• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
  • Browse Recipes
  • Resources
  • subscribe
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
Life Currents
Home » Crock Pot Mac & Cheese

Crock Pot Mac & Cheese

December 4, 2015 by Debi 22 Comments

  • Share
Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.

Crock Pot Mac & Cheese is so good, creamy, delicious, and easy to make. Grab your slow cooker, and let’s get started!

This Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese was a big hit with everyone young and old at Thanksgiving.

I don’t think a single person at Thanksgiving passed by the mac & cheese without taking some.

a bowl of mac & cheese garnished with fresh green herbs, a fork next to it.

We appreciate your support

Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

mac & cheese in a bowl

Easy to make

Ok, this Crock Pot Mac & Cheese isn’t the healthiest meal I’ve ever made, but it turned out really good. The cheese sauce was easy to make (just follow my tips below), it didn’t break or clump, and it was super delicious!

And, I had lots of requests for the recipe, which I found on Pinterest from Repeat Crafter Me.

Recipes like this will make your family super happy, and if you’re looking for more vegetarian dinner ideas, be sure to check out my Veggie turnovers and Pappardelle Pasta with Veggie Ribbons.

A really tasty mac & cheese that can be made ahead of time and cooks in the crock pot or slow cooker so there’s no last minute work. Perfect for any holiday or potluck!

I know, I know, it has canned soup in it.

But I think the canned soup helps it keep its creamy texture and not separate. And, well, it’s been years since I’ve eaten canned soup, so once every 5 years or so won’t kill me.

All things in moderation, including moderation, right?

A really tasty mac & cheese that can be made ahead of time and cooks in the crock pot or slow cooker so there’s no last minute work. Perfect for any holiday or potluck!

Make this ahead

I love that it was in a crock pot or slow cooker.

You can make everything the day before Thanksgiving. Place the cheese sauce in the ceramic bowl of the crock pot, and place the cooked pasta in a separate container.

Refrigerate them separately, like this, overnight.

Once we got to Thanksgiving dinner we simply stirred the pasta into the cheese sauce in the crock pot, and turned the crock pot on low for three hours, giving it about 4 stirs.

I made mine in my {affiliate link} 4-Quart Slow Cooker and it fit perfectly! It would probably work in a larger crock pot, but I wouldn’t go too much larger.

A really tasty mac & cheese that can be made ahead of time and cooks in the crock pot or slow cooker so there’s no last minute work. Perfect for any holiday or potluck!

Some tips on making the cheese sauce…

  • Gradually add the cheese, and do it on low heat. Gradually! If you add it all at once, it will clump. I know, I’m usually the lazy cook who throws it all in at once. In this case, don’t do it! Low and slow, that is the tempo (bonus points if you can name the band that this is from!) for making good cheese sauce.
  • Let the cheese come to room temperature before adding it to the melted butter, also, use a fine shred rather than a large coarse one, both of these will help the cheese melt faster.

That’s about it!

A tasty mac & cheese that can be made ahead of time and cooks in the crock pot so there’s no last-minute work. Perfect for any holiday or potluck!

Leftovers

Oh, and we had leftovers, which were delicious! Dan stirred some Italian seasoning into some of his leftovers, and that was a fun twist on the traditional mac & cheese.

Since Thanksgiving we’ve made the cheese sauce again. It was delicious on chili cheese fries!

It would be awesome with a little salsa stirred in and poured over nachos!

And, it keeps really well in the fridge. Now, go, cook and eat!

mac and cheese in the crock pot
Please forgive the picture, I wanted to make sure I got a pic for you, so I snapped this with my phone at Thanksgiving dinner, but, you can see how creamy and cheesy this is!

thanksgiving meal on my plate.
My plate at Thanksgiving with lots of mac & cheese! Some vegetarian stuffing that my awesome cousin made, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with cheese sauce which was amazing! Potato salad, and Asian salad (that I made). Wow that’s a lot of carbs!

Let’s Connect

If you like seeing my recipes subscribe via email in the upper right.
Or, connect with me on your favorite social media channel for recipes, photos, & much more:
Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter!
And find my shop on Amazon for recommendations on cool tools

If you try this recipe,
please come back & leave a comment below letting us know how it goes.
Share a picture & tag @lifecurrents on Instagram.
Or you can upload a “tried it” photo (I would love to see)
via the pin.

