This crock pot mac and cheese with Velveeta recipe is cheesy and delicious, with such a creamy texture. This comfort food comes together quickly and easily, requiring only 6 ingredients and minimal prep time. It is a great recipe for a holiday meal or for a busy week night. It’ll get devoured by adults and kids alike!
Original post: 2014 | Updated: October 2023 and August 2024
Why This Recipe Works
There are about a million reasons why I adore this crock pot macaroni and cheese recipe made with Velveeta, but I’ll limit my list to just a few:
- You know those meals that can be made for nearly every holiday meal, no matter what time of the year it is? This slow cooker macaroni and cheese is it! I make it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July and so many other occasions in between.
- Dump only 6 ingredients into your slow cooker while saving oven and stove-top space for other recipes.
- It’s such an easy recipe that the whole family will love!
- This slow cooker mac and cheese recipe gets rave reviews without fail, no matter the season or time of year.
- Crockpot Velveeta mac requires very little attention while it cooks.
- It produces the creamiest macaroni and cheese every single time.
- Picky eaters adore this pasta dish!
- This classic recipe is a great family dinner any night of the week as well as the perfect party food for a large crowd.
- Any time your oven is being used (busy holidays) or when you don’t have an oven to use (potlucks) is a great opportunity to make this delicious crockpot recipe.
Recipe Ingredients for Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese
Elbow macaroni – If you opt to use uncooked elbow noodles, please be sure to watch it carefully while it cooks. Nobody likes mushy noodles! When removing the lid to stir the noodles, do this quickly in order to trap as much heat inside as possible.
Milk – Any variety of milk can be used, including whole milk, 2%, 1%, oat milk or almond milk. Replace a portion of the milk with heavy cream for an even creamier end result.
Evaporated milk can be used in place of regular milk when twice the amount is added.
Velveeta – Velveeta is the start of the show in this perfect mac n cheese recipe. Learn more about its shelf life and how long Velveeta lasts after being opened!
Butter – I love the salty flavor that salted butter adds to the already delicious recipe, but unsalted butter is a great option, too.
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese – Shredded sharp cheddar is my favorite variety to add to the mix, but feel free to replace with an equal amount of any of the following:
American cheese, pepper jack, mozzarella, colby jack, cream cheese (this will produce a sweeter homemade macaroni and cheese), provolone, monterey jack or any type of creamy cheese.
Use pre-shredded cheese for ease or shred a block yourself.
Parmesan cheese – Grated parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top adds fantastic flavor and texture! Consider using shredded parmesan instead if you have it on hand.
How To Make Crock Pot Mac and Cheese with Velveeta
Step 1
Add the following ingredients to your 7 quart crock pot to make this Velveeta crockpot mac and cheese:
- Elbow macaroni noodles that have been pre-cooked in a large pot 3 minutes shy of al dente (approximately 5 minutes total)
- Milk
- Velveeta cheese
- Butter
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Parmesan cheese
Step 2
Set the crock pot to low heat and set the cook time to 3 hours. Allow all of those yummy ingredients to cook and melt together!
Give the mixture a stir a couple times throughout with a wooden spoon, and start checking for doneness starting at the 2-hour mark for best results.
Depending on the crockpot, the dish will be done somewhere between 2-3 hours.
My crock pot produces perfect results after 2.5 hours of cooking time and with two good stirs in the middle.
Recipe Notes
- Give the crockpot a good coating of nonstick cooking spray or consider using a slow cooker liner to make cleanup easy peasy.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- This makes a large batch of mac and cheese! It will easily feed 8 hungry people as a main dish or 12 people as a side dish or party food. It is a great dish for pot lucks!
- Consider adding 1/2 cup sour cream to add even more creaminess to the dish.
- Add cooked ham or bacon bits to add flavor and protein when serving as a main dish. This is a great way to use up leftover ham!
- Sprinkle the mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper just before serving!
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder or onion powder would be great additions to the cheese sauce.
