by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · Last modified: · 170 Comments
Jump to Recipe Print 4.02 from 223 votes
Crock Pot Mac and Cheese with Uncooked Pasta has excellent taste, creamy texture, and tender pasta in one of the easiest recipes you can make for dinner tonight—no boiling for you.
🧀Ingredients
Elbow macaroni
Milk
Butter
Cheese
Pantry ingredients—dry mustard, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 🧀Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to make Crock Pot Mac and Cheese with Uncooked Pasta
- ✔️Tips to make it right every time
- Serving
- Mac and Cheese Recipes
- Storage of leftovers
- ❓FAQs—Trouble Shooting
- 📖 Recipe
Featured Comment from John:
"5 stars—Great recipe, fantastic flavor. I doubled it and followed your advice and really kept an eye on the dish at the end."
This Mac and Cheese has a wonderfully creamy, cheesy taste and tender pasta that the whole family will love, even picky kids. Free up the oven and stovetop space using your crock pot during holiday cooking, like Thanksgiving or Christmas.
No need to boil—add the dry pasta uncooked. You cook the pasta in spicy milk in the crock pot until nearly done, drain any fluid, add cheese, and let it melt to creamy goodness.
There is no can of soup, it has easy clean up, and you can use any size crock pot, even as small as 2 quarts.
👨🍳How to make Crock Pot Mac and Cheese with Uncooked Pasta
This recipe will fit in a 2-quart or larger crock pot.
Add 2 cups milk, 1 cup standard macaroni, ½ teaspoon dry mustard, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon each of pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and 1 tablespoon of butter to the crock pot.
Cook on low until the pasta reaches al dente. Stir well one hour into the cooking and check the texture, then recheck every 30 minutes or more frequently until done—about 2 hours for most crock pots and pasta. But crock pots and pasta vary, and your time may vary. DO NOT COOK BY TIME.
Drain any free fluid when the pasta is al dente, and mix in 1 cup of shredded cheese—sharp cheddar is recommended.
Continue on low until cooked the pasta is tender—about 5-15 minutes.
This is the crock pot after the meal. My wife scooped it into bowls within 30 seconds of her first bite. I think she liked it.
For more details, keep reading. See theRecipe Cardbelow for complete instructions and to print.
✔️Tips to make it right every time
♨️The Crock Pot
- This fits well in most crock pots 2 quarts or above. Even a double recipe will fit in a 3.5 qt crock pot. You can use bigger as long as the milk completely covers the pasta in the first part of the recipe.
- Large crock pots with small amounts of ingredients may cook faster, so be careful.
- This should usually be done on low. This is NOT a recipe you should cook on high, cut the time in half, and ignore. The endpoint is the pasta becoming al dente, not an amount of time.
🍝The Pasta
- My instructions are to use standard dry pasta.
- If you want whole wheat or gluten-free pasta, you MUST pay attention to the pasta's endpoint, which is just al dente. More than that will make mush. The time of cooking WILL be different.
- If using non-standard pasta, you should usually be OK if you check the pasta more frequently, stop at al dente, and discard the excess fluid.
🍝The Cheese
- Many kinds of cheese should not be cooked for long periods. But by adding the cheese near the end, it will deliver its creamy goodness.
- American-made pre-shredded cheese that we all buy does not like long or high heat. It is waxier than block cheese, and it just won't take it and will separate some.
- I'm stuck on sharp cheddar cheese. Almost any cheese, like Velveeta, American, Colby jack, gouda, and gruyere, can work.
- I'm sure a better cheese like a block of Cabot would do better, but are you going for a $10 cheese for this?
- Feel free to vary the cheese type.
Serving
Kids love mac and cheese, so combine it with Baked Chicken Legs, Chicken Legs on the Grill, Baked Chicken Tenders, Grilled Chicken Tenders, or Burgers on the Grill.
Mac and Cheese Recipes
Check out some other mac and cheese recipes. Start with my Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese, One-pot Stovetop Mac and Cheese, Baked Mac and Cheese, and Roadhouse Mac and Cheese.
Storage of leftovers
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days or freeze for 2-3 months.
❓FAQs—Trouble Shooting
Why do I have fluid left when the pasta is done?
There are hundreds of different pasta, some requiring more or less fluid. The amount of fluid is for standard elbow macaroni and is usually correct for most standard pasta.
What to do with the extra fluid?
Once your pasta is al dente, you are done with the free liquid. So, you MUST drain any excess fluid. Don't worry about getting every drop of the liquid out. Just use a cup and remove the liquid you can easily remove before adding the cheese.
