Check and stir every 15 minutes after that if needed. DON’T increase the temp to High! Stir after one hour then check after 15 more minutes. Thinner noodles will cook much faster and turn mushy.Īnother reason could be an older slow cooker that may cook hotter (even on low) than a newer crock pot. These noodles are thicker and sometimes have ridges. We use Barilla brand and have also used Creamette. The biggest culprit is thin macaroni noodles. If it cooks too fast or too long it will get mushy. We’ve also discovered that some less expensive cheeses are gritty even when you shred them yourself, but after the mac and cheese sits for a while the grittiness goes away. Purchase your cheese from the deli and shred it yourself. Prepackaged shredded cheese contains an anti-caking agent that can cause your final product to taste gritty. A serving size is 2 ounces of dry pasta which expands to approximately 1.5 cups with sauce when cooked. When you arrive stir it and loosen with milk if needed. Turn off the slow cooker but leave the lid on. We recommend making it and having it ready right before you leave. However, if this is a deal breaker, you can reheat it – simply add some milk to loosen the thickened sauce while reheating. We don’t recommend reheating macaroni and cheese as it never tastes quite the same and there’s a possibility that the macaroni will become mushy. Sharp cheddars will give this dish the best flavor, try Vermont white sharp cheddar! Can I make this ahead and reheat it? Monterey Jack works well, as does White American and White Cheddar. I don’t eat yellow cheese, what is a good white substitute? Yes, rinse the uncooked pasta simply to remove any dust and foreign particles from the manufacturing plant. The recipe says to use uncooked noodles, however, it also says to rinse the pasta? Yes, this recipe can be doubled provided you have a large enough slow cooker. Can I double this recipe and does it change the cooking time? PLEASE READ the notes in the printed recipe. There have been quite a few questions on this recipe, please check here before asking in the comments as it may already have been answered. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas! Frequently Asked Questions Please read through the FAQ below as well for best results. If you’ve never made this before, please do a dry run before the holiday! Everyone’s slow cooker acts differently, so it’s important to try this out first. Barring American cheese, using a melty cheese like Monterey Jack or White American will also produce creamy results. The next best thing is to use evaporated milk and American cheese, the kind you get from the deli counter. In order to get that ultra creamy texture in a crock pot, you either have to use condensed cheese soup or Velveeta cheese, neither of which appealed to me.

Creamy crockpot mac and cheese