- If you add uncooked dry pasta to the slow cooker without pre-cooking, give the mixture a good stir every 30 minutes or so and keep a close eye out for doneness.
- If the mixture is dry at any point during the cooking process, toss in a splash of milk and stir.
- Pre-shredded cheddar cheese makes the recipe extra easy! For added freshness, consider shredding your own.
Substitute For Milk in Mac and Cheese
Whether you are looking for a different flavor in your next creamy macaroni dish or you just don’t have milk on hand, learn replacements for milk in macaroni and cheese!
What To Serve With Mac and Cheese
Mac cheese is the perfect comfort food! But what goes with it?! This roundup provides 16 delicious ideas about what to serve alongside mac and cheese to create a complete, satisfying meal!
What To Do With Mac and Cheese Leftovers
Delivering you a massive list of 41 ideas for leftover cheesy mac! Whether you have an abundance of leftovers or just want new things to do with this classic comfort food, we’ve got your back.
How Long Does Mac and Cheese Last
If you have leftovers and you are wondering whether to toss or eat, read this article for information about how long mac and cheese lasts.
How To Reheat Mac and Cheese
Macaroni and cheese leftovers are inevitable since most recipes make huge batches. Learn how to reheat mac n cheese, while retaining moisture and flavor!
Mac and Cheese Recipes for Thanksgiving – 13 Delicious Ideas!
Mac and cheese is a Thanksgiving staple! Read on for some scrumptious mac and cheese recipes for Thanksgiving that you can make this year! You’ll find a ton of options to choose from in this roundup.
Best Macaroni and Cheese Recipes
- Baked mac and cheese bites are a super fun finger food idea to serve to kids and adults.
- Instant Pot mac and cheese is a dream come true! Done in 20 minutes, this side or main dish cooks to absolute perfection every single time!
- Baked mac and cheese is a great holiday side or weekday main dish. Everyone will devour it!
- Add pumpkin to your next batch of mac n cheese so it’s even more delicious and more creamy. This pumpkin mac and cheese recipe is 100% kid-friendly and done in 30 minutes.
- This chili mac recipe is the perfect marriage of two of the most comforting comfort foods of all time. Delicious way to use up leftover chili!
What People Are Saying About This Recipe
“Made this tonight for new years! This is definitely gonna be my go to mac and cheese recipe from now on! Soooooo good!!” ~Leah
“Hi, I made this Mac and cheese. My family loved it !! I cooked my noodles let them cool. Then I followed the old recipe with 4 cups of milk and cream cheese. I used American cheese instead of Velveeta. Next time I want to try pepper jack cheese. I put every thing in my crockpot and mixed it. I covered it and cooked for 30 minutes on high. Then turned down to low for 1 1/2 hours stirring in between. All times vary according to your crockpot. “ ~Connie
“I made the original recipe, doubled the recipe and put in one big crock pot. It was filled to the brim but it did fit. Everyone who ate it LOVED it. Now I get asked to make it for every upcoming occasion. Thanks for sharing this simple, quick and tasty recipe. “ ~Sally
“I made this for a potluck at work and everyone absolutely LOVED it. I never even got to have any because they ate it all. At the second potluck we had, everyone begged me to make it again. I’m not the biggest fan of velveeta so I did switch that out for mozzarella but it’s still a fantastic recipe and it is my go-to Mac n cheese recipe now. “ ~Katie
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Crock Pot Mac and Cheese With Velveeta Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 oz elbow macaroni
- 3 cups milk
- 8 oz velveeta cut into chunks
- 1/4 cup salted butter cut into chunks
- 3 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Cook pasta in boiling water 3 minutes short of being al dente.16 oz elbow macaroni
- Place the cooked macaroni, milk, Velveeta, butter and cheddar cheese into a crockpot. Stir and top with Parmesan cheese.3 cups milk, 8 oz velveeta, 1/4 cup salted butter, 3 cups cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- Set heat to Low and cook for 2 to 3 hours. Stir occasionally and check for doneness starting at the 2-hour mark.
