder – This is the classic seasoning for mac and cheese but you can use ½ tablespoon prepared mustard instead. Yellow, Dijon and grainy mustards will all work. You can also just leave it out.
- Chives – Since this is a garnish, you can skip it or use sliced green onions instead.
Why evaporated milk?
You can use regular milk, but using evaporated milk creates an extra creamy texture without the fat of real cream.
Plus, it's a shelf-stable ingredient, so it's easy to have on hand for recipes like this!
Can you put uncooked pasta in a slow cooker?
Absolutely! There is no need to cook the noodles first. The chicken broth adds enough liquid to the sauce to ensure that your noodles get cooked without being dry.
What is the best cheese for mac and cheese?
For any macaroni and cheese dish, it is important to use a mix of full fat cheeses that melt easier into the sauce and add flavor.
Sharp cheddar is the one cheese that gives the dish the yellow color we’re all familiar with and great flavor. Buy it in a block and shred it yourself.
Gruyere and Parmesan add nuttiness to the sauce, but also make it super creamy and gooey. Try mozzarella, cream cheese, smoked gouda, and even brie (minus the rind, of course) to mix it up.
What can I add to mac and cheese to make it better?
So much creamy goodness is never a bad thing. But sometimes, you just might need a little extra to put it over the top.
Here are some ideas for add-ins and toppings.
- Sriracha
- Salsa
- Crispy bacon or bacon bits
- Cooked ground beef
- Sliced hot dogs
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Ham and peas
- Cooked spinach
- Diced tomato
- Broccoli
- Roasted garlic
- Toasted bread crumbs
Storing and reheating
Keep any leftovers in an airtight container and store it in your refrigerator. Be sure to use them up or freeze them within 3-4 days.
Reheat in a saucepan with a little extra milk to keep it creamy and thin it up a little or bake it in a 350°F. oven for 15-20 minutes.
You can also drizzle some water or milk overtop and microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Freezing mac and cheese
The creamy sauce makes this a great dish to freeze because the pasta will stay super moist when you reheat it. Allow it to cool to room temperature before you put it in an airtight container or a plastic freezer bag.
To reheat, allow the frozen mac and cheese to thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat in a saucepan or in the oven.
More mac and cheese recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on storing the leftovers
Creamiest Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 lb macaroni or mini shells (not cooked)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 cup Swiss cheese, grated
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- Chives, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients (except for chives) to slow cooker and stir.
- Cook on low for 2 hours, stirring once per hour.
- Stir one final time, then let sit with the lid off for 5 minutes for the sauce to thicken up. Serve garnished with chives, and enjoy!
Video
Comments & Reviews
Trinity says
Good but I wish there were the measurements for different size crockpots. I have a 2 qt..
Katie Didow says
Hi Trinity! You should be able to cut the recipe in half to fit a 2 qt crockpot. You can click on “Servings: 6” in the recipe card to modify the recipe so it’s only for 3 servings and it’ll adjust the measurements automatically.
Kerry says
I tried this recipe and ended up with a lot of liquid at the bottom. It looked more like soup. Any idea what I did wrong? I like slow cooker recipes, but this is not the first time I’ve had terrible results. Also, has anyone else had this problem, or just me?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Kerry – usually waiting a few minutes and stirring everything up together will allow everything to thicken up into a pasta sauce. That said, there is supposed to be more of a creamy sauce enveloping the pasta. Also wondering if you used a full pound of pasta?
Lauren @ Bookmark Lit says
I had the same problem – a bit more liquid rather than creamy! I turned my crockpot to keep warm and am going to see if it thickens up a bit with more time.
Taylor Stinson says
Try leaving it to sit 5 minutes with the lid off once you’ve given it a final stir. I’ll update the instructions to note this. It does thicken up the longer it sits but I know it may appear liquidy at first.
Lisa says
Can you convert to an Instapot recipe?
Taylor Stinson says
This particular recipe can’t be used for the Instant Pot but I do have a couple other recipes you can look at: https://eatinginstantly.com/instant-pot-mac-and-cheese/ and https://thegirlonbloor.com/healthy-instant-pot-mac-and-cheese/
Jodi Fahnestock says
How many people do you think this recipe feeds? I need to feed about 16 people, half our kids and wondering if I should double it. If I did could I still do it in a 6 or 8 qt crockpot?
Taylor Stinson says
The recipe does list the serving amount, in this case it is 6 people. You could probably double it in an 8 quart crockpot to serve 12 – this is the max you can fill it, and you may be able to stretch the servings to 16 if you make them smaller servings.
Chris says
Please advise what size crock pot is used for this recipe.
Thank you.
Taylor Stinson says
You can use a 6 or 8 quart for this recipe.
katy says
Is the whole thing 448 cals or only one serving?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Katy – it’s 448 calories per serving.
Lauren says
Currently have this in my crockpot. I see that you say six servings but how much would you say is in one serving?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Lauren – I don’t provide servings by weight/cup unfortunately! You will need to take the number of servings listed and divide into portions. Each portion is a serving. If I had to absolutely guess, I would say 1 to 1.5 cups is a serving.