Why is my pasta too soft?
Your pasta is mushy from cooking too fast, or you cooked too long. You need to look for al dente and stop cooking.
Can I use other types of pasta?
If using non-standard pasta, you should usually be OK if you check the pasta more frequently, stop at al dente, and discard the excess fluid.
Why did my cheese separate?
Some cheap cheese will separate quickly. Get better cheese, and do not cook it too long.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Comfort Food Recipes, Crock Pot Recipes, Mini Crock Pot Recipes, Pasta Recipes, Small Crock Pots Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Crock Pot Mac and Cheese with Uncooked Pasta
From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Crock Pot Mac and Cheese with Uncooked Pasta has excellent taste, creamy texture, and tender pasta in one of the easiest recipes you can make for dinner tonight—no boiling for you.
Tap to leave a Rating
4.02 from 223 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 2 hours hours 25 minutes minutes
Servings #/Adjust if desired 4 small servings or 2 large
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Ingredients
US Customary - Convert to Metric
- 1 cup Elbow Macaroni
- 2 cups milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup cheese of your choice - I used sharp cheddar
Instructions
Add 2 cups milk, 1 cup standard macaroni, ½ teaspoon dry mustard, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon each of pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and 1 tablespoon of butter to the crock pot. You can use a crock pot as small as 2 quarts, but be sure the pasta is covered with milk. Larger crock pots cook smaller recipes faster.
Cook on low until the pasta reaches al dente. Stir well one hour into the cooking and check the texture, then recheck every 30 minutes or more frequently until done—about 2 hours for most crock pots and pasta. But crock pots and pasta vary and your time may vary. DO NOT COOK BY TIME.
Drain any free fluid when the pasta is al dente, and mix in 1 cup of shredded cheese—sharp cheddar is recommended.
Continue on low until cooked the pasta is tender—about 5-15 minutes.
Do you have a question?Leave a comment to ask or check the recipe post above for most common questions and variations.
Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print. Otherwise step-by-step photos are in the post.
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Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- This is not a dump-it-in-and-go shopping recipe.
- I suggest a standard dry pasta. If you use whole wheat, gluten-free, or other standard pasta, you must be aware of the endpoint being the pasta cooked to al dente and not longer.
- You may have some free liquid when the pasta reaches the al dente stage. You need to remove the extra fluid. Do not try to cook the extra fluid off. Get most of it spooned out, you don't need to get every drop,.
- Use the cheese of your choice. I always like some sharp cheddar here. Add the cheese at the end of cooking so you don't adversely affect the texture of the cheese.
- This will fit in a 2 qt. crock pot as written. A double batch will fit in a 3.5 qt or bigger.
- You can use bigger crock pots, but the pasta needs to be covered by the fluid, and remember that small recipes in large crock pots will cook faster.
- The bigger batch you have, the more extra liquid you will have. That is fine since we are cooking to the pasta al dente point. Just drain the extra fluid.
- I have closed the comment so this recipe. There were so many comments, and I felt everything was covered. I have modified the recipe some with that input over the years.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
Calories : 274 kcal (14%)Carbohydrates : 29 g (10%)Protein : 14 g (28%)Fat : 11 g (17%)Saturated Fat : 7 g (35%)Polyunsaturated Fat : 1 gMonounsaturated Fat : 3 gCholesterol : 34 mg (11%)Sodium : 566 mg (24%)Potassium : 294 mg (8%)Fiber : 1 g (4%)Sugar : 8 g (9%)Vitamin A : 550 IU (11%)Vitamin C : 0.1 mgCalcium : 350 mg (35%)Iron : 1.3 mg (7%)
Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
Course : Comfort Food, Crock Pot
Cuisine : American
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Originally published January 13, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
DrDan
I had closed comments on this recipe last year but Ana has emailed me her experience and since comments are to expand the discussion, I wanted to post that and will leave the comments closed after this.
Dan
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On Oct 20, 2017, at 1:07 AM, Ana CHello,
I'm writing you via email as you closed the comments under the recipe.
I wanted to share how it turned out for me.
I doubled the recipe. Used smallest size shells, which were thinner than regular small elbows but about the same size.
I cooked it on high and added cheese once they were fully cooked. There was just enough liquid to make Mac and cheese nice creamy.
And this is where I made the mistake. Instead of transferring it to another bowl (which I'm doing next time), I left it in crock pot which kept it cooking, even though I turned it off. It dried my Mac and cheese although the taste was still good. But visually it kind of looked bit sticky and grainy.
