I want to start by saying I am VERY excited to share this recipe with you! This was my third attempt at Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese and I seriously nailed it with this one thanks to Paula Deen. My first attempt was probably about a year ago and I ended up with a curdled mess. I decided to give a it a second shot a couple weeks ago at a fans request. Two words: curdle city. Just see for yourself:
Again, it ended up dry and despite using evaporated milk, it STILL curdled!
I wanted something creamy. I wanted my noodles to stay separated. So after a bit more googling, I landed upon Paula Deen's Creamy Crock Pot Mac & Cheese. The reviews were good and I thought, ok I'll give it a go. Here is how it's done:
Ingredients
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- PLEASE NOTE: You will see on other sites that this recipe calls for 3 eggs. I highly recommend that you DO NOT ADD EGGS!
Directions:
- Boil the macaroni in water for six minutes. Drain.
- In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.
- In slow cooker, combine cheese mixture, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper. Add the drained macaroni and stir again.
- Cook on low for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (I cooked mine for about 2 hours and stirred about 3x)
I can't rave enough about this recipe. Just look at how every noodle is swimming in a pool of ooey gooey cheesy goodness!
BOTH of my boys devoured this. Big brother took one bite and said "Mommy, YUM YUM!" and asked for more when he finish his first bowl. Little brother couldn't get enough! I had a couple helpings as well :)
OMG - this looks sooo good, have to try it soon!
ReplyDeleteIt IS soooo good! Don't even bother trying other recipes!
DeleteI stumbled upon your site and am super happy! this mac n cheese was amazing! you are so right, just say NO to the eggs! thank you! I only wish I had made a double batch to have left overs.
ReplyDeleteBecky, I am so glad you tried this recipe! Ours was gone within the day as well :o)
ReplyDeleteHave this in the crock pot right now.... I just stirred it for the first time, and it already looks and tastes AMAZING! I am worried about the noodles becoming soggy mush, because I hada bad experience with goulash once lol. Hoping for the best! I did use penne, too. I will update later how it was :-)
ReplyDeleteJody, I am anxious to hear how it turns out! I think the key is to make sure you don't cook the noodles all the way before putting them in the crock pot. A friend just called to tell me she has this cooking in the crock pot as well. Must be a Mac & Cheese kind of day!
DeleteThis is soo so good. I use fat free greek yogurt instead of the sour cream to spare just a few calories.
ReplyDeleteAs a college student I love to throw this in the crock pot 2 hours before dinner time, gives me extra time to do homework and it's one less thing I have to worry about when I'm making the rest of the meal. My boyfriend goes crazy when I make this, I would absolutely recommend it to anyone, it is the prefect mac n cheese (after this nothing even comes close)!
Sarah, I love the idea of using fat free greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream! And I agree with everything else you've said. This is definitely the best mac and cheese I've ever had!
DeleteGoing to try making this tonight for my family. I'm starting to learn how to cook and bake and do this kind of stuff. And this has to be one of the best looking and easiest recipes I've come across. Can't wait to start! I'll definitely let you know how it turns out. =)
ReplyDeleteWife and I just tried a different crock pot mac'n'cheese recipe. Turned out all curdled just like you described. The recipe we had called for eggs and evaporated milk as well. Looks terrible.
ReplyDeleteWe will be trying *your* recipe in the near future. Hope it turns out well! :)
I made this a couple of weeks ago and have been craving it ever since. So, my weird hubby is not into CREAMY mac & cheese (weird, I KNOW!) but I am going to be making this again tomorrow and I am SOO excited! More for me, I guess. I swear this is close - even better, if you ask me, than Stouffers mac & cheese. Did I mention how excited I am to make this again!!
ReplyDeleteThis recipe looks so good and easy! I want to make it for a work potluck. Have any advice as to when to start the slow cooker process? The night before or the morning of at the office? Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteI had the same problem with curdling and using eggs. But then I found this recipe just in time for Thanksgiving. In fact, I'm eating it right now and it's divine! I used pepper jack and I'm kind of tempted to add some hot links next time. I can't thank you enough!!!
ReplyDeleteI have this in the crock pot right now! I may have done something wrong though... my cheese just clumped up instead of mixing in. I have giant clumps of cheese in there. Did anyone else have this problem?? Or can anyone help me figure out how to prevent that? It still tastes good though :) I guess the soup still gives it the cheesy flavor even without the grated cheddar.
ReplyDeleteWhen I put in the cheese sauce it kind of clumped together (I think because of the coldness of the milk and sour cream), but once it starts heating up it will melt and get all gooey and delicious. Good luck!
DeleteYou are right, after a couple of hours in the crock pot it all melted together and was delicious. Thanks!!
DeleteI'm trying this at our annual Christmas Party / Cookie Exchange tomorrow night. Stay tuned for the reviews to follow... I have high expectations!
ReplyDeleteWhere do you add the cheddar chesse soup? (I havent even heard of this thing before) but do I put it in the saucepan with the grated cheese?
ReplyDeleteHow many servings does this recipe make?
ReplyDeleteHow many ounces of pasta?
ReplyDelete