Sandra Paula Deen’s crock pot mac and cheese goes into a slow cooker raw and comes out creamy after 3 hours. Sharp cheddar, sour cream, condensed cheddar cheese soup, and three beaten eggs are what build the sauce around the noodles. The recipe serves 10 and needs about 15 minutes of active work.
Paula Deen published this on her site with 196 reviews, one of her most-made recipes. What sets her version apart is the condensed cheddar cheese soup, which replaces the roux that most mac and cheese recipes build. The soup does the same thickening work without any flour or stovetop technique.
Three beaten eggs go in before the macaroni, and that step is what binds the sauce to each noodle. Without them, the cheese and noodles cook separately and the sauce pools at the bottom of the crock. The eggs set as the crock warms, pulling everything together into a cohesive dish.
Paula Deen Crock Pot Mac and Cheese Recipe
Description
Paula Deen’s slow cooker mac and cheese has 196 reviews on her site, which tells you more about how often people make it than any description could. Sour cream in the sauce adds a slight tang that cuts through the richness of the cheddar and soup.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Boil the elbow macaroni in a 2-quart saucepan until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and grated cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese melts into the butter.
- Pour the cheese and butter mixture into the slow cooker. Add the sour cream, condensed cheddar cheese soup, milk, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add the beaten eggs and stir again.
- Add the drained macaroni and stir until fully incorporated.
- Set the slow cooker to LOW and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
FAQs
Does the macaroni need to be pre-cooked, or can I add it dry?
It needs to be pre-boiled because a slow cooker on low never reaches a full boil. Dry pasta added to the crock stays undercooked no matter how long it sits, because the liquid temperature stays below 212°F. Boil it until just tender, about 7 minutes, drain, and add it to the crock as the recipe directs.
What if I can’t find condensed cheddar cheese soup?
Condensed cream of cheddar soup is worth tracking down rather than skipping. It acts as the sauce’s thickener and provides a base creaminess that the sour cream alone cannot replicate. A cup of melted Velveeta with half a cup of milk comes close in texture, though the flavor is milder than the soup.
Can I cook this on HIGH instead of LOW to save time?
Low is the right setting here, and switching to high risks curdling the egg-and-cheese mixture. High heat causes the eggs to cook too fast, scrambling in the sauce instead of setting gently around the noodles. If time is short, check it at 2½ hours on low: the edges should be set and the center still creamy.
What main dish goes well with this at a holiday or family dinner?
Meatloaf is the natural pairing since the richness of the mac and cheese needs something savory and substantial next to it. Paula Deen’s version uses quick-cooking oats for texture and fits a 75-minute oven window that lines up with the crock’s last hour. Her old-fashioned meatloaf with oats at sandrakitchen.com covers the full method.
What other Paula Deen pasta recipe is similar in approach?
Paula Deen’s baked spaghetti takes the same cheddar-heavy approach but bakes in the oven at 350°F rather than a slow cooker. It uses a meat sauce and layers of cheese, and it is done in about 45 minutes total. Her pasta baked with meat sauce at sandrakitchen.com shows the full layering method.
