Creamy macaroni and cheese is super easy to make in a crock pot. Cooked pasta, Velveeta and cheddar cheese along with evaporated milk make a rich and delicious side dish for any occasion!
Our Farmhouse Style Crock Pot Mac and Cheese is a family favorite!
We serve this mac & cheese with several easy dinners including Oven Baked Pork Chops, Turkey & Bacon Sliders and Farmhouse Ham Loaf.
Crock Pot Mac & Cheese with Velveeta
This is the easiest mac and cheese that I’ve made for our family and everyone loves it! I love making this crock pot mac and cheese with Velveeta recipe because it is fuss-free! Simple ingredients that we always have on hand mix up quickly and easily.
Like our Broccoli with Garlic & Parmesan and Rice Pilaf we have a few favorite side dishes that we make regularly. This mac and cheese is certainly on the list now!
Just cook the pasta and pour all of the ingredients in the crock pot. Stir a couple of times as you cook on low for about 2 hours.
Macaroni and cheese is a canvas that is to easy to customize to so many preferences. We are fans of a plain version, but there are so many ways to amp up this recipe, whether it’s adding more pepper, smoked paprika, minced onion, or bacon bits. We’ve got another great No-Boil Mac & Cheese with Ham recipe too!
My sister-in-law shared this recipe and I’ll admit that it was my first time making macaroni and cheese in the crock pot. There are so many benefits! The crock pot version holds so well and stays warm at a party, potluck or family gathering when you don’t know exactly what time the food will be served. This recipe is similar to our classic Creamy Crock Pot Chicken Pasta.
After an hour the cheese is all melted and there is a lot of liquid. Over the next 30 minutes to an hour the pasta absorbs extra liquid and a perfect, creamy consistency remains. Turn to keep warm when the pasta hits the texture you prefer. Just remove the lid and enjoy at your convenience!
The same sister-in-law that gave us this recipe has shared some of our all-time favorite like Marinated & Grilled Meat and Farmhouse Loaded Potatoes.
Can Mac & Cheese Be Made in a Slow Cooker?
Cooking macaroni and melting the cheeses in a slow cooker is the easiest hands off way to make Mac and cheese for a party or crowd.
I love being able to do the prep ahead of time and just stir the pasta, cheeses and milk together a couple times and almost like magic an easy warm side dish is ready for the potluck, barbecue, cookout or family dinner!
What Can Be Added to Slow Cooker Mac N Cheese?
This mac n cheese would taste great with bacon bits sprinkled on top or small cubes of ham stirred in about 30 minutes before serving.
Cooking dried minced onion into the macaroni adds a more robust flavor, but can easily be omitted for more mild palates of kids and picky eaters.
Serve with freshly ground pepper and smoked paprika just like we do with our Farmhouse Baked Mac and Cheese for an extra flair of flavor at the dinner table!
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, but you can easily use more types of cheese that equal 1 1/2 cups to make a triple mac and cheese!
What’s Needed to Make Crock Pot Mac & Cheese?
- Cooked pasta – we like elbow pasta, but shells, cavatappi and orecchiette also work well
- Velveeta cheese – makes the pasta super creamy, American cheese can be substituted
- Shredded cheddar cheese – mild or sharp work fine, choose your favorite flavor
- Milk – helps keep the pasta moist
- Evaporated milk – makes a richer sauce. Fat equals flavor and there isn’t very much fat or protein in milk. Milk is mostly water. So evaporated milk evaporates a lot of the water off and leaves the flavorful fat, protein and other nutrients.
- Vegetable oil – keeps noodles from sticking together
- Butter – diversity in rich flavor profiles
- Salt – flavor
- Pepper – optional, sometimes my kids act weird about pepper, other times they don’t even notice it
- Dried minced onion – optional, most adults love the flavor, but sometimes it throws kids
This crock pot mac and cheese recipe is made rich evaporated milk, so it can be without eggs and no flavor is sacrificed.
How to Make Mac & Cheese in the Crock Pot
- Cook pasta and toss with oil
- Pour pasta into lined or greased crock pot
- Measure milk and stir in salt, pepper and minced onion
- Pour regular milk and evaporated milk into the crock pot
- Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top
- Slice or cube Velveeta cheese and spread over the top
- Cover and cook on low for 2 – 3 hours, stir 2 – 3 times and again just before serving
- Can turn to keep warm for up to an hour while serving
Other Easy Meal Ideas for Picky Eaters
- BBQ Pulled Pork Crescents
- Crock Pot Sloppy Joes
- Crock Pot Lasagna
- Stromboli
- Air Fryer Pizza Sliders
- Instant Pot Mac & Cheese with Sausage
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Printable Crock Pot Mac & Cheese Recipe
Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 ounces macaroni cooked
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper optional
- 2 tablespoons dried onion flakes optional
- 1 1/2 cups Velveeta cheese 12 ounces
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
Instructions
- In a crock pot toss cooked macaroni with vegetable oil.
