Yes, uncooked pasta. Great taste, wonderful creamy texture in the easiest slow cooker mac and cheese you will ever see. You can make this tonight. No blue box for you.
Just put that uncooked macaroni in the crock pot. Yep, uncooked. Add some milk and spices. Cook. Then add cheese and in a few minutes you’re done. No can of soup needed. Serve FRESH today.
My previous slow cooker mac and cheese has been well received. It is consistently in the top 10 on a Google search, and it made my top 10 recipes for last year. But still something bothered me, and I keep experimenting to the point I feel like American Test Kitchen here. I have lost count, but I’m in the high teens here.
So what bothered me so much? The precooking of the pasta, the effect of heat on the cheese making it separate some and last (and the real thorn in my paw) was that can of soup. I HATE recipes that call for highly processed this and that. I do them occasionally, but home cooking shouldn’t be that way. You shouldn’t need a can of soup or a package of mix to make something. And crock pot cooking seems to be the epicenter for this, cream of _____ soup is everywhere or the mandatory onion soup mix. Some recipes use 3-4 pre-made things. IT DRIVES ME CRAZY…
My Rating
I never thought I would rate a mac and cheese a five, but this is it.
Notes on Uncooked Pasta Mac and Cheese:
I went through a lot of trial and errors here. A lot of mac and cheese was eaten, and a lot went down the sink as not worth of a reheat. They were OK but just not worthy… But the stove-top mac I did last month convinced me that I did not need to pre-cook the macaroni, I just had to do it right.
First the heat. This must be done on low. This is NOT a recipe you should cook on high and cut the time in half. The cheese will be more likely to separate some, and the macaroni will either be over or under cooked.
Second. American made 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. I’m sure a better cheese like a block of Cabot would do better but are you going for a $10 cheese for this? So the cheese should not cook for long periods. Put it in near the end and let it melt and deliver its creamy goodness.
Third, a little fat is needed. I have only fat free milk usually. So since I was using that, I added a tablespoon of butter. That is enough fat to equal just over 2% milk. So if you use whole or 2% milk, you may not need the butter, but I would keep it for taste. Or even leave it out with 0% for health reasons but the texture will suffer a little.
Feel free to vary the cheese type and spices to your taste. This is a “Crock Pot for Two” recipe. A double recipe would still be fine in my 3.5 qt. cooker or use a large crock pot for larger batches.
Update Feb. 9, 2013: Many are having issues ( and many are not) with liquid being left at the point of the pasta being al denta. My initial cookings had almost no liquid at this point. The variations could be due to the cooker or the pasta. While cookers vary a lot, I have corrected for that by picking the al denta point, not a specific time. The pasta is the remaining issue and I believe is the trouble maker here. I have adjusted the recipe to eliminate this extra liquid at the al dente point. Don’t drain it in a strainer, just remove any free standing liquid, the liquid on the pasta should be enough.
Update August 26, 2013: It has been suggested to have a specific warning about the type of pasta. Since the comments are getting a bit long, it is a good idea. Many failures seem to be related to whole wheat or other non-standard pasta. I don’t believe these non-standard pasta are a good idea in this recipe. If you have made this with a non-standard pasta and did well, please post the brand and any specific modifications you did.
Whole Wheat report: See comment by Katie January 18, 2014, for whole wheat pasta technique.
Things you already have. Opps… I left the salt out of the picture.
Dump 2 cups milk, 1 cup standard (not whole wheat or other non-standard) macaroni, 1/2 t dry mustard, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 t each of pepper, garlic powder, and paprika, and l T butter into a smallish slow cooker. I used a 3.5 qt one. Mix well.
Cook on low. Stir well at 1 hour into the cooking and check the texture. Cook until pasta is al dente, another hour or so for me. Slow cookers vary some your time may vary some. DO NOT COOK BY TIME ONLY HERE.
When the pasta is al dente, drain any free fluid, add 1 cup of shredded cheese. I used sharp cheddar this time.
Mix very well.
Continue on low until cooked to your taste. About 5-15 minutes.
This is the crock pot after the meal. My wife scooped it all out into bowls within 30 seconds of her first bite. I think she liked it.
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Uncooked Macaroni Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 cup Standard Macaroni
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup cheese of your choice - I used sharp cheddar
Instructions
- Dump 2 cups milk, 1 cup standard (not whole wheat or other non-standard) macaroni, 1/2 t dry mustard, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 t each of pepper, garlic powder, and paprika, and l T butter into a smallish slow cooker. I used a 3.5 qt one. Mix well.
- Cook on low. Stir well at 1 hour into the cooking and check the texture. Cook until pasta is al dente, another hour or so for me. Slow cookers vary some your time may vary some. DO NOT COOK BY TIME ONLY HERE.
- When the pasta is al dente, drain any free fluid, add 1 cup of shredded cheese. I used sharp cheddar this time. Mix very well.
- Continue on low until cooked to your taste. About 5-15 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Have a question or something not clear? Ask in the comments.
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Nutrition is for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated.
DrDan
October 20, 2017 at 8:59 amI 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
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On Oct 20, 2017, at 1:07 AM, Ana C
Hello,
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
John
March 15, 2016 at 11:55 pmGreat 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.
DrDan
March 16, 2016 at 10:09 pmHi 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
February 3, 2016 at 11:24 pmI 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!)
Sean
February 3, 2016 at 11:25 pmTo 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
January 23, 2016 at 6:06 pmbest Mac n cheese ever!
Susan
January 15, 2016 at 9:12 amGreat 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.
DrDan
January 16, 2016 at 9:37 pmThanks 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
December 30, 2015 at 4:10 amSuccess! 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.
DrDan
December 30, 2015 at 9:23 amGreat 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