Video
Notes
- Give the crockpot a good coating of nonstick cooking spray or consider using a slow cooker liner to make cleanup easy peasy.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- This makes a large batch of mac and cheese! It will easily feed 8 hungry people as a main dish or 12 people as a side dish or party food. It is a great dish for pot lucks!
- Consider adding 1/2 cup sour cream to add even more creaminess to the dish.
- Add cooked ham or bacon bits to add flavor and protein when serving as a main dish. This is a great way to use up leftover ham!
- Sprinkle the mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper just before serving!
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder or onion powder would be great additions to the cheese sauce.
- If you add uncooked dry pasta to the slow cooker without pre-cooking, give the mixture a good stir every 30 minutes or so and keep a close eye out for doneness.
- If the mixture is dry at any point during the cooking process, toss in a splash of milk and stir.
- Pre-shredded cheddar cheese makes the recipe extra easy! For added freshness, consider shredding your own.
Hi Peg! I can honestly say that soaking the pasta has never occurred to me. I LOVE the idea, though, and might just have to give it a try! If you try it, please let me know how it turns out. Thanks for the comment!
Megan
Hi. Sorry this is a question rather than a comment. I saw on Dr. OZ that you can so pasta in a big of water to presoften. Do you think this would work instead of boiling for 3 minutes? It also resulted in preparation al dente. Spaghetti was soaked for an hour and a half.
Jenine: This recipe is sooo delicious when deep-fried in clumps! 🙂
Elyse: Reheat in the microwave if serving the next day. I recommend making this the day-of. Could you use the timer on your crockpot?
I hope this helps!
Megan
What do you do for reheating purposes? I won't be able to make this the day of serving so I was thinking of doing it the night before and reheating in the crockpot. Thanks!
I love to go to Ireland. Then see when my family is from.oh thanks for recipe sat. Going to help my Hefeweizen work on getting his is Eagle badge so I think the kids will love better than potato salad or coleslaw,I think it will be a hit!!!!!
Made the "new" recipe exactly as written. Was done @2:15 hours in a 4qt crockpot on low. Kids age 12,15,17 loved it. I was worried but it was great! Turn OFF your crockpot when done or it will continue to cook. I did not precook elbow noodles. I used 1% milk. I think if you overcook it could get "mushy or gummy" fast but ours was perfect!!!! Will make again next week as I have 1/2 block Velveeta left.
As for travels, I would like to go to Germany for Oktoberfest and the Christmas markets.
Fast yes, absolutely no nutritional value but maybe that's not important. It's all starch and tons of salt and fat. Velveeta isn't even cheese; it's chemical. Butter and cream cheese, all fat. This is filling and more fat than one is supposed to eat in 2 days and more sodium that one should eat in 3 days. Also putting your email on a public site just invites the spam "bots", which spammers and hackers use to look for and steal any and all email address to hammer all your posters with spam email. Not a good practice. These are "robots" that look for the @ sign in billions of posts, sites and blogs in less than hours. Just not safe to do, period. All respect, Jenine
Katy: Follow the directions and NO mushy noodles! 🙂
DStone: Cook the past for just a few minutes and buy grated cheese! This recipe is great for those times when you might be cooking other things and want a recipe to do the work for you and be done at just the right time. On top of that, the slow cooker just adds a bit of extra comfort to it somehow. Enjoy!
Megan
So you have to cook the pasta ahead of time? And chop/grate all the cheese? Why not just finish cooking the pasta, mix in the cheese and have mac and cheese right away?
Hi there, with the long cook time, don't you find that the noodle would get mushy after pre-cooking it before cooking it in the crook pot? I'm interested in making this, but a bit scared that the noodles would become to soft for my tastes. 🙂
You can make fake cheese velveeta mac & cheese on the stovetop in 10 minutes. My mother did it. I HATE velveeta mac & cheese. HATE IT. gummy gross. This recipe is rather pointless. If you have to boil the macaroni.. then you might as well just make it on the stovetop and get food faster. I am intrigued by the real cheese variation.
