Cooking Time:
2-4 hours on LOWServings:
4-6
Ingredients
16 oz. COOKED Shell Macaroni (cooked) OR 4 c. UNCOOKED Shell Macaroni1/2 c. Unsalted Butter
2 Eggs, beaten
2 c. Half & Half
1/2 tsp. White Pepper
10 3/4 oz. Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup (1 can)
4 c. Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 tsp. Ground Dry Mustard
OPTIONAL SUBSTITUTION for condensed cheddar cheese soup:
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
1 c. milk
1 c. cheese, Cheddar
Slow Cooker Creamiest Mac & Cheese really IS the creamiest and your kids will never ask you for that blue box of macaroni & cheese again! Many of you have mentioned that you prefer to stay away from canned condensed soups, so if you’d like a homemade version (that is less expensive and doesn’t have any additives you may worry about) scroll to the bottom of this recipe. Enjoy!
- Cook macaroni according to box directions; drain.
- Place cooked shells in a 5-quart lined or greased slow cooker; add margarine and stir. Cover.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine soup and the half & half, stirring until smooth and creamy.
- Add the eggs and dry mustard; stir.
- Add cheese and stir until melted. Sauce should be smooth.
- Pour cheese sauce over the shells in the crock.
- Cover & Crock on LOW for about 2-4 hours.
- Season with pepper or top with bacon bits, if desired, before serving.
Optional Substitute Recipe for Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup (NOW included in main recipe ingredient list as a Optional Substitution for Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup):
Melt 3 T. butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat; add 3 T. of flour and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in 1 cup of milk. Return to the saucepan and bring contents to a gentle boil. (keep whisking until thickened) Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Salt to taste. Use this in replacement of the Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup called for in this recipe.
Happy Crocking!
For over 400 more recipes, get my eBook “Get Crocked: The Definitive Guide to Slow Cooking”
XOXO,
Jenn
Made this tonight for my boyfriend and myself and it was amazing! So creamy and tasty! Not overwhelming like other mac and cheeses from boxes. The favor really comes from the sauce! Great recipe!
I made this for the 30 day crock pot challenge. I didn’t have 4 cups of the cheddar so I used a few different kinds of shredded cheese that equaled 4 cups and it was still AMAZING! I will make this again!
I noticed it says 2-4hrs cook time…how do you know its done?
Hello Sunday! I just made this the other day again, and it only took mine 2 hours, but some people like it a little crunchy, so they may crock it longer. It is so delicious! Happy Crocking!
If the pasta is cooked before it goes in the crock pot and it has a sauce…. How is it crunchy???
Christina, this is a Creamy Mac & Cheese, if you want it a little crunchy you can put it in a oven proof dish, and put it under the broiler for a few minutes. Hope this helps and Happy Crocking!
For us Brits please…what is ‘half & half’?
Half & half is in our dairy area in the grocery store, but it is half cream and half milk.. I got the following from a magazine I subscribe to, so hopefully this will help you. A substitute for Half & Half would be: 4-1/2 teaspoons melted butter plus enough whole milk to equal 1 cup. One cup of evaporated milk may also be substituted for each cup of half-and-half cream. Hope this helps MrsG! Happy Crocking!
Hello,
I may have missed something but…I did not see the amount of cheese to use if you are making the soup from scratch. Please advise! 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Kate, In the Note section under the instructions you will see the substitute milk and cheese suggestion. Hope this helps and Happy Crocking!
Looking at the cheddar cheese substitute recipe and wondered how much milk to add?
off to the store now and will be making this today..will let you know how it turns out:-) Thanks for sharing this
Your substitution recipe doesn’t say how much milk or cheese to use…..
Heidl, if you check under the note section of the recipe you will find the substitution recipe using the milk and cheese. Happy Crocking! 🙂
Half and half is what you in the UK would call light cream.
Substitute Recipe for Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup: How much milk and how much & what kind of cheese? Thx!
Monica please see the note section under the recipe and you will find the recipe for the cheese and milk recipe. Happy Crocking!
I’m sorry, am I overlooking it? How much milk and cheese go into the alternate recipe? Thanks!
Hi MacMama, the recipe for the mild and cheese are shown under the directions on the website page. Happy Crocking!
half n half is a creamer that mostly is put in coffee…sold by the milk
What are the measurements for the milk and cheese in the substitute for canned cheese soup recipe? Thanks!
Recipe is in the note section under the directions. Enjoy!
Your Notes section only gives the measurements for the butter and flour. Several people before me have asked for the milk and cheese measurements but I don’t see that in the Notes section. Could you give the measurements rather than pointing us back to the Notes section???
Hi Jamie! Sorry about that – I’ve made sure it’s more clear now. It’s 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. I hope this helps. Happy Crocking!
So please help me out to see if I understand this or not, and I kind of think it is what some of the other comments are wondering or trying to get an answer to also. So yes in the note section (substitute for the cheddar cheese condensed soup), it says 3T butter and 3T flour, is that all that is replacing the 10 3/4 oz can of condensed cheddar cheese soup? The milk and cheese also referenced in the note section, is the milk the 2 cups of half and half? And is the cheese the 4 cups of… Read more »
So you delete my question/post versus commenting on it so I can try the recipe, thank you!
Is there a problem with my posts/questions about this recipe to the point they are deleted versus replied to?
Sorry, for some reason it was not showing my inital question, like it had been deleted, but now it showed up! So weird and sorry again!!
Help – the notes section does not say how much cheese and milk to add if making substitute. It just has flour and butter measurements. Not sure if you mean add all the half and half and 4 cups of cheese? I’m confused like many others. Thanks.
