Slow Cooker Three Cheese Macaroni and Cheese – macaroni and cheese made with gruyere, cheddar, and American cheese. It is made completely in the slow cooker and is so creamy and delicious. It is great for holidays or parties!
I had a cold over the weekend (story of my life – my kids get sniffles and I am on my death bed) so all of Saturday, I laid around and watched Food Network. I haven’t watched Food Network in ages but I got sucked into old Ina episodes and next thing I knew I was watching something called My Food Obsession.
Have you seen it? It’s quite weird but I couldn’t stop watching. I saw an episode about a girl who’s boyfriend broke up with her because she ate while she was sleeping.
And then one about a guy who drinks 7 glasses of vinegar a day. Then there was a girl who was afraid of creamy foods. Yogurt, cheesy nachos, mac & cheese, stuff like that.
I mean, can you imagine?
Life without nachos and mac & cheese?
Slow Cooker Three Cheese Macaroni and Cheese
Coincidentally, I had made this Slow Cooker Three Cheese Macaroni and Cheese the day before. And it was awesome and I wondered how anybody could possibly be afraid of something so amazing.
I won’t lie, I was a little worried. I don’t really love gruyere to begin with and the one I used smelled like dirty socks. You guys know I love a stinky cheese but man, that gruyere was rough. Maybe I’m just not sophisticated enough to appreciate dirty socks gruyere.
It worked out really well though – the American cheese gave it that almost-Velveeta texture but not gummy like Velveeta. And the other two cheeses were delicious together.
And, of course, the best part is that it’s cooked in the slow cooker! It’s not something you can leave going all day while you’re at work but it’s great for parties or holidays when you already have 4 pots on the stove.
How To Make Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese
This is seriously so simple to make! You just combine the macaroni noodles, all 3 of the cheeses, regular milk, and evaporated milk in your slow cooker and let it cook until the noodles are done. It should only take about an hour and a half.
At that point, all the cheese will be melted so you can stir it all together to make sure the noodles get coated and then stir in some dry mustard, salt and pepper, and some cayenne if you like your macaroni and cheese to have a little heat.
And that is it! If you aren’t ready to serve it immedately, keep it in your slow cooker on the warm setting and give it a little stir every 15 minutes or so.
Slow Cooker Three Cheese Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 12 oz dry elbow macaroni
- 1 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 10 slices American cheese, chopped
- 1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Pinch of cayenne pepper, optional
Instructions
- Spray the inside of the slow cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray.
- In the bowl of the slow cooker, combine the macaroni, cheeses, evaporated milk and skim milk. Stir until combined and the macaroni is almost completely covered by liquid and cheese. Cover and cook on low for 1½ hours.
- After 1½ hours, the cheese should be melted and the macaroni should be cooked. Fold and stir in the dry mustard, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Make sure to stir well to make sure all the macaroni is coated with cheesy goodness.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 463Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 86mgSodium: 870mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 24g
Carol Smith says
Found this recipe on Pinterest and tried it for dinner tonight. I followed the recipe exactly. The flavor was good, but the texture of the noodles was terrible. It was a chewy, globby, mess. My husband and I ate it, but wanted some for my daughter later, and I ended up straining sauce off, boiling a small batch of new macaroni, and mixing that together. Much, much better. I think pasta just doesn’t cook well in the crock pot. Thanks for the cheese sauce! I will use it again
Alex Warren says
Do you use white cheddar and white American or are they both yellow?
amanda says
I used yellow but I’m sure white would be fine too! :)
Krickut says
I always say Bleu Cheese smells like stinky feet. If I have a problem with Bleu Cheese aromas then I’m liable to have to use a close pin on my nose to make this. But, I’m going to try it anyway. I’ve noticed in the picture you used that it has fresh parsley on it. You didn’t mention anything about that in the recipe. I’m just wondering, does the parsley actually add any flavor, or is it mainly for decoration?
amanda says
Just for the pictures. ;) I actually don’t like parsley so I picked it out after I took the photos! I hope you enjoy the recipe! :)
Nagi@RecipeTinEats says
I really want to make this! BUT I’m in Australia and we don’t have American cheese here….it kills me! There are so many awesome recipes that use it! Do you know of a substitute? Should I just use more “smelly socks” gruyere?
amanda says
The American cheese slices are known for their “meltability”. If you guys have a cheese that you always used for melting on sandwiches or something, I’d definitely go for that. It really helps the texture of the mac & cheese. :)
jennifer says
Can you recommend a brand name for the American cheese? Are they the Kraft cheese slices that don’t have the wrappers on each slice?
amanda says
I used the Kraft slices that are in the individual wrappers. :)
April says
You think being afraid of creamy food is bad, try being around someone like that. I had a coworker who wasn’t so much as “afraid”, but had an extreme hatred for creamy foods. I watched her gag her way through a cup of yogurt in a failed attempt to lose weight for a wedding she was in. I on the other hand, am a normal human being and plan on making this tonight!
