Whisk in another fifth and allow to thicken. Whisk in about one fifth of the milk, it will thicken up after about 30 seconds.

To do this, melt the butter, then stir in the plain flour. Now make a thick white sauce in a pan on the hob using the butter, plain flour and milk. Put the macaroni and grated cheese in the slow cooker pot. The thickness of the cheese sauce I think is the key to ensure the sauce doesn’t split or curdle as it cooks away gently in the slow cooker.įor the amounts please refer to the recipe card at the end of the post. I didn’t want to go down this route as I wanted to keep as much flavour in my macaroni cheese as possible! So I have gone for making a really thick white sauce as the basis for my cheese sauce, then adding cheese and cook this in the slow cooker. A quick look on the Internet showed many US recipes for slow cooker mac and cheese which use either evaporated milk or cream cheese instead of a real cheese sauce. Now since I tend to avoid using convenience ingredients and make my recipes from scratch, I needed to try something different.

That’s when the slow cooker comes to the rescue! I wanted to make mac and cheese as a side dish to go with our roast dinner but wanted to prepare it earlier in the day to save time later. Odd as it might seem but other than lasagne I have never cooked pasta in the slow cooker before, after lots of horror stories about it turning very starchy or going mushy. If you want an easy and delicious recipe this will be perfect for you. Remove from the oven, and let it rest for 10-15 minutes before digging in.Slow cooker mac and cheese or macaroni cheese is the perfect dish to set it and forget it, this from-scratch recipe made the authentic way with a roux-based sauce tastes amazing and the whole family will love it. (Optional: Sprinkle paprika over the cheese layer to enhance the color while baking.)ĥ) Bake uncovered at 375 for 35-40 minutes or until the mac & cheese is golden and bubbly. Or, add a few tablespoons of milk if you desire more liquid.)Ĥ) Sprinkle the remainder of the cheeses on top of the mac & cheese. (If you have a few tablespoons of custard remaining, that is OK.

Then pour the remainder of the custard slowly while mixing until you achieve a thick but creamy mac & cheese that is moist, but not too soupy. Then add half of the remaining cheeses, and mix. Pour half of the mixture into the mac & cheese, and mix. Mix well again.ģ) In a bowl, whisk the eggs into the evaporated milk and heavy cream to make a custard. Season with the salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper. Boil macaroni according to package instructions in heavily salted water until al dente, drain, and pour into a large casserole dish or baking pan.Ģ) Add the salted butter, sour cream, and half of the cheeses to the macaroni. *Since a cheese sauce is not required for this recipe, while grating your own cheese is still ideal, it is optional.ġ) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roux sauce for mac and cheese