- Stir in remaining ingredients.
- Cover and cook on low for 2 – 3 hours. Stir a couple times and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- This mac n cheese would taste great with bacon bits sprinkled on top or small cubes of ham stirred in about 30 minutes before serving.
Equipment
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How do you measure the Velveeta?
Great question! It’s 12 ounces. I just checked and see the package is marked in 2 ounce increments. Hope you love the recipe 🙂
Hello ! Have you ever made a double batch of this at once ?! How does it come out.
Hey there! I haven’t tried that yet, but I think with a large crock pot, some extra stirring and a little extra cook time it should work well. Please let me know how it turns out if you give it a try!
This is an amazing recipe. Even my husband loved it and he hates Mac and cheese. My only question is, since I’m watching what I eat, do you know what the portion size is for each person? I know it sounds silly but I’m trying to log it properly.
Thanks so much for trying the recipe and sharing the compliment! Portion size is tricky. I’ve seen anywhere from 1/2 cup to 1 cup of pasta as a serving. There is more info on dietary guidelines for each person here: https://www.choosemyplate.gov/. I hope this helps!
Curious if this means 8 oz of pasta-cooked or 8 oz of cooked pasta? In other words is the 8oz of pasta measured prior to cooking or after cooking? I typically buy a 16oz box of elbow macaroni, so wondering if this recipe of calling for half the box. Thank you!!
Good question! I use 8 ounces of uncooked pasta, so half of the box. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
This recipe is PERFECT! I added a pinch of dry minced garlic. Gave it a nice flavor
So glad you love it! Thanks so much for the kind comments!
Oh my goodness this was so good! I did add a little extra Velvetta just cause my kids LOVE cheese – but this was good and easy! My kids thought I really did something special for them too!
Do you mix the cheese in or leave it all on top and wait till it cooks some then stir
Hey There! You can give it a little stir initially and then come back and stir a couple more times as it’s heating up. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
How many does this serve? I am looking to serve 7 people.
Hey there! Our family gets about 12 servings out of this recipe. If there’s extra the leftovers taste great too!
How many quart crock pot did you use? Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Hi! We have a 5 quart crock pot shown in the pictures 🙂
This recipe was delicious !! I cooked it in the oven instead of the crockpot.
This is definitely one to saved.
If I use an entire box of elbow macaroni will it be too dry?
Hey There! I haven’t tested this recipe using a full box of pasta, but if I were to use a full box I would increase the other ingredients proportionally to keep it nice and cheesy! Hope you enjoy 🙂
sharp or mild cheddar cheese
Hey There! Either works well! My family prefers sharp cheddar, but both taste great!
Have you done this on the stovetop before?
Hey There! I haven’t made this on the stove top. I imagine it would take more stirring and more attention, but I think it could be done! Please let me know if you give it a try 🙂
Do you use velveeta blocks of cheese? Or liquid velveeta? I’ve seen the liquid velveeta packets in the store as well as the blocks just making sure i use the right thing. So excited to try this for Christmas!!
Hey there! I use the blocks of Velveeta. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do 🙂
Did you use whole milk? Or does it not matter what kind you use?
Hi There! Great question! I use 12 ounces of evaporated milk and then 1 1/2 cups of 2% or whole, whatever we have on hand is fine. Remember fat equals flavor, so I would avoid the skim milk. Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do 🙂
Could you cook on high if needed?
Hey There! I haven’t tested it, but if you do use high I would stir a lot more often to help prevent burning. Please let me know if you give it a try!
Is the pasta supposed to be cooked al dente? I am assuming so that it doesn’t get overcooked in the crockpot but I thought I would ask!
Yes! Good question! Cook pasta to al dente before adding to the crock pot. Hope you enjoy!
Have a quick question about the cook time. In the write up it says to cook for 1.5 hours but the recipe says 2-3 hours. Which one is it? Make it for my son’s stag next week and I don’t want to overcook it.
Hey There! Thanks so much for asking. Cooking appliances vary, so keep an eye on the macaroni and cheese around 1.5 hours, but know that it will likely take 2 – 3 hours. Be sure to stir often to prevent burning. Hope your guys love the recipe as much as we do!
If you use dried minced onions, should it be the same amount as the dried onion flakes (2 tablespoons)?
Hey There! I think this might be the same or a very similar product. You can always add 1 T. early on and taste when almost done. Add more at that time if desired. Hope you enjoy as much as we do!
Hello! Could I make this the day before I plan to serve it?
Hey there! Great question! I haven’t tested this, but I do know that every time I make mac and cheese it reheats very differently than it cooks and I think this recipe would be the same…so it depends what quality you want to serve. We enjoy it both ways, but do tend to prefer a fresh batch for a party or special occasion.
Hope you enjoy!