I don’t see measurement for cheese or milk either. see butter n flour. then it said add mike n cheese. do you use measurement from recipe of 4 cups cheese n 2 cups half n half . if that is it right, it will be just a little lest cheesee. ok with me.
Hi, I have to make Mac and cheese for 38 people for turkey day, can I double this recipe? I have a large oval shaped crock
Sherri this recipe serves 6-8, and you can double it with a 6 1/2 – 7 quart slow cooker, but you may want to make two slow cookers full for that many people. What a fun time.. Enjoy and Happy Crocking!
My cheese sauce had a funny texture to it, almost like it separated. Any ideas on where I went wrong?
Kyndal I’m not sure what sauce you made. So unsure of how to answer you?
It may be that your eggs “scrambled” when you added them to the hot cream mixture. Best way to avoid this is to temper the eggs: Beat them in a dish, then spoon some of the hot liquid little by little into the eggs to warm them up, then add them to the pot.
Campbell’s has the cheddar cheese soup I use it all the time on broccoli
Can I make this a day ahead if time & just warm the day of? Thanks!
Allison, I usually have leftovers with this recipe, and heat it up the next day, sometimes I need to add just a little milk to make the consistency and little creamier. ENJOY!
I made this but it seemed the sauce seperated a bit at the end. It was tasty but not creamy like your picture. I even added a whole extra can of cheese soup…Hmm wonder what happened
Becky add a little milk to it and see if that helps. Every slow cooker cooks differently, and it sound like it might be a little dry? 🙂
sounds like you used generic cheese…don’t be offended if you did…I never use generic when I make this for that reason…try name brand cheese..or velveeta…and use the 2% cheese…much creamier.
I see on each recipe that there’s nutrition information per serving, but I don’t find how many servings per recipe. Is there somewhere I’m not looking? Thanks!!
Thank you Allison for the question. You will find all the serving sizes in the upper right hand corner of each page, along with the time it takes to crock your recipe. Happy Crocking! 🙂
I made this last night. Followed the instructions to the t… It was great and yummy BEFORE I turned on the slow cooker… Everything is prepared on the stove top, then put into the slow cooker. . My boys tried it out before I turned on the slow cooker… It was yummy and cheesy…. But after 2 hours it dried out was lumpy… Yuck, waste! If I do this again, I’d serve it right away and don’t even bother putting it in the slow cooker.
This is an awesome recipe! My family loved loved loved it!! I doubled the recipe as I had a bigger crock pot but man, it is great. It was so cheesy. I even put cheese on the top like I would have if I was putting a pan in the oven. OMG!!! Cheese everywhere. I substituted evaporated milk for the half and half and man….woo wee. Magnificent!! Thank you very much for this.
Hi, I think I may have done something wrong.. Mine wasn’t very creamy, but the cheese sauce came out more like ricotta cheese? Or like when you reheat fettuccini and the sauce separates. Any idea where I may have gone wrong? Thanks!
Oh and I made the sauce with the Campbell’s soup.
I just discovered your website via Facebook and see many of your recipes that I can’t wait to try! I do have a question about the mac & cheese – can I double it for a bigger crowd? Also, does it reheat well for leftovers? Thanks!
WELCOME Lisa! Yes you can certainly double the recipe! You just need to make sure that the crock is 1/2 to 2/3 full for it to crock properly. It does reheat nicely, you just may want to add a little milk to mix in while you are warming it up! Happy Crocking!
Can I skip the eggs? My son is allergic.
Marzena, you can substitute half a banana mashed with 1/2 teaspoon baking powder for an egg. Hope this helps! Happy Crocking!
Do you have any suggestions for a Gluten Free diet?
Hi Christina! If you would like to make the Creamiest Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese GF, check the pasta aisle at your local store for GF pasta. I like the “Quinoa” brand of pasta, in fact, they make an elbow macaroni style that would work great for this dish. It is a blue box I believe and a great GF noodle I have used often. Thanks for your question, and Happy Crocking!
I have been searching for a crock pot cherry cobbler that you can cook overnight and when you get up in the morning it is ready for you to eat for breakfast.It was there and now I can’t find it was wondering if you had a recipe . If called for a yellow cake mix plus instead of flour it called for cake flour.Would love to make it for my husband.So,he can have to eat foe breakfast and enjoy it
Hi Sue, it sounds delicious, but sorry to say it is not on my site, but I will be searching for it! Happy Crocking!
Hey, would you recommend cooking it on High to cut time in half?
You can Karenina, but I would watch it closely, as the cheesy recipes could burn a little! Happy Crocking!
Cooked shells? Wouldn’t it be better if they were not cooked? I’m thinking in all the liquid ingredients the shells would be mush? Especially after 2 hours in the crock pot?
Please advise, Thank you
Cynthia, If you like your pasta a bit crunchy, you could add dry shells at the beginning, it is really a matter of preference. Good Luck and Enjoy! 🙂
Trying this recipe right now. You indicate the cooking time to be 2 to 4 hours. How do you know when it is done? Thanks!
Joy this is a personal preference dish, some like their mac & cheese a little crusty on the edges, other like it very soft, so I am sure it turned out great, but always make your recipe the way you enjoy it. Thank you for the question, and Happy Crocking!
I just put this in my crock pot and can’t wait to try it. I do, however, have a couple of comments. First, shouldn’t there be a step where you temper the eggs so that they don’t scramble in the hot liquid? Also, what is fat free half-and-half. I am in Canada and ours is 10%; I have never seen fat free. Third, a concern about the fat content – there must be some way of bringing it down from the 109% of your RDA of saturated fat? That is astronomical. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!
hi, is there any substation for the dry mustard? Or is it okay if it’s just left out of the recipe?
Jenn you can leave it out but you can substitute with 1 Tablespoon of mustard too! Happy Crocking!