If you have never been, you should go to Russia. I would go back in a heartbeat given the opportunity. It was not what I expected. It is a difficult trip. I would equate it to living in the 1950's. All the amenities are there, they just might not be accessible to you. The most amazing thing about Russia is the way the patriotism and national pride just exudes from every ounce of the cities (Moscow, Volgograd), and how the countryside is still largely wild with only a few villages scattered throughout the vastness. I was there for a month in college, and didn't get to see much of the countryside because I was at the university. I hope that someday I can take my kids.
I will be making this tomorrow for dinner while I clean up my apartment (my boyfriend requested mac and cheese and I have heard this was super yummy!). Hmm, a couple places I'd like to go. One, California to go visit my mother's grave. She died when I was 4 and we lived on the East Coast and her body was transported to her home town, so I never got to visit her grave site. And I also want to be able to visit the land of my ancestors, which I am currently trying to figure out how far back I can go! I know Europe so far…
I would come over to your place for Mac n cheese!
My husband and I love adventure and travel. Our wanderlust has taken us all over the world and onto every continent. Our adventure travels took a short hiatus when we had kids. Till our kids were 4 years old, we traveled with them only to closer places like domestic US, Hawaii, Mexico and Canada. Our rule is that once our kids are 4 years old, they get a passport on their birthday and off we go and that's exactly what happened.
Our kids are now 12 and 7 years old. They are seasoned travelers who are used to and enjoy new cultures, foods, people etc. They understand that not everyone lives like we do in the US and that is the beauty of it! This year for Spring Break we went to Nicaragua and to England and Italy during the summer. Friends ask how we choose our destinations and we literally spin the globe and go!
Travel is a priority for us as we want to teach our children flexibility, appreciation/respect for other cultures, and instill in them a sense of spontaneity and adventure! Traveling has taught us so much about this incredible world we live in and made us truly in awe of this planet and it's people!
A dream trip for me would be to visit Iran. I love the middle east and was blown away by the beauty and greatness of Petra in Jordan and the history and vitality of Israel. Would love to visit Iran, a bastion of antiquity with all of the grandeur of the Persian empire. I am fascinated with Iran's ancient ruins, architecture, gardens, courtyards, art, food, dance, bazaars, etc. I long for a time when it is peaceful enough for my family to travel there!
My grandson loves this mac and cheese. I would love to spend time at the outer banks of nc and take my grand to see 5he light houses. Also Charleston SC. I have lived in NC all my life but have never been able to afford to travel much. Now that I have grands I want them to experience the things I haven't been able to.
Hi, I recently made a different recipe than either of these for mac & cheese in the crock pot and it was awful. I am going to try the recipe here posted with the cream cheese & 16 oz elbow pasta. I have read on other sites, that using freshly shredded block cheddar is best, because it doesn't have the crappy cellulose that the pre-shredded pkg's of cheese contain nowadays. Has anyone made this with REAL freshly shredded cheese, cream cheese, and the evap milk, and did it come out ok? I will be making for a party tomorrow. It was so difficult sifting through all of the travel posts to find a good review/alternate suggestions for this recipe.
Hi Megan
I grew up on homemade mac with white cheddar – I like the addition of cream cheese !!!
I think I shall try your original using white cheddar – grew up in New England, so many farms with luscious sharp white cheddar cheese Yummmm
Thanks for sharing !!
PS curious on the evaporated milk addition, is it for flavoring or thickening ???
thanks
Mar
So I tried making this today. It sucks and I don't think my crockpot will ever come clean again. The cheese curdled and it has no flavor. There is about an inch of burnt pasta and cheese around all the sides and the bottom of my poor crockpot.
If I could go anywhere in the world I think I'd like to see Paris. So many things I've heard about that place! It's calm and beautiful, so much to see