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This crockpot mac and cheese with cream cheese is the easiest mac and cheese you’ll ever make. Perfect for potlucks and holidays, it’s completely made in the slow cooker and has the best gooey, cheesy texture!
This homemade mac and cheese will be a classic recipe that everyone in the family will love. Make it your own by adding in vegetables, like broccoli or spinach, or some shredded leftover roast chicken.
Serve this slow cooker mac and cheese with bang bang brussels sprouts or a butter lettuce salad for an easy meal.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love this Recipe!
Mac and cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods when I’m not feeling well, but so many recipes use aged cheeses or evaporated milk, which can have carrageenan. And the easy boxed mixes often contain food dyes to make them so bright and orange.
You’ll love this crockpot mac and cheese recipe because:
- Easy – No parboiling noodles, which I feel defeats the purpose of a crockpot recipe being easy. The whole recipe takes only 5 minutes to prep.
- Simple – Basic ingredients and nothing canned with carrageenan or food dyes.
- Creamy – A super gooey texture with the combination of cream cheese and American cheese.
With this easy slow cooker mac and cheese, we’re using simple, basic ingredients. Through my journey with a migraine diet, I’ve found good quality American cheese and cream cheese can make the best creamy sauce.
For this recipe, I wanted something you could just dump into the crockpot and have it ready for a meal if you don’t feel like cooking.
Ingredients
Below are just some of the ingredients for this cream cheese mac and cheese, with a full recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Elbow macaroni – This can be substituted with other types of pasta, but I tested it with the classic elbow macaroni. Because this recipe doesn’t parboil the pasta, some of the recipe testing yielded a soft pasta. I found Barilla held up the best in testing. If you’re looking for a perfectly cooked al dente pasta, this isn’t the recipe for you (and probably no slow cooker recipe is!). If you want super easy and extra gooey mac and cheese, you’ll love it.
- Cream cheese – Use a good quality, block-style cream cheese. Philadelphia brand is my go-to. Choose one without carrageenan, which will give you the creamiest sauce.
- American cheese – Good quality American cheese is from brands like Boars Head or Andrew and Everett and its REAL cheese. American cheese melts the best and will give you that classic texture. For a larger block that’s good for grating, you can ask the deli to cut you one instead of slicing it.
- Salted butter – I like to use Kerrygold here. If watching your sodium intake, unsalted is fine.
Substitutions
American cheese – often times many of my international readers struggle with finding good quality American cheese, which is a combination of Colby and very young cheddar cheese. You can substitute this with mozzarella for a less silky sauce.
Low sodium – Use unsalted butter and mozzarella instead of American, depending on what the brands you can find are (I find American to be higher in sodium).
As for gluten free and dairy free, I don’t recommend these edits for this particularly recipe.
Gluten free pasta tends to get a little more mushy, and slow cooking can enhance that. If you don’t mind this texture, you can try to substitute it!
I have not found any good dairy free cheese substitutes, but would recommend this Boursin pasta with dairy free Boursin for a better option.
Instructions
Step 1: Add pasta and spices to the slow cooker
Add macaroni pasta, water, milk, garlic powder, mustard powder, salt, black pepper, and butter. Use a spoon to stir and make sure the pasta is submerged in the liquid as much as possible.
Step 2: Cover and cook
Cover with the lid and cook on high for 25 minutes. Use a spoon to stir, then cook for another 20 minutes – 45 minutes total.
Step 3: Add the cream cheese
Remove the lid, add the cream cheese and shredded cheese, and gently stir to incorporate the cheese. Do not overstir or the pasta could get mushy!
Step 4: Cover and cook
Cover with the lid and cook on high for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and pasta is fully cooked. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Enjoy immediately or keep warm in the slow cooker for up to 3 hours, adding hot water if needed to thin the cheese sauce.
Recipe Tips
- Barilla pasta held up well in recipe testing. It retained a great texture that wasn’t too soft or gummy.
- The longer the cooking time, the softer the pasta can get.
- Boiling the pasta before it’s al dente (about 5 minutes) before adding it to the crockpot seems to help it retain a good texture, but we feel this defeats the purpose of an easy crockpot mac and cheese.
- Cooking time – slow cookers can vary in cooking temperatures. The first time you make this, check it around the 30 minute mark and see how it is.
How to Keep Crockpot Mac and Cheese Creamy
In recipe testing, the mac and cheese stayed creamy for up to 3 hours before serving.
The slow cooker was kept on warm, and a splash of water was mixed in every hour or so to keep the sauce soft and creamy. You could also add milk, if desired.
Pairing Suggestions
I love a good crockpot mac and cheese with cream cheese on it’s own or with simply steamed broccoli, but here are some suggestions to pair it with.
For a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving, this would make a great potluck dish and would free up oven and stove space. Pair it with stuffing balls, cast iron roast chicken, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce without orange.
If you’re looking for a cozy meal at home, pair this with a simple butter lettuce salad or pear arugula salad. This apple fennel salad would also help to cut some of the richness of the sauce with sweetness and acidity.
