Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese

Slow cooker mac and cheese will melt your heart

You love mac and cheese made from scratch – who doesn't? But you don't have time much time to cook on a Tuesday night – who does? We have five, life-changing words for you: slow cooker mac and cheese.

When you use your slow cooker, it takes just minutes to prepare your mac and cheese in a single pot. Just toss in the ingredients, stir it up a bit, set the heat to low, and let the crockpot work its magic. A few hours later – voilà! The creamiest mac and cheese you'll ever hope to devour.

What's great about slow cooker mac and cheese is how easily you can vary the recipe. Need a mac that will cater to kids? Add mascarpone for even gooier goodness. A gourmet mac and cheese to impress doubtful dinner guests? Add smoked gouda, herbed havarti, or gorgonzola. Want to knock the socks off some champion cheese-lovers? Try a little brick or limburger for a powerful pot of stinky-good flavor.

Of course, your slow cooker mac is only as good as the cheese you choose – which is why you want to choose Wisconsin. With Wisconsin cheese in the slow cooker, you can be sure that your mac and cheese will be the tastiest and the meltiest. Check out the cheeses and recipes here on our website for inspiration for your next batch of slow cooker mac.

Making the best slow cooker mac and cheese

Using a slow cooker for mac and cheese takes a few hours to cook, but it cuts your preparation time in half. There's no roux to make or casserole dish to prepare. Just add all the ingredients to your slow cooker, set on low, and enjoy a scrumptious dinner a few hours later.

Keep these tips in mind when preparing your slow cooker mac and cheese:

1. Get creative in your choice of cheeses. You'll want one or more cheeses that are great melters – think Monterey Jack, fontina, mozzarella, and gruyere. You can also add cheeses for flavor – smoked gouda, havarti with herbs, pepper jack for spice, and gorgonzola for a powerful punch of flavor.
2. Use the low setting on your slow cooker to avoid overcooking the macaroni and making it mushy.
3. Shred your cheese finely to make sure it melts evenly.
4. Check your recipe halfway through to see how cooked the noodles are. The cooking temperature of slow cookers varies a great deal.
5. But don't open the lid too often – it will let lots of heat escape and throw off your cooking time.

The fastest way to our hearts? A slow cooker and Wisconsin cheese

When you want to bring more joy to the world – or just impress your diners – all it takes is a slow cooker and some Wisconsin cheese. It's a well-known fact that slow cooker mac and cheese made with Wisconsin's finest melts hearts faster than mozzarella in the microwave or gruyere on the grill. (Kids, don't try this at home.)

That's because Wisconsin cheese is simply the tastiest, most award-winning, highest-quality cheese in the universe. Wait, you say. Really? Better than Italian cheese? French cheese? Or cheese from Switzerland? You know, the countries that, like, practically invented cheese as we know it?

Well, here in Wisconsin, we've been doing some inventing of our own over the last 180 years. We've gotten pretty dang good at it. In fact, today, we make more flavors, varieties, and types of cheese than anywhere else on earth by constantly pushing the boundaries of what cheese can be. And we've won more awards for our cheese than any other state or country – yes, even more than Italy, France, and Switzerland.

So, next time you're fixing to whip up some slow cooker mac and cheese, make sure it's Wisconsin mac and cheese. Italy, France, and Switzerland won't mind.