 

A really tasty mac & cheese that can be made ahead of time and cooks in the crock pot or slow cooker so there’s no last minute work. Perfect for any holiday or potluck!

Crock Pot Mac & Cheese Recipe

Crock Pot Mac & Cheese

Debi
A tasty mac & cheese that can be made ahead of time and cooks in the crock pot so there’s no last minute work. Perfect for any holiday or potluck!
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
Prevent your screen from going to sleep.
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
Total Time 3 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings
Calories 735 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups large elbow macaroni uncooked
  • 8 tablespoons butter cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 5 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 2 cans condensed cheddar cheese soup (10 & 3/4 ounce each)
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon white pepper

Instructions
 

  • Boil the macaroni in water for five minutes. Drain.
  • In a medium saucepan on low heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is almost all melted, slowly and gradually add the shredded cheese, stirring as you add. Continue to stir until the cheese melts.
  • In ceramic bowl of a 4-quart crock pot, combine melted cheese mixture, soup, sour cream, milk salt, and pepper. Stir in the macaroni.
  • Place the lid on the crock pot, and cook on low for 2 ½ -3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Notes

Crock Pot Mac & Cheese can be made ahead, simply refrigerate the cooked pasta separately from the cheese sauce, and stir together when you’re ready to turn on the crock pot.

Nutrition

Calories: 735kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 28gFat: 46gSaturated Fat: 28gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 128mgSodium: 1280mgPotassium: 654mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1642IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 649mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Keyword crock pot, mac & cheese, slow cooker
Tried this recipe?Mention @LifeCurrents or tag #LifeCurrents!
  • Share

Filed Under: Christmas, Easter, Main Dish, Pasta, Side Dishes, Slow Cooker/ Crock Pot, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian, Weeknight meals Tagged With: cheddar, cheese, Cooking, crock pot, Food, main dish, Meatless Monday, pasta, slow cooker, vegetarian

You May Also Like

square crop of 3 cookies on a serving platter.
Brown Sugar Oatmeal Lace Cookies
square crop of biscuits piled up on a piece of parchment paper.
Chocolate Chip Biscuits
square crop of a blue bowl filled with pink strawberry cream cheese and some fresh strawberries.
Strawberry Almond Cream Cheese
about debi

ABOUT DEBI

Hello! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes. My husband eats meat, so occasionally I share some of his dishes as well. And, I’ll share tasty treats and projects that we do. Read more...

Previous Post: « Chocolate Cherry Meringue Cookies
Next Post: Peppermint Patties »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Whoneedsacape (@Whoneedsacape)

    December 7, 2015 at 10:13 am

    Oh my word, my oldest daughter would love this! Going to make this while she’s home from college! YUM!

  2. Lillian Migliorini

    November 13, 2016 at 3:00 pm

    It looks so good that I just had to print it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

« Older Comments
5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hi! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents, where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes with some great desserts and other goodies mixed in! Read More >>>

Most Popular Recipes

square crop of a bowl of lemon cottage cheese pudding with a spoon on the side.
square crop looking down into a baking dish filled with pepper jelly topped cheese dip with crackers on the right.
square crop of creamy dressing in a glass jar with fresh cilantro and limes around it.
looking down on a bowl with two scoops of coconut sorbet in it.
square crop looking down on a small white bowl filled with ranch and surrounded by vegetables and a lemon wedge.
a Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes with a bite missing so you can see the filling.
A chip that's been dipped in cheese and the bowl of cheese is behind it.
looking fown in a cast iron skillet filled with White Bean Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocchi and a wooden spoon sticking out.
a white bowl filled with rice pudding that's topped witha s prinkle of cinnamon and there's a spoon in the pudding.

Footer

SEEN ON

as seen on

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.

This month’s featured recipes: Bourbon Banana Bread, Crescent Roll Chicken Squares, Pecan Pie Muffins, and Flourless Chocolate Cookies.

Want to tip me? You can Buy Me a Coffee! And thanks!

© 2025 lifecurrentsblog.com. All rights reserved. Find my Privacy Policy Here.

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Flipboard
  • Mix
  • Threads
  • X
  • Email

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.