Trisha Yearwood’s Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese is gooey, cheesy heaven. Easy to make in a crock pot.
I’ve tried many different Macaroni and Cheese recipes and this one by Trisha Yearwood is definitely the cheesiest. It’s almost all butter and cheese. You’ll have to plan to run a marathon shortly after you eat it. A couple of eggs give it a little bit of a custard-like texture.
What I love about this mac and cheese besides the fact that it is gooey, cheesy heaven, is that it is cooked in a crockpot. You’re supposed to use cooked pasta, but I was worried it would get too mushy and I only cooked it for half of the recommended time on the box. When I was reading reviews online, I found that a number of people used uncooked pasta and found that it turned out well. So I may try that next time because it definitely would shorten and simplify the cooking time.
I’ve never been a country music fan, but I am completely enamored by Trisha Yearwood’s show on The Food Network. Too many celebrity chefs on the Food Network just seem so over the top (and annoying). I want a cooking show to be about the food, not the host. Plus I have a short attention span. I’d much rather take 30 seconds to read a recipe in a cookbook than watch someone take 10 minutes to tell me how to make it. And try to insert cutsey chit-chat wherever possible.
But Trisha Yearwood is a natural in front of the camera. She’s just her down to earth self. Her relaxed nature makes hosting a cooking show look easy which is not something many people can accomplish, even those who do it for a living. She reminds me a lot of Ina Garten.
Who do you most like to watch on the Food Network?
You can find this recipe for Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese in Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood: Stories and Recipes to Share with Family and Friends
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Trisha Yearwood's Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cooked elbow macaroni, I only cooked it for half the time on the box
- 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 1-1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup Challenge butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Dash of pepper
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 (10-ounce) bricks sharp Cheddar cheese, about 5 cups, grated
- Dash of paprika
Instructions
- Spray a 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray and add macaroni, evaporated milk, whole milk, butter, salt, pepper, and eggs.
- Stir in all but 1/2 cup of the cheese.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese and paprika on top.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3 hours 15 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Originally published Feb 3, 2014.
Try these other Mac and Cheese Recipes
Creamy Mac and Cheese– it doesn’t get any creamier than this
Baked Mac and Cheese– this is a custard-style mac and cheese that is baked in the oven and holds it form when sliced into squares.
Mac and Pimiento Cheese– a southern-style mac and cheese (as if mac and cheese wasn’t already southern enough)
Stove-top Mac and Cheese with Cheese Crisps
Slow Cooker Bacon Mac and Cheese
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I never would have thought to put eggs in a mac and cheese, but it makes perfect sense. Paprika is awesome!
Thank you for sharing this, I first found it in 2016. This is the most closely I have found resembling my grandmother’s recipe. I omit paprika, but add white truffle paste and white truffle oil lessening the butter just a bit, I choose to use Colby cheese sometimes I add a cup of shaved parmesan to mixture. Still top with shredded cheese. Grand’s was oven baked, it’s really nice to do this in slow cooker!
My go-to mac and cheese recipe! I use uncooked macaroni and it comes out perfectly aldente!
Love this! I have made it both in the crock pot and oven, I prefer the oven method.
Does anyone have tips for reheating this? I think the microwave tends to dry it out a bit…
Has anyone ever tried to cook it on high for half the time?
I have a question. I’ve made this before and everyone has always loved it, but I found the cooked pasta a bit mushy so I want to try the dry pasta option. Having said that, the recipe calls for 8oz cooked pasta. If I’m using dry, how much should I use? Thank you and thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Should you use 4 eggs if you’re gonna double the recipe? 2 cans of evaporated milk??
I have been making this recipe for years. I always double the batch, because I’m usually taking this to the office for a luncheon or an office party. I undercook the noodles and I use a ton of cheese. More than the recipe calls for, and an assortment. Gouda, sharp/NY extra sharp cheddar, regular cheddar-mild/Kerrygold Skellig/some other random cheddar I see that sounds good, gross processed cheese (this is what makes it) Velveeta/Land O Lakes American, whatever, just cube up a big old hunk and toss it in. Sometimes I use half whole milk and half heavy cream if I really just feel like throwing people’s diets right in the trash lol but seriously, these are the things I have found that have helped give it more flavor and that intense ooey, gooey, cheesy mac and cheese that everyone loves. I never have any leftover when I take it somewhere. It’s always a huge hit. I once had someone tell me she hates mac and cheese and she had just eaten her 3rd bowl of mine. That’s a win!
When you double the recipe does the cooking time change?
I tried this for the first time today. It is absolutely amazing! I used the wickedly sharp cheese and it turned out great! I am taking it for dinner tonight with my day but I had the girls in my office try it too. They all agree is is delicious!!!! We will all be making this again.
Why evaporated milk? I have always thought of that as sort of yucky?/!