Reason I'm writing is I noticed people who had liquid problems doubled the recipe. I think if the recipe is doubled, it should be cooked on high. Took me about the same amount of cook time. And cheese should be added at the end. No need to keep cooking it after the cheese is added. Just stir and transfer to a cold bowl.
As for shredded cheese, manufactures add some powder to keep each little piece separate. Otherwise eventually they'd all stick back together and we'd have this unsightly weirdly shaped ball of cheese.
Also my son asked me not to add cheese. He said the taste was phenomenal without it. I had him try the pasta to see if it was cooked and he was hooked lol.
Thank you for an awesome recipe that doesn't use condensed milk or can of processed chemicals aka the condensed soup.
Ana
Reply
John
Great recipe fantastic flavor. I doubled it and followed your advice and really kept an eye on the dish at the end. I drained out about 1/3 cup of milk at the end and that left just a little bit to mingle with the cheese. I used A bag of Sargento half sharp and half mild cheddar, really good. When I make this next I will go ahead and probably use 3 and 3/4 cups of milk so I don't have to scoop out pasta and boiling hot milk and pour it through a sieve to get rid of the excess. A winner for me, I'm glad I found your site. Tomorrow I'm going to try your BBQ sauce on some crock pot BBQ chicken I like to make.Reply
DrDan
Hi John,
Thanks so much for the note and rating. Once you get to know your crock pot and pasta, it is easier.
You will love the BBQ sauce.
DrDan
Sean
I just made this recipe, using triple portions and Barilla's Gluten-free elbows (plus 1 cup each of havarti, sharp cheddar, and jalapeño-sharp cheddar).I followed the recipe up through the first hour, and then I let the pasta cook 20 minutes longer before mixing in the cheese (and tbh - I would probably cut it at 15 the next time, using this pasta).
P.S. That extra milk at the end is for the cheese -- it should go away once you've mixed everything up together (at which point it's more a cheese sauce than simply milk - and totally welcome to the party!)
Reply
Sean
To be clear, 20 minutes longer means 20 minutes AFTER the first hour - not 20 extra minutes on top of the total time listed in the original recipe.
karlagso
best Mac n cheese ever!
Reply
Susan
Great recipe. I made this today and it took exactly 90 minutes. Thanks for the heads up on the need to monitor pasta. I've tried other crockpot mac and cheese and all were terrible. I used 2% cheese and it worked just fine.
Reply
DrDan
Thanks for the note. Glad it worked well for you. When you precook the pasta then cook it again, the results are somewhat predictable.
DrDan
Jill Stearns
Success! Made an 8 quart and a 6 quart batch for the annual smoked BBQ. Decided not to do a small test batch, as the dynamics of the huge crockpots would probably change things. It was a huge hit. I want to thank you for your recipie and the interactive feedback, and while some changes were made, the confidence to go for it came from you. Changes I made were minimal, but I would like to add one possible insight. On a different cooking site (sorry) one suggestion stuck with me: grate your own cheese. Whatever goes on the pre-grated to keep it from clumping in the package also keeps it from melting together perfectly. I use it all the time, but checked and there are added ingredients. To be honest, I'm not sure if it made any difference, but shredded 6 lbs of Tillmook cheese by hand. The Mac and cheese got as many positive raves as the briskest and ribs.
Reply
DrDan
Great news that it worked so well. Your comment about the cheese has some truth in it. Pre-shredded is more "waxy" to keep it from clumping in the package. Overall in a dish like this I don't think there is much difference but I'm sure a little. So for a special occasion I would use a nice block cheese shredded but for daily use, I'm lazy and use the shredded.
Dan
Jill
Comparing comments, the uncooked pasta method seems to rely on more variables than the partly cooked in your experience with crock pot Mac and cheese. Your recipes and quality control, as well as some of the reader feedback, is truly helpful. We have a large event each year between Christmas and New Year, and with 5 smokers going, ovens monopolized, and stovetop space at a premium, I needed something that could transition to the crockpot besides beans! Keep your fingers crossed for me, folks. Thanks!
Reply
DrDan
Hi Jill,
That's lots of comments to read but important. I try to read all or most comments of I'm using a recipe.Might I suggest a small test cooking first. As you have noted, several variables are involved here.
You mentioned the precooked pasta mac and cheese recipes. I have one on this site and I still like it but I like the texture and taste of this one better when correctly done. I feel if you take precooked pasta and then cook it again for several more hours you will have bound to have some texture problems. Having said that, that is the texture lots of people are use to. Now I sound like a snob...
Good luck and watch closely for the al denta end point.
DrDan
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