Valerie says
My attempt at Slow Cooker Mac N’ Cheese using uncooked macaroni was an EPIC FAIL so I can’t wait to try this! I rescued it enough to feed the kids but it definitely wasn’t Blogworthy. I find Gruyere on Manager’s Special a lot at Kroger, big savings!
Carol Borchardt says
I love this idea! I never imagined mac and cheese could be done in a slow-cooker. This looks so easy and will be so much fun to do for my grandkids; they’re going to love it.
Jenn @ Peas and Crayons says
I CANNOT IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT CHEESE! One of my besties won’t eat a single dairy product. I don’t exactly know how we’re still friends ;) haha! This mac and cheese looks BOMB!
Noelle says
Could you do this in a pot on the stove if you didn’t want to wait an hour and a half for creamy goodness?????
amanda says
I haven’t done it so I can’t really be sure. Sorry! :(
Tina says
An hour and a half isn’t nearly enough. You might want to precook the noodles and/or make it in the oven or stove top. I just put mine in the oven hoping it will cook quickly. I timed dinner supposedly right on time. My guys are hungry!
Linn says
Just curious, is there a reason why you can’t add the spices at the beginning and let it all cook together?
Tara Ogden says
Hi, I’m planning on making this for Thanksgiving. Silly question, the noodles go in the crock pot uncooked or do i need to boil them first? :)
Thanks!
amanda says
Uncooked. :)
maryjane says
I am considering taking this to thanksgiving dinner but I would need to double the recipe. I am wondering how much longer I would need to cook the mac n cheese for?
amanda says
I’m really not sure since I haven’t done it but I wanna say that you probably don’t need to cook it any longer as long as you have enough liquid and a big enough slow cooker.
Deb says
I made this yesterday but I used medium shells instead of elbows, probably not a good idea. I have a large size oblong cooker instead of a round one. I had no way to measure 12 ounces of a 16 ounce box so I made the whole thing and dumped in more milk and cheese and seasonings. I used asiago instead of gruyere and didn’t put in as much American, but more sharp cheddar. The flavor is great! It was very creamy after the 90 minutes, but the macaroni wasn’t quite done so I let it go about another 1/2 hour and it got real thick and cloying, so it’s overcooked. Making it for a holiday party in a couple weeks and I’m using elbows next time.
Dave says
I made this for my office’s Turkey Day luncheon today. It was a hit! Excellent dish!
amanda says
Yay! So glad to hear that! Thanks for coming back to let me know. :)
Deb says
Trying this today with asiago instead of the gruyere. I’ll let you know!
Rebecca says
I used to have a Labrador that would growl when I unwrapped “dirty sock” cheese. I love it! Will have to give this a try.
Carmen says
can we avoid using the processed cheese with just real cheese slices. My son cannot have processed cheese. Any suggestions for subbing the American processed cheese?
amanda says
I’m really not sure if I haven’t tried it. I assume it would work fine but since the texture of the processed cheese is pretty different from real cheese, I don’t want to say that it’ll 100% work. Sorry I can’t be more help! :(
Carmen Wislow says
I tried it and it worked out perfectly and tasted sooooooo yummy! I used Havarti slices and cannot wait to make again!!!! Thanks Carmen
amanda says
Yay, so glad it turned out well! Thanks for coming back to let me know! :)
DG says
Quick question: why the evaporated milk, say, as opposed to simply adding more regular milk?
amanda says
The evaporated milk just makes the mac & cheese creamier. :)
nicole @ I am a Honey Bee says
Slow cooker Mac and Cheese!!! So cool. I want to try this. Perfect to get going on a sunday afternoon while watching football and it will be ready for dinner without all the work!!
And same thing happens to me when Autumn gets sick- she gets a cold and one of us gets knocked out. This time Price got a sinus infection and needed meds. At least she wasn’t that bad but still sucks for us!
Sarah@WholeandHeavenlyOven says
I am aaaall about the fun kinda cheeses in my mac ‘n’ cheese! This looks so gooey and comforting, and I’m LOVING that it’s slow-cooked! I’ll bet it makes your house smell incredible all day. :D Pinned!
Andi @ The Weary Chef says
Drinking glasses of vinegar?! *gag*
I haven’t attempted mac and cheese in the slow cooker yet, but I want to try this version fo sho.