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
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 the Recipe Card below 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
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.
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.
Your pasta is mushy from cooking too fast, or you cooked too long. You need to look for al dente and stop cooking.
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.
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.
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📖 Recipe
Crock Pot Mac and Cheese with Uncooked Pasta
Ingredients
- 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.
Your Own Private Notes
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
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Originally published January 13, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Joann Herr
Thank you so much for this recipe! We are truck drivers. The crock pot is our only cooking device, so we can't pre-cook the noodles. It's difficult to get into most grocery stores with a big rig, and running low on supplies (tiny fridge and not much storage) I was having a hard time coming up with dinner. Due to the low supplies, I had to do a lot of modification and this still worked great. I wanted to share in case it would help your future experiments.
I made a large batch, using a full box of pasta, so increased everything. I was out of milk. Instead I mixed about 4 c water with 8 oz sour cream and 2 Tbs butter. This worked, but I will warn you, it really multiplies the "sharp" of your cheese. Thankfully, we love a good sharp cheese, but even so, I made a few last minute adjustments. I used minced garlic in a jar instead of powdered, and also substituted gulden's mustard for the powdered. I couldn't think of anything to use for paprika, so had to omit it. I was looking for more of a meal, so also added 2 cans of tuna and a can of peas. After tasting, I added a second can of peas to tone down the sharp a little. I had a decent block of meunster that I cubed and added at the beginning (about 6-7 oz) but took your advice and added the last 4 oz of shredded sharp cheddar in the last half hour. The only problem we had was we cook as we drive, then I time it to be ready when we stop. We were delayed about an hour. I turned it down to warm for the last hour, but it got a bit mushy. Still tasty, just lost the texture it had right as it finished. Next time I'll take it out of the crock and reheat in the microwave.
I wanted to pass along an idea I've been using. I normally start with some sort of roast with carrots, onion, potato, maybe a few extras like mushrooms. We have that for dinner. Then I pick the bones and / or break up the meat and save the rest for something like soup the next day. Uncooked pasta has worked quite well, as long as I remember a few simple things. Heat the rest up first, get it to simmer a little if you can. When you add the pasta, stir well to make sure it's well coated with liquid and you don't get pasta lumps. Then take a utensil and push the pasta down so it's covered by at least 1/4 inch liquid. Add more liquid here if you absolutely have to, but keep in mind, it lowers the temp drastically. Try to add the pasta quickly and get the lid back on for the same reason. The pasta I have used would be al dente in about 9 -12 minutes stove top, in the crock, it takes roughly an hour, sometimes I put it back on for another 15 minutes. This has worked wonderfully for everything from a very liquid soup like chicken corn soup to something much thicker like chicken cacciatore. I have only done this with "standard" pastas, so I do not know how it would work with wheat or gluten-free.
Thanks again for your hard work. You obviously came up with a very versatile recipe if I could abuse it that badly on the first try :-)
DrDan
Thanks for probably the most interesting comment I've seen in a while. You're doing great with all the limitations you face. I have never though of the truckers cooking in crock pots in the truck.
I'm doing more uncooked pasta dishes. I just did a ziti this really good but may be too complicated for "truck cooking" but I have a really good crock pot pizza casserole that I will publish after Christmas. But you may get too much pizza on the road anyways.
Have a great holiday and be safe
DrDan
Joann Herr
Keep 'em coming :-) Generally, a complicated recipe just means that it's the meal I make right after we go shopping so I don't have to store a lot of stuff. Or it means I get to be creative. Thankfully, my crockpot has been quite forgiving, the only recipe I'm still not happy with is a good apple pulled pork, but I've only tried twice, I'll figure it out. And thanks to the crock pot, we only get pizza when I'm feeling lazy. We use about 1/4 of the canned food we used to as well.
DrDan
Sometimes I think the crock pot is making me a lazy cook. If you get that apple pulled pork working, send my a copy please....
Joann Herr
You got it ;-)
Jeanie
I am looking for recipe for my grandkids and this one was easy and fun. definitely had to drain liquids before adding cheese and I was at home in the country and blizzarding so couldn't make it to the store so used velvetta cut up instead of the shredded cheese that I didn't have. worked just time. thank you
SQUIRRELLY
I have not tried this as we don't eat much macaroni & cheese, but I have a suggestion about the cheese sauce. Somewhere I read that using a processed cheese, such as Velveeta prevents the sauce breaking (curdling). Using this info, I have tried making cheese sauce with processed milk - evaporated milk - and regular, cheaper cheese. Works great
Julia
LOVE this bold recipe! I've never thought to use a slow cooker to make mac and cheese - especially with uncooked macaroni! From looking at your pictures, it looks like a real crowd pleaser.
Lisa
Just made this and it is soooo good. :) Can I double the batch? Thank you!
