Mac and Cheese with Cream Cheese (Slow Cooker) + Video

Mac and cheese with cream cheese is made in a slow cooker with THREE cheeses! Make this recipe for the cheesiest comfort food meal ever!

If macaroni and cheese is one of your favorite recipes, you have got to try my Italian style macaroni and cheese recipe.

With just 7 ingredients and 15 minutes, you can have this fantastic dinner on the table.

Why we make mac and cheese with cream cheese

Adding cream cheese to 3 cheese mac and cheese helps add another layer of flavor to the cheese sauce.

Also, cream cheese acts like a thickener, helping the sauce stick to the ridges of the noodles.

This dish is pure comfort in a bowl, with perfectly tender corkscrew pasta with twists and ridges that capture the luscious pepper Jack and cheddar cheese sauce.

It also has just enough spicy heat to wake up your taste buds.

There are many different add-ins that you can toss into your slow cooker when making this mac and cheese with cream cheese. Try adding any of the following:

• crumbled bacon
• chopped ham
• fresh baby spinach
• green chilis
•  mushrooms

Kitchen tools you’ll need for this recipe:

Slow Cooker - I use my crockpot almost more than any other kitchen appliance, especially during the fall and winter!

It's just so convenient, and let's face it, it makes comfort food taste even better!

Slow Cooker Liners - The liners aren’t necessary, but they make clean up SO much easier!

Box grater - I use this for shredding cheese, but also for shredding vegetables like carrots, for carrot cake, or zucchini for zucchini bread.

Ingredient notes for three cheese mac and cheese

We use cellentani pasta to make slow cooker mac and cheese. If you need a substitute, you can use any type of small pasta that has ridges on it, like penne, ziti, or rigatoni.

What cheeses are best for this recipe?

We love the flavor in this recipe, but when we prepare it for a crowd, it’s nice to swap out the pepper jack cheese for Colby Jack cheese.

It gives the sauce a great flavor but it isn't overly spicy for sensitive palates.

If you want a different taste altogether, there are several different options you can try. Cheeses like Gruyere, smoked gouda, and Fontina will also melt well and add a delicious flavor.

Can I make this slow cooker recipe in an Instant Pot?

We haven't tried making this particular recipe in an Instant Pot, so you would need to experiment and see how it works for you. Or, use the slow cooker setting on your Instant Pot!

For a recipe that definitely works, you can make this Instant Pot Mac and Cheese. It is very rich and creamy, and it can be made in less than 15 minutes using your electric pressure cooker!

Troubleshooting:

Why didn't the cream cheese melt completely?

When making this recipe, be sure you've added the ingredients in the correct amounts. Cream cheese will melt as the other liquids heat up.

To help the cream cheese melt, stir the ingredients well when you add them to your slow cooker. And, you can stir it once or twice when cooking.

Also, keep in mind that the cheese sauce will thicken as it cools. If you plan to keep the macaroni and cheese in the Crock Pot on warm, add extra milk as needed to keep the sauce nice and creamy.

How to store leftovers

You will need to refrigerate any leftovers. If you are going to refrigerate it to eat later, add extra milk to the pasta. This will thin the sauce to prevent it from becoming too thick in the refrigerator.

This way, when you remove it from the fridge, it will scoop easily and the mac and cheese will warm up perfectly in the microwave or on the stovetop.

We do this every week and portion it out for easy lunches.

Other crock pot comfort food recipes to make

The Crock-Pot is such a versatile small kitchen appliance. It's capable of taking ingredients from start to finish while you’re away, and the result is an easy, mouth-watering recipe every time.

Reward yourself after a long day with your favorite comfort foods. Be sure to try Pot Roast in a Crock Pot for a tender, juicy, mouth-watering beef dinner.

Or, if you want a recipe that almost cooks itself, make some Crock Pot French Dip Sandwiches.

With tender beef, atop a toasted sandwich roll, dipped in a delectable, savory sauce that's melt in your mouth delicious.

Crock Pot Sriracha Honey Wings are so tender the meat falls off the bone and melts in your mouth. The caramelized sweet and spicy sauce is truly enough to make your taste buds sing!

Enjoy!

With love from our simple kitchen to yours. 

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Video: How to make Mac and Cheese with Cream Cheese (Slow Cooker) 

Be sure to watch our video tutorial so you can see exactly how to make it.

Yield: 8

Author: Donna Elick

Print

Mac and Cheese with Cream Cheese

This mac and cheese with cream cheese is made in a slow cooker with THREE cheeses! Make this recipe for the cheesiest comfort food meal ever!

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 2 H & 10 MTotal time: 2 H & 15 M

Ingredients

• 1 pound cellentani pasta (also known as cavatappi), uncooked
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced into 1-tbsp pieces
• 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1-oz pieces
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup fresh shredded pepper Jack cheese

Instructions

1. Pour the uncooked pasta onto the bottom of your slow cooker. I love my 6-quart for this recipe. 
2. Scatter the butter and cream cheese pieces over the pasta. 
3. Sprinkle the salt and cayenne pepper over the top and pour the milk and cream into the slow cooker. 
4. Stir to combine everything and smooth the pasta into one even layer coated in sauce.
5. Cover and cook on low for 1 to 2 hours, until the pasta is chewy (not quite crunchy, but very al dente). Your cook time will vary if you use a different pasta, so start with 1 hour and adjust from there. 
6. Stir once halfway through the cook time and be sure to smooth the pasta into one layer so it is well coated with the sauce. 
7. Once the pasta is ready, sprinkle on the cheddar and pepper Jack cheeses and stir to combine. The cheese will melt into the sauce to create the most luxurious creamy cheese sauce. 
8. Cover the mac and cheese and cook for 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and it comes together. Stir before serving.

DONNA'S NOTES

1. I love the flavor in this recipe, but when I am preparing it for a crowd I swap the pepperjack cheese with Colby Jack cheese. It gives it a great flavor but it isn't overly spicy for sensitive palates.
2. The cheese sauce will thicken as it cools. If you plan to hold the mac and cheese in the slow cooker on warm, add extra milk as needed to keep the sauce nice and creamy.
3. Also, if you are going to refrigerate it to eat later, add enough milk to the pasta to thin out the sauce before refrigerating. That way when you pull it out, it will scoop easily and the mac and cheese will warm up perfectly in the microwave or on the stove top. We do this every week and portion it out for easy lunches.

https://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2017/10/slow-cooker-triple-cheesy-mac-cheese-recipe.html

Recipe developed by Donna Elick forThe Slow Roasted Italian
Copyright ©2017 The Slow Roasted Italian – All rights reserved.

Originally published October 2017, updated and republished September 2020

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