That is exactly the way I want it. Quiche like is Southern manna:) We don’t like it creamy, we like it casserole style. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it, but your description sold me:)
I wish I had seen the comments about not using extra sharp cheddar cheese but even using regular or just sharp cheddar cheese not sure I’d make this again. The texture was not creamy AT ALL!! It turned into a mixture that resembled cheese grits with macaroni. And the taste of it reminded me of an egg casserole rather than mac n cheese. I put everything in the crockpot and stirred it up, put it on low, and went to church. 2 1/2 hours later I came home to what looked like a casserole in my crockpot. It was as though the eggs had cooked into a quiche like texture and when I stirred it, that’s when I got this grit like looking texture. It wasn’t gritty when I tasted it, just looked that way. But not creamy at all. And even though I sprayed the sides with the cooking spray, the sides had burned. This was my first time to make it and for Easter dinner no less. Very disappointing!!! If I had made this once and it turned out like everyone else says, and this happened the second time I made it, then I would suspect something went wrong, but for a first time attempt, it was very disappointing. Someone further down this thread said that extra sharp cheddar cheese doesn’t do well in a crock pot. If that truly is the issue, I wish the recipe would have had a warning about that and we would have known to steer clear of using that kind of cheese.
The amount of cheese seemed a bit overboard so I used 16 oz sharp cheddar and about 12 oz pasta, still turned out delicious!
So this is the 2nd time I’ve made this but this time something went wrong. For some reason the cheese did not melt the way I had hoped and it came out very strange. The cheese ended up melting into little tiny pieces that make the texture awful. It did not turn into the cheesy sauce-like texture that I remembered from the first time I made it. I definitely did not leave out any ingredients but not sure if I messed something up when putting everything in the crockpot. Perhaps because I put everything else in first and then the cheese last? I went and watched Trisha on youtube and she puts the cheese in right after the macaroni. I did definitely stir everything together though before adding the topping cheese and closing the lid. I am going to try it again soon because I think something just went wrong. Lastly, I shredded my own cheese ahead of time while the pasta was cooking so it definitely warmed up a bit. Should I have put the cheese in the fridge to keep it cold? Any help is appreciated!
P.S. This is definitely not a recipe problem, I think just a self-inflicted wound.
Did you use a different kind or barnd of cheese?
Sometimes extra-sharp cheese does not do weel in a crock pot. Did you maybe use that instead of sharp?
Mine turned out the same way unfortunately . So disappointing. I followed the recipe except used 8oz of extra sharp cheese (and 12oz reg sharp). Could this small substitution make the recipe gritty?
Very good flavor Exactly three hours on low with uncooked elbows Then left pot on warm for about an hour. All regular milk worked fine, and also did not use the butter Five minutes prep!
When I cook my 8oz of pasta and put it in the crockpot it barely comes 1/4 of the way up my crockpot. Is it going to expand when cook it with the other ingredients? Right now it doesn’t look like I’ll get 8 servings out of this!
I make this every time for Thanksgiving and Christmas! I use everything it says on here to use except for challenge butter as my stores doesn’t carry. Other than that I use what the recipe calls for! I cook the noodles very little because the hotness will finish the job in the crockpot! Delicious and my Mac always get cleaned out first…everytime! Thanks for the recipe! Oops I also add dash of sugar as I don’t prefer sharp but my family does!
I made this at my daughter’s in Vegas a couple of months ago and I doubled it. I can’t remember if I doubled the salt and pepper or not. Do you know what I should do. It was wonderful and my daughter and grandchildren loved it! Best mac and cheese I have ever eaten. Getting ready to make it for a pot luck and want to double it. Thanks!
When you doubled it did it still fit in one crockpot? Or did you use two?
I know this wasn’t my comment originally, but in case anyone else follows up wanting to know the answer… I doubled this recipe for a party a couple weeks ago, and while the 4 qt crock-pot was definitely full, it was not too full. The hardest part was mixing everything together.
This seems like a lot of trouble for a mac and cheese recipe. And a long wait! But I am going to try it. Would lacto free milk work? Has anyone tried it with lacto free products? I have been trying to use those products in regular recipes and they don’t always work as well.
Do not put water in with this Mac and Cheese….it will be watery, tasteless and nasty. Look online for recipes using the noodles uncooked – they are very similar, taste better and are easier.
You do not need to add water. Please do not add water. Yes, it will ruin the recipe. The pasta will cook in the milk and cheese. No need for water.
I make lasagna and baked ziti in the crockpot using just the ingredients called for and raw pasta and it is great. Allow room for pasta to expand as it cooks. It turns out great every time.
I have made this Mac and cheese twice and my boys love it. It was so easy to me.
I’m trying it with lactose free milk, will let you know how it turns out.
I use Fairlife 2% latose free and it is awesome mac & cheese
Do you happen to know how much water to add to the crock pot if I were to use uncooked pasta? Thanks!
do not add water! the pasta will cook in the milk and cheese. no need for water