how to get a crispy top on mac and cheese in a crock pot

I tweaked a few things, didn’t cook it as long, and wound up with this amazing side dish.

The first time I made it, I left it in too long and the macaroni was too overcooked for a good picture (but my brother and I loved it anyway), and then my brother begged me to make it again for his birthday weekend. This Three Cheese Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese might be some of the cheesiest, creamiest, richest Mac ‘n’ Cheese I ever had.

Genius, genius, genius! But would it taste good? But that’s it!Īnyway, then it came to me. I’m not turning on the oven unless there’s a gun to my head. Holy yum to all of the above.īut it wasn’t until just recently that I realized that I would love a way to make Macaroni and Cheese with as little effort and heating up the house as possible. In the time since, I’ve made many forms of Mac ‘n’ Cheese and featured some of them here, like Grilled Mac ‘n’ Beer Cheese Sliders with Tomato-Bacon Jam, Chicken Enchilada Mac ‘n’ Cheese, and Cauliflower Baked Mac ‘n’ Cheese. There’s just something so… comforting… about this comfort food. I have had a deep, soul-encompassing desire to eat Macaroni and Cheese at every opportunity from then on out. Then I discovered the joys of baked Macaroni and Cheese at a barbecue a few years back, and then I realized that, of course, you can make Mac ‘n’ Cheese with real cheese on the stove top.Īnd I thought to myself, “What a wonderful world.” When done, carefully remove the crockery and set aside to allow the macaroni and cheese to rest for about half and hour and set up (optional but recommended) then serve.I’m sad to say that there was a point in my life when I hated Mac n’ Cheese.ĭoesn’t that make you sad for my childhood? Oh, the wasted years!įor much of my life, I didn’t realize that there was anything else out there other than the watery, powder-made instant cheese sauce from a box. Top the macaroni mixture with the remaining cheese, cover with the lid, reduce the cook setting to low and slow cook for 3 hours.Carefully pour in the cheesy milk mixture, add half of the grated cheese and seasonings then gently stir to combine. Drain the elbow macaroni well and add it to the crockery and stir to combine the pasta with the melted butter.While the pasta cooks in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cheese soup, eggs and milk.Cook the pasta 6 to 7 minutes, not completely done. Stir to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Once the water is rapidly boiling, add about a half a teaspoon of kosher salt to the water along with the elbow macaroni. Set the pot of water over high heat on your stove top, cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Use a large pot and add enough water to par-cook the macaroni.Place the stick of butter in the slow cooker crockery, cover with the lid, and set the Crock Pot on the high cook setting to melt the butter while you prep the rest of the ingredients.You can season according to your own tastes. I add more black pepper than salt in my mac n cheese because the cheese is salty and I figure there’s a salt shaker on the table if someone wants more. Salt and Black Pepper – for seasoning.Turn on broiler and broil the macaroni and cheese for another 2-3 minutes until the top is golden brown and crispy. Eggs – helps to create the Southern style macaroni and cheese. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, until sauce is bubbling.If you’ve never tried adding a little smoked cheddar, you should. Just a little bit adds such richness of flavor and that hint of smokiness that everyone will rave over. In addition to the regular cheddar cheese, I also add in a little bit of smoked cheddar cheese. The pre-shredded store bought cheeses have anti-caking agent mixed in and that does interfere with the perfect meltiness of the cheese. Grating your own cheese ensured it melts better and is delicious. Different Cheeses – I used extra sharp cheddar cheese and it must be freshly grated.You’ll need two cans if you go that route. You can use evaporated milk if your prefer that for making your macaroni dish. This creamy sauce liquid mixture helps ensure you have a delicious creamy mac. Cheese Sauce – which consists of a cheddar cheese soup combined with whole milk (or regular milk as it is called at our house).Slightly cooking the noodles before adding them to the Crock Pot will ensure that you don’t over do it on the cooking time and end up with mushy mac. I do like to parboil the pasta before adding it to the slow cooker but not all the way to al dente. Uncooked Pasta – elbow macaroni to be specific.Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook for a few minutes more, until thickened and smooth. Here’s what you will need to make this slow cooker macaroni: Cook for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk.

How to get a crispy top on mac and cheese in a crock pot