Best crock pot mac and cheese recipe

Q: How does Gordon Ramsay make the best mac and cheese?

To make Gordon Ramsays mac and cheese, boil macaroni and milk for 10 minutes in a pot. Remove the pot from the heat. Then, add butter, cheese, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Top the mac and cheese with breadcrumbs and serve.

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in macaroni and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer pasta to a slow cooker.
Table of Contents Show
Add butter to pasta and stir until melted; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle about 1/2 of the Cheddar cheese over pasta and stir.
Whisk evaporated milk and eggs together in a bowl until smooth; stir into pasta mixture.
Whisk milk and condensed soup together in a bowl until smooth; stir into pasta mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese over pasta mixture; garnish with paprika.
Cook on Low for 3 hours.
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

Tips

Some slow cookers take less time. Check the edges are not getting too brown after 2 1/2 hours.

To bake in a conventional oven, pour pasta mixture into a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Homemade macaroni and cheese is a process. You need to make a cheese sauce while also cooking pasta in another pot. And you'll almost definitely feel the need to make a buttery topping and bake it (even though it was already perfectly cheesy and saucy already). No to mention, the amount of dishes can be insane.

Enter: this slow-cooker mac & cheese. Everything—including the pasta!—cooks in a slow cooker. And in the end you have just ONE DISH to clean. This recipe is essentially fool proof but we are here to answer to your inevitable doubts and questions are below. (We were skeptical at first too!) And for more easy dinner ideas, check out our best slow-cooker recipes.

Does the pasta actually cook?

Yep! Until it's perfectly al dente 😉. You just need to start checking after 2 hours, every 20 minutes or so. Pasta, if cooked too long, tends to get gummy if sits in a slow cooker for too long.

How does the sauce cook?

With the elbow noodles! The evaporated milk, whole milk, and cheeses slowly melt together into perfectly creamy sauce. You really only need to stir it once before serving.

Why evaporated milk?

About 60% of its water has been removed so it's much more concentrated, making it creamy AF. Meaning it's pretty perfect for mac and cheese.

Can I sub milk? Or what about cream?

We wouldn't. There's already a decent amount of milk in here anyways. If you only use milk, the sauce would be kinda watery and soup-like. It also wouldn't be as rich. Heavy cream has waaay more calories and fat and would take the decadence of macaroni and cheese to a whole new (and unnecessary) level. Just stick with the evaporated milk.

Can I use different cheeses?

Totally! You just want to choose one (or three) with good melting properties. Think: mozzarella, fontina, and Monterey Jack. And stick to 4 1/2 cups total.

What temperature do I cook it at?

In your slow cooker, you'll want to go with HIGH as opposed to LOW heat.

What if I want a crispy topping though?

We totally get it. If you don't mind washing a baking sheet. Go ahead and combine some bread crumbs or crushed crackers with minced garlic, grated parm and chopped parsley. Spread it on a baking sheet and bake in a 325º oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle it over the mac and you'll have crunch in every bite.

How do I store left overs?

In air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Tried this slowed down comfort food classic? Let us know how it came out in the comments below!

Editor's Note: The introduction to this recipe was edited on August 2, 2021.

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Ingredients

1 lb.
elbow macaroni
1/2 c.
(1 stick) melted butter
4 c.
shredded cheddar cheese
4 oz.
cream cheese, cut into cubes
1/2 c.
freshly grated grated Parmesan
2
(12-oz.) cans evaporated milk
2 c.
whole milk
1/2 tsp.
garlic powder
1/8 tsp.
paprika
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Finely chopped chives, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Step 1Combine macaroni, butter, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan, evaporated milk, whole milk, garlic powder, and paprika in a slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Step 2Cook on high until the pasta is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, 2 to 3 hours, checking after 2 hours, then every 20 minutes after.
3. Step 3Garnish with chives before serving, if using.

Kat Wirsing

Lauren Miyashiro is a contributing recipe developer at Delish, and our former Food Director. She graduated culinary school in 2016 and mastered the art of the crunchwrap in 2017.

This content is imported from OpenWeb. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

How do you make mac and cheese moist in a crock pot?

Spraying the crockpot insert with nonstick cooking spray prevents the macaroni from sticking to the insert without adding extra calories and fat. Stirring the food occasionally prevents the macaroni from sticking tightly together into an unappetizing mixture and instead keeps it loose and creamy.

How does Gordon Ramsay make the best mac and cheese?

To make Gordon Ramsay's mac and cheese, boil macaroni and milk for 10 minutes in a pot. Remove the pot from the heat. Then, add butter, cheese, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Top the mac and cheese with breadcrumbs and serve.

Do you put eggs in crock pot mac and cheese?

In a large 4-quart slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray, mix the macaroni, evaporated milk, milk, butter, salt, pepper, eggs and all but 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top of the mixture and then sprinkle with paprika. Cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Why is my crock pot mac and cheese gritty?

Adding cheese to a bubbling mixture will cause the cheese to break down. The emulsifiers and coagulants break down when heated thus causing a gritty texture.