Slow cooker mac and cheese
Dry macaroni, milk and a mountain of cheddar go into the slow cooker and come out as a big batch of the creamiest, most hands-off mac and cheese there is.
- 165 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 6
- About $1.60 a serving
- 800 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 4 cups cheddar cheese, grated, divided
- ¼ cup butter, divided
- 1 lb elbow macaroni, uncooked
- 1 can evaporated milk, 12 oz
- 3 cups milk
- 1 tsp ground mustard
From your pantry
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp paprika (optional)
Each serving has about 800 calories, 36 g protein, 71 g carbs and 41 g fat, and costs about $1.60 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No cheddar cheese? Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese or Mexican blend cheese works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No elbow macaroni? Penne works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the cheddar.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Rub the inside of a 6-quart slow cooker with 1 tablespoon of the butter.
Add the uncooked macaroni, evaporated milk, milk, the rest of the butter cut into pieces, the garlic powder, mustard, salt, pepper and 3 cups cheese. Stir well.
Cover and cook on low for 1 hour, then stir, scraping the sides.
Timer: 60 min
Dolly’s tip: The edges cook fastest. A good scrape every so often keeps them from browning.Cover and cook 1 to 1½ hours more, stirring every 30 minutes, until the macaroni is tender.
Timer: 75 min
Dolly’s tip: Slow cookers run hot or cool. Start tasting at 1½ hours total, and stop the moment the pasta is tender.Stir in the last cup of cheese until , adding of milk if it’s thick, then switch to Warm.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Splash. A splash is a small, quick pour, about a teaspoon to a tablespoon. It’s there to loosen or brighten a dish, so the exact amount doesn’t matter.
How you’ll know: The dish looks a little looser or tastes a little brighter, not soupy.
Serve with a dusting of paprika on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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High-protein dinners ›Vegetarian dinners ›What to make with pasta and cheddar ›