DrDan
If you read all the comments (there are getting to be a lot) several people early on had trouble with double batches. That was BEFORE I put the recommendation in about removing the extra liquid if any when the pasta was al denta. I think the double batch left more fluid and people either left it or tried to "cook it out" by over cooking to mush. I would just double everything and be sure to drain the liquid if any at the proper point. Please report back if you do this...
Dan
Hazel
For folks who want "bigger" or "double" the portions, here is my feedback.
I also wanted to double your original recipe listed above, however, based on the comments about having too much liquid, I only doubled the macaroni, and not the milk. Turned out great!
I just had to switch from low to warm so as not to burn through the liquid too fast.
DrDan
Thanks for the tips.
DrDan
Vli
I doubled this and used wheat penne. Cooked the noodles in the milk and spices for 1 3/4 hours on high - watch carefully for noodles to get to texture you prefer. Added 6 cups of cheese and 8 ounces of sour cream. Left it on warm for four hours before serving. Rich, cheesy and delicious!
DrDan
Thanks for sharing a variation. Have a great holiday.
DrDan
Blind
Caution I let this stay on warm too long and it became mushy. This may be avoided by undercooking pasta initially or using white pasta
Ci
Love this recipe.. thank you so much for sharing!!!
btmaxwell
I tried this recipe for several reasons. Like a lot of other people, I feel like I don't have a lot of time to cook (and since I dont particulary enjoy it, I don't make the time for it). Well what I LOVED about this recipe was that it called for very simple ingredients that I always have on hand. And, I loved that I didn't have to cook the noodles first.
I used Barilla White Fiber shells. I definitely had a lot of liquid left over, but I also added some diced red onion so perhaps that was why (that was my only modification). But I just drained some and it turned out great. I will most definitely make this again, I will just try a different pasta. It had great flavor, great texture, and was SO easy!! Thanks for sharing.
Dan Mikesell
Great. It is a recipe tor the "lazy" in all of us...
Yehudit
Since the idea(besides adding some flavor) is to absorb liquid, I threw in a handfull of dried onion. Accidentally used hot, smoky paprika but it was quite nice. And its nice to have a "dump everything in the crockpot together and ignore it "meal. Particularly since I can bribe my boys to do anything if it involves mac and cheese at the end.
Unknown
I've made this several times. Somehow I've never noticed the note to drain any leftover liquid, so I've never done that and not planning on doing it on tonights since it's always been good.
Also, I've only used whole wheat noodles (as I would in any recipe) and never had any trouble. We usually buy Whole Foods brand but today I have Nature's Promise brand.
Dan Mikesell
Thanks for the note and the brand you use. Others will take note and try it...
Natalie
Made this tonight - used mini shells which were done at the 1 hour check time! (bonus!!) I had upped the garlic powder a bit, just because that is how I roll! Fantastic recipe - thanks so much for sharing!
Dan Mikesell
Thanks for the note
Shirley Gray
Made is Mac and cheese tonight, and it was excellent. I tripled the recipe and made sure to check it often and it was the best, thanks for a great recipe that I will use over and over again.
Dan Mikesell
Thanks for the report. I'm glad it worked tripled as long as the end points are watched.
Dan Mikesell
Thanks for the report. Others reports with whole wheat were not good. It is the end point of the pasta cooking and the liquid that is important for success for my point of view. I would try the whole wheat thing but my wife now refuses to eat whole wheat pasta. I have done it to her to many times I think.
Dan Mikesell
I think enough people do substitute that a specific warning in the recipe is a good idea... I'm going to suggest only standard pasta, no whole wheat and not gluten free. At least the other recipe did ok for you.
Michelle
I'm back. Despite using some whole wheat pasta, I still ended up with an edible dinner. I drained a lot of leftover liquid at about 90 minutes (doubled the recipe, which I didn't mention above, and had about 2 cups liquid that didn't absorb). I added the cheese in and then about a half cup of the liquid (which I had reserved) back in. I know this would have worked even better for me without the whole wheat pasta. The flavor was great. Here's hoping for perfection next time.
Michelle
So, I only read a couple reviews before starting this recipe and I didn't get down to the whole wheat pasta comments until after it was already in the crock pot. I put in about half whole wheat half "regular" pasta. I checked the noodles about an hour in and there is a big texture difference between the two. Perhaps a note in the recipe about avoiding whole wheat pasta with this cooking method is warranted. I hope the dish is still edible in another hour.
Also, I have made the other crock pot mac and cheese recipe from this site using whole wheat pasta and it worked fine.
Meghan Beasley
I made this last week and it was definitely a winner. I'm glad that I read through the comments, because I went ahead and checked it several times to see if it was done. I don't normally do this because I live at altitude and I'm accustomed to it taking longer to cook pasta on the stove. I'm so glad I did! It ended up being done about thirty minutes before I thought it would be. My boyfriend, the self proclaimed "mac & cheese snob", loved it so it's definitely going in my rotation of recipes.
Dan Mikesell
Well if "the snob" liked it, I'll take that as good. I'm glad people are reading the instructions and comments. It is so important to get the end point of the macaroni correct or it will be a total failure.
