How to Make Crockpot Mac and Cheese

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Achieve mac and cheese perfection with the help of a crockpot. In this video, Nicole shows you how to make her comforting and cheesy recipe for crockpot macaroni and cheese! This delicious side dish also uses eggs and milk for a creamier texture.

Transcript

00:00Okay, so my friend brings me this macaroni and cheese.

00:02She tells me to solve all her problems.

00:05There's a lot wrong going on in this pan.

00:07All of that is called dried out crunchy pasta.

00:12And also, where's the sauce?

00:14I'm gonna fix this.

00:19Oh my gosh.

00:21It's mac and cheese perfection.

00:23This might stir some people up, but I'm here to tell you

00:25the best macaroni and cheese comes out of a crock pot.

00:28This is my special recipe.

00:30I feel like I've kind of perfected it from the one

00:33my mother-in-law sent me like 15 years ago.

00:35I've kind of tweaked it a little bit, and it's so delicious.

00:39Were you supposed to wear an apron?

00:41No.

00:42I mean, probably, but I'm not.

00:44The problem with a lot of macaroni and cheese is that...

00:49Macaroni and cheese is one of the greatest things of all time,

00:52but it's imperative that it's cooked properly.

00:54I think the problem with a lot of baked macaroni and cheeses

00:57is that the noodles are either undercooked,

00:59and they get crunchy on top like my friends,

01:02or they're overcooked, and they become like super mushy

01:05after they've baked.

01:06We're not gonna have that problem here.

01:08I am gonna cook the noodles ahead of time.

01:09You want them like super al dente

01:12so that when they finish cooking,

01:13they're the perfect texture.

01:15You can make natural appearances,

01:17but you gotta be pretending you're working the whole time.

01:21Pasta down, salted water.

01:23You know how we like it.

01:25You want it to kind of be tasting like the ocean in there

01:28because it's the only chance the pasta has to absorb the salt.

01:32What?

01:33I just love that line.

01:35Oh, it tastes like lotion?

01:36Dropping in a whole pound of elbows.

01:39I'm cooking this just about six to seven minutes

01:42until it's like super al dente.

01:44Now, time to grate the cheese.

01:45100%, you must grate your own cheese, okay?

01:49If you don't do anything else with this recipe,

01:50please grate your own cheese.

01:52All of those pre-shredded cheeses

01:53have a little bit of a coating on it,

01:55and it really keeps it from its maximum potential of melting.

02:00Plus, you get more bank for your buck

02:02because an eight ounce block of cheddar cheese

02:06yields like two and a half cups of cheese,

02:08not just two cups.

02:09So a good sharp cheddar is what you're looking for.

02:12You're gonna use a whole pound of cheese here,

02:14and that's gonna yield about five cups.

02:17The big reveal.

02:18I really packed it in there.

02:20She could have stopped sooner.

02:22There, look at all that cheese.

02:24See, no powder there.

02:26I'm doing a combination of the yellow sharp cheddar

02:30and then the white extra sharp cheddar

02:32just because I like that combo.

02:34You can add in whatever cheese you want,

02:36just try to use the same amount.

02:38In combination to this cheese,

02:40what I absolutely love in my mac and cheese

02:42is a little bit of cream cheese.

02:43So I'm just going in with like three ounces,

02:45which is a little less than half a block.

02:50The nudes, let's check the nudes.

02:52This has been six minutes.

02:54Oh yeah, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go.

02:57I'm gonna stop this cooking

02:58because I really don't want it to overcook.

03:01Now pay attention, this happens fast.

03:03Everything just gets dumped into the slow cooker.

03:05Now this mac and cheese does have egg in it.

03:08Egg, you say?

03:09I think some people think that's not allowed.

03:11Why do we feel like it's not allowed?

03:13Like what's the deal with that?

03:14Putting egg in your mac and cheese

03:16is very controversial

03:18because it can somewhat curdle up in there

03:21and you get little bits of scrambled egg.

03:22Not gonna mention names,

03:25but someone I know makes it like that.

03:28Not him, but in this version,

03:31because the eggs and everything

03:34incorporate so slowly and all together,

03:36it never happens like that.

03:38It just helps hold it together in a beautiful way.

03:43I'm gonna go in with one egg and one egg yolk

03:46and whisk that up all together.

03:48You're not gonna believe the creaminess

03:51of this mac and cheese when it's all done.

03:53In case you haven't noticed,

03:54I'm not making a bechamel sauce.

03:57The problem with the bechamel sauce,

03:58sometimes it leaves your mac and cheese

04:00feeling a little pasty, a little floury.

