Recently I got a request for Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese. To be honest, despite my love of the crock pot and my almost obsessive love of macaroni and cheese, I rarely make macaroni and cheese in the crock pot. Therefor, I consulted a few of my cookbooks to come up with a good recipe. One recipe I found I had tried before. The other was written by the crock pot people. Having not tried the crock pot recipe, I can't honestly say what it will taste like. However, it looks like a hybrid of the other recipe and what I would throw together in the crock pot and call it macaroni (yep, that is a Yankee Doodle reference :). So, I am going to post the 2 cook book recipes and my recipe. Since everyone's opinion of macaroni and cheese varies, I recommend giving these a test run before you try them on a large crowd.
My Version aka "just toss some stuff in the crock pot and call it mac and cheese"
In case you were wondering, it is absolutely possible to cook raw (uncooked pasta) in a crock pot. Since I hate having to clean an extra pot, I like dumping my pasta, sauce and whatever veggies or meat I have into a crock pot and calling it dinner. The pasta will absorb some of the liquid, so you end up with more of a casserole than a pasta dish with sauce.
This recipe is almost identical to oven baked macaroni and cheese. In this case, the crock pot is the oven. I have taken my recipe for cheese sauce (no one says you cant use less milk/flour/butter and pepper jack cheese instead and call it queso) and used it as I would tomato sauce in a crock pot lasagna or baked ziti. If you don't have a crock pot, just pour it into a baking dish and bake it in a 425 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until brown and bubbly.
You Will Need:
1 box of pasta (Ancient Harvest Quinoa & Corn or Tinkyada are some good Gluten Free options)
4 Tbsp butter (whatever you have. Just make sure you taste the sauce before adding more salt)
3 Tbsp flour (Bob's Red Mill for gluten free)
milk, 2-4 cups (whatever you have. As always, I use skim. The richer the milk, the richer the sauce)
2 cups shredded cheese, plus extra to sprinkle on top (I like a mixture of cheese, but cheddar works)
salt and pepper to taste.
crock pot
cooking spray
Directions:
Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large skillet. Whisk in the flour until you have the consistency of thin peanut butter. Slowly add the milk, a little at a time. Each time you add milk, be sure to whisk out the lumps before adding more milk. If your milk is not thickening, turn up the heat a little bit. Once you have the constancy of thin (but not runny) gravy, turn the stove down to a simmer and add your cheese. Like the milk, add a little at a time making sure the cheese melts before adding more. Whisk to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the uncooked pasta and pour into the crock pot (that you sprayed well with cooking spray). Cover with the remaining cheese and cook on low for 3 hours.
My Great Aunt's version, taken from the Best of Both Worlds Cookbook
I have tested this recipe and it is delicious. However, it does contain eggs so the texture ends up being more casserole like and it may not beed good for those with egg allergies. Still, it is very similar to the usual oven baked macaroni and cheese- but I don't recommend it for gluten free pasta. If you are using gluten free pasta, you may loose some of the pasta's texture since gluten free pasta doesn't stand up well to over cooking. I should also point out, when ever you make a dish with gluten free pasta that needs to be cooked twice (boiled, then baked in the oven), you should subtract 2 minutes from the boil time. It will finish cooking in the oven.
You Will Need:
8 oz macaroni (for gluten free, I highly recommend Tinkyada for this recipe. It holds up the best. )
1 can evaporated milk (evaporated milk, is regular milk with less liquid. NOT sweetened condensed)
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
16 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
4 oz melted butter
Directions:
Cook macaroni as directed on package. Combine all ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on low 2-3 hours.
I would recommend letting the pasta cool a bit before combining the ingredients. Crock pots work the best when all of the ingredients are the same temperature. Also, hot pasta + eggs = scrambled eggs.
Rival Crock Pot's Recipe
I have never tried this recipe, but I assume the crock pot people have. It has a cooking time of 2-3 hours on HIGH, which seems weird to me. If you try it, let me know how it works.
You Will Need:
6 cups cooked macaroni
2 Tbsp butter
4 cups evaporated milk
6 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, toss macaroni with butter (I'm assuming the butter should be melted, but it doesn't specify). Stir in evaporated milk, cheese, salt and pepper. Place in the crock pot (I would just mix it all in the crock pot instead of dirtying that other bowl), cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours.
I hope one of these recipes works out for you this holiday season. When it comes to pasta in the crock pot, it really comes down to a texture issue. Please feel free to comment with any questions or suggestions.
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