Dan Mikesell
Well at least you enjoyed it... You are correct the timing on this is not a weeknight for a working person recipe. Some attention is needed. I don't believe you can get a good crock pot mac and cheese without the attention. I really tried...
Dan Mikesell
It does make you wonder a bit about recipes that call for precooked pasta and then cooks it another 2-4 hours... Glad it eventually worked for you. It is that old "your crock pot may vary" but once you work out your method you will be golden.
Leilani Lee
Recipe worked well, but the macaroni cooked much quicker than I thought it would and so it was somewhat mushy by the time it was finished. I also added about 1/2 cup finely chopped onions. I drained off the extra liquid, added a bit of flour, warmed it briefly in a small skillet until it thickened, and then and put it back with the pasta. Will try again and not cook it quite so long. Wonderful on a hot day like today not having to fire up the oven!
Laura D
Hi, have you ever made this the day before and then reheated?
Dan Mikesell
I have never tried it but it should reheat like any other mac and cheese.
Jessica Mcclanahan
I just finished making this and it's amazing! Thanks for such a delicious recipe!
Dan Mikesell
Thanks for the comment...
Allison C
Made this tonight. It was a huge hit! I doubled the recipe so we would have plenty of leftovers for lunch. It was a lot like Stouffer's Mac n Cheese (which is one of my guilty pleasures)!
Sheldaine
Great recipes! Got a 2 qt 'pot' today and can't wait to try some of those you've posted. I like the clear directions and pictures. THANKS!
BTW:
Second. American made shredded cheese that we all buy does not like long or high heat. It is more waxy then block cheese and it just wont 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 cooked for long periods. Put it in near the end and let it melt and deliver it's creamy goodness.
*it's* should be *its* (it's = it is OR possession)
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 correct 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.
*correct* should be *corrected*
Dan Mikesell
I'm so busted... You should not read any more recipes because there will be at least a could of ops in each. I'm a very poor proof reader. But really, thanks for the corrections.
On the the recipe, be sure to watch the fluid and post how it turns out.
Katie
I just made this tonight. It was DELICIOUS, but I wasted a ton of milk... I ended up having to drain more than half of it out before putting the cheese in. Will not use as much next time.
DrDan
There is a little trial and error for your pasta and the crock pot involved here. As you will see with the comments, some people have no extra liquid and some do. Get to know your situation and cut back the milk if it seems appropriate.
Thanks for the note
DrDan
Shelia
Wow...really? You have nothing better to do?
Dee
To: Sheldaine. I realize that this comment is a bit late, but it's never too late for you to learn something. In case you didn't know... it's considered very poor etiquette to correct someone's grammar. Only do it if your motives are vicious and you actually WANT to present yourself as a douche or bitch. Never do it if you're outside a classroom setting or if a grown person didn't ask you. Keep how smart you think you are to yourself.....unless, of course, you absolutely must display your intellect or risk a meltdown of some sorts. No one should have scrape you up off the floor.
Dan Mikesell
Yep I've tried it and it was not good. Now having said that, many of my early experiments were on cooked on high and and had the cheese added at the beginning. But I remember trying it on low just before publishing that recipe and it didn't work well. I think just not enough free liquid to cook and absorb into the pasta.
If I wanted to try uncooked macaroni but with that recipe, I would skip the sour cream, increase the milk to 1 1/2 cups then add everything but the shredded cheese including your uncooked macaroni. Cook on LOW until al dente and then remove any free liquid and add some cheese to finish. In other word, this recipe but sub the can of soup for 1/2 cup of milk.
If you try it, let me know.
Keodara April Vixaysack
Hello. I liked (and was very successful)with the other recipe for crock pot mac and cheese because of the use of the condensed cream of cheddar soup. I was unsuccessful with another crockpot mac and cheese recipe that did not call for cheddar cheese soup (and i think there was an egg involved). However I really like to convenience of not having to cook the pasta before hand. Has anyone tried the other recipe (https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/creamy-crock-pot-mac-and-cheese/) with the uncooked pasta? Thankyou.
Dan Mikesell
I just had to vent a little about the processed stuff... I hope it works for you.
Bonnie
It's in the crock pot right now :) Thanks so much for all your testing...my concerns about other recipes were exactly the same as yours--I can't wait to try it!
CatheMarie
Okay fellow cooks, when DrDan says do not cook by time alone, he knows what he's talking about. My smallest crock pot is the average size with removable crock. My noodles were probably close to done at the one hour mark. I was busy not paying attention, read the instructions again went to check . . . Yep, sort of gluey. Okay, real gluey. Flavor is great. This is the type of Mac & Cheese I always wanted, but never knew how to make. Take care & you will have delicious gooey Mac & Cheese!
Dan Mikesell
Thanks for the note. I try to read all the comments before I do a recipe so hopefully they will pay attention to your experience.
Dan Mikesell
Thanks for the note. I'm glad it works in 1.5 qt.