Storage and Reheating
This slow cooker mac and cheese can easily be stored and reheated.
Make ahead – If you intend to make it ahead, you can keep it in the crockpot. Keep on warm if intending to serve within 3 hours, and just stir occasionally, adding water to thin as needed.
Refrigerator – Keep in the fridge for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container.
Freezer – Freeze for up to 4 months in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag.
Reheating from fresh – Add a splash of milk and stir into the mac and cheese. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring often, and adding milk as needed. You could also do this on the stovetop as well, stirring often.
Reheating from frozen – Defrost overnight in the fridge and use the instructions above to reheat. Or place the frozen mac and cheese in a baking dish and cover with tin foil. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes, then stir. Add more milk if it seems dry. If warmed through, uncover and bake another 5-10 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe was tested with elbow macaroni, but it would probably work with another Barilla pasta like penne, rigatoni, or rotini. This brand held up great in testing. Because pasta can easily be overcooked in the slow cooker, keep an eye on it the first time you make this to prevent it becoming mushy. Test a noodle occasionally to make sure you’re on the right track.
I highly recommend using good quality American cheese here because of how wonderfully it melts into a silky sauce. This is Boar’s Head or Andrew and Everett, which can be found at the deli counter, and cut into a large block. Monterey jack would be my next choice, and mozzarella can also work, it will just be a less silky, smooth sauce.
I didn’t test this with an instant pot, but I find the slow cooker function on instant pots to be wildly difficult and inaccurate for cooking times. Would recommend a traditional slow cooker here, or just make a basic stovetop macaroni, like the one in my Mediterranean Diet cookbook.
Cream cheese provides the perfect creamy texture and also melts incredibly well! This makes the cheese sauce smooth, without getting grainy or clumpy. It’s perfect for the slow cooker method of cooking.
Cream Cheese Recipes
If you’re looking for other simple pasta recipes like this crockpot mac and cheese with cream cheese, don’t miss my Boursin pasta, mascarpone pasta, or mozzarella alfredo.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 review in the recipe card! Don’t forget to tag me @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram, and follow along on Pinterest for more great recipes!
Crockpot Mac and Cheese with Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni*
- 1 ⅓ cup water
- 2 cups whole or 2% milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 8 oz. shredded American cheese, from the deli – white or yellow
Instructions
- To your slow cooker, add macaroni pasta, water, milk, garlic powder, mustard powder, salt, black pepper, and butter. Use a spoon to stir and make sure the pasta is submerged in the liquid as much as possible.
- Cover with the lid and cook on high for 25 minutes. Use a spoon to stir, then cook for another 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid, add the cream cheese and shredded cheese, and gently stir to incorporate the cheese; do not overstir or the pasta could get mushy!
- Cover with the lid and cook on high for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and pasta is fully cooked. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
- Enjoy immediately or keep warm in the slow cooker for up to 3 hours, adding hot water if needed to thin the cheese sauce.
Notes
- Barilla pasta holds up best. Be careful substituting pasta, especially gluten free, as it can change the texture/absorb more water. This may change the amounts of liquid that needs to be used.
- If your pasta is still hard after the cooking times given, continue cooking on low for an additional 20-30 minutes. Add 1/3 cup milk or water if you think it needs more liquid. Don’t worry – it will eventually soften! I find slow cookers vary greatly in how quickly they cook.
- If you don’t have access to good quality American cheese (Boars Head, Andrew and Everett) which is located in the deli section, substitute with monterey jack or mozzarella. Monterey jack is similar in texture, mozzarella will be less silky smooth in the sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I know you don’t recommend using gluten free pasta, but for those who need it, I have made this multiple times with Jovial Brown Rice macaroni (and I imagine Tinkyada would work also). I used a splash more milk, and I don’t think it would hold up to being held in the slow cooker for a long time, but the texture is pretty good.
I definitely would not use Banza, or any other legume-based pasta or rice/corn mix. I suspect only 100% brown rice pasta will work.
Can the mustard and garlic be optional? I have reflux issues and garlic and certain spices are very high triggers for it.
Very good recipe and easy to make. Variations I made: I only used 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder but next time I won’t use any as I didn’t like that garlic taste in my mac&cheese. If you don’t like a lot of garlic, skip the garlic powder. I added nutmeg and some whipping cream. Very creamy, I served 11 people, increased the batch and had less than one serving left over. They loved it.
This recipe was fantastic and easy to make. However my crockpot is slow and would not cook the pasta or thicken the mixture in the hour time frame. So I ended up putting it on the stove to finish. But I will make this dish again.
My slow cooker takes a longish time to warm up so I heated the water and milk before putting it in the crockpot– other than that, followed the recipe exactly. Was delicious! Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
easiest mac and cheese ever, so good, so creamy! was even good warmed up the next day!
Thank you so much, Shari!
This is the best Mac and cheese ever. So creamy and delicious. Thanks for the tips on what pasta to use.