To me, homemade macaroni and cheese is the ULTIMATE comfort food. When you pair that with being able to cook it in the crock pot….. I don’t even have words for it!
Not only is it a great comfort food, but it is almost the perfect side dish for any occasion, dinner or potluck meal.
The most important thing to keep in mind when making mac ‘n cheese in the crock pot is all the dairy you’re using. Dairy products have a tendency to have a very LOW tolerence to extended periods of heat. My biggest tip when making this recipe would be to make sure you use the crock pot or slow cooker that you have that runs the coolest. If you have a crock pot that bubbles or boils food on either setting when you’re cooking it, I wouldn’t use that one to make this in.
Here is how I do it:
- 1 – 8 ounce box of macaroni, cooked, drained and cooled
- 1 egg
- 2 – 5 ounce cans of evaporated milk
- 1 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese (reserving 1/4 cup of it)
- 1/2 cup shredded Gouda (reserving 1/4 cup of it)
Spray the inside of a 3 quart round crock pot with Pam non-stick spray, liberally. In a medium sized mixing bowl add egg, evaporated milk, Dijon mustard, milk and spices. Mix thoroughly to incorporate. Now stir in 1 1/4 cups of sharp cheddar and a 1/4 cup of the Gouda. Once that is incorporated, add the macaroni. Stir until all of the macaroni is well coated with the cheese mixutre. Pour the coated macaroni into the crockpot and with the back of the spoon, make sure it’s in an even layer. Evenly sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of sharp cheddar and 1/4 cup of Gouda over the top. Cook on LOW for 5 – 6 hours. What you are looking for are the edges to brown and then center be completely set. DO NOT lift lid or stir during the cooking process.
*NOTES*
1.) If you’re worried about the dish getting too wet from condensation, place a paper towel on top of the crock and secure with lid. This way the paper towel will absorb all excess moisture.2.) You can mix and match cheeses to your liking. I’ve done it all with sharp cheddar, but I’ve also done it with a mixture of swiss and bleu cheese before too. I just make sure that I’m using the same total amount no matter what the kind.3.) This recipe is easily doubled to fit in a 6 quart crock pot. Just make sure you start peaking through the lid at the 5 hour mark to check for the golden edges and the set center. That will let you know when it’s done.4.) It is very important to only cook this on LOW. With all of the dairy products that are in this recipe, you don’t want to cook it on high and chance it clumping or curdling.5.) It is very important to use the evaporated milk called for in the recipe and to NOT substitute any additional regular milk for it. Evaporated milk has a higher tolerence to extended cooking and heat than regular milk does. Again, you don’t want to chance it clumping or curdling
Now share with us what you’re favorite crock pot pasta is. Do you have a great crock pot lasagna to share? Or even a goulash recipe or chicken noodle soup you’d like to share… we would love to see what kind of pasta dishes you’ve mastered in the crock pot. Here are the guidelines to participate:
- Make sure it’s a crock pot recipe. I’m sure you’ve done some wonderful pasta dishes on the stove top or in the oven, but I want you to share what you’ve created in the crock pot.
- Please link to your direct post, not your blogs homepage. We all want to be able to find your wonderful crock pot pasta dish weeks or months down the road. This will help us to do that.
- Please mention that you shared your recipe with us here at Crock Pot Recipe Exchange and link back to this page (just good blogger etiquette).
- Have fun! This is a way for all of us to meet fellow crock potters and acquire new crock pot recipes.. so just have fun 🙂
This recipe shared at Saturday’s Party.
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