04:03We're not gonna have that here

04:04because we're not gonna have any bechamel

04:05and doesn't have any Velveeta or American cheese.

04:09So our butter and our cream cheese,

04:11we want to cut into cubes.

04:13That way as it melts slowly,

04:15it gets more evenly dispersed in there.

04:17This makes a lot also.

04:18And to me, this is just grill and season.

04:20You can have this done,

04:22and then all you have to do is grill your meats,

04:23make a salad, call it a day.

04:26Sir, can you get me some milk?

04:27Of course I can.

04:28Make yourself useful.

04:29There you go, chef.

04:30Oh, thank you.

04:32I'm gonna spray down the sides of my slow cooker

04:35because that cheese is gonna stick up.

04:38And then everything literally gets dumped in,

04:40starting with our cooked macaroni.

04:43Going in with some milk, about one and a half cups.

04:46We'll go in full fat, whole milk, all the things.

04:49And my mother-in-law never made mac and cheese

04:52without evaporated milk, okay?

04:55This is just old school as it gets.

04:57And I'm not really sure the science behind it.

05:00Also not sure behind the science

05:01of why my can opener always goes missing.

05:04Whatever it is about the science behind this

05:06is that it can be heated up and cooked without curdling.

05:11So the combination of this with the regular milk

05:13is gonna help carry that other milk

05:14through the cooking process.

05:16Okay, in we go.

05:17In goes our butter and our cream cheese.

05:22I don't know.

05:23I know what you're thinking.

05:24How is this gonna work?

05:25Okay, I'm gonna leave out a little bit of the cheese

05:28to put on top later,

05:30but you're gonna put most of it in right now.

05:32I'm gonna stir.

05:32You just wanna be sure everything gets mixed in evenly.

05:36Last thing, some salt and a little pepper

05:39if you wanna add in some Cajun seasoning,

05:41something like that.

05:43This is the time to do it.

05:44I'm using salted butter.

05:45So you don't need a ton.

05:47That, my friends, is all she wrote.

05:50Now I cook it on low for about two hours

05:53and then just before it's done,

05:54I'm gonna sprinkle on the rest of the cheese

05:56so that we still get that gooey topping.

06:00One hour timer to stir it.

06:02I hope I blow your mind with this one.

06:06This is after one hour.

06:09No curdling of the egg.

06:11Okay, it's been an hour and like 45 minutes.

06:15For the finishing touch,

06:16I'm gonna sprinkle on more cheese

06:18and then I'm gonna crank it up to high

06:20for 10 more minutes

06:21or until that's all melty and gooey.

06:25Right here, you seeing that?

06:26Oh, this is about to be good.

06:29Let me show you that I didn't lie to you, okay?

06:32Oh my gosh.

06:36Creamy.

06:37Oh my gosh.

06:40Creamy, no scrambled eggs.

06:42Cheesy.

06:43Let me just do the pasta check.

06:48It's kind of mind-blowing if you think about it.

06:51Obviously, this mac and cheese doesn't have a topping.

06:54Like if you like a topping with like crackers

06:56or breadcrumbs or something like that,

06:58I would toast it first in a little butter

07:00and then add it when you add that cheese.

07:02Back in for the final step

07:03if you really want that presentation.

07:04Just watch, though.

07:05I mean, do you see how creamy, hot, steamy?

07:10Look at that.

07:10Another thing that you should notice

07:12is how not dried out it is.

07:15Sometimes it's just too crunchy

07:16like it'll break your teeth.

07:17So let me just see.

07:25It is good.

07:26It's mac and cheese perfection.

07:29You can't make that up.

07:31I gotta find Roscoe to taste this.

07:33Oh, really?

07:34You ready?

07:35Here's the deal.

07:36This is comfort slash soul food slash all that.

07:40You got hot sauce?

07:41He does put hot sauce on his mac and cheese,

07:43but first you're gonna taste it.

07:44Ooh, look at that.

07:44I even got you a...

07:45Ooh.

07:49Oh, that's actually really good.

07:51Hold on.

07:51Oh, it tastes like mama.

07:54Grandma.

07:55It does.

07:57Creamy.

07:57You thought it was gonna be...

07:58It has to be mushy.

08:00Like you even get along the edge of some of that.

08:05You can do all that in a crock pot?

08:07You are invited to the barbecue.

08:09Yeah.

08:10I was hoping you would say that.

08:12You are invited to the barbecue.

08:13Thank you, chef.

08:14Where's your hot sauce?

08:15I knew it.

08:17I ate a lot.

08:18This is soul food mac.

08:20Can we get some collard greens too?

08:21Thank you.

08:25Hey, how are you?

08:26We're making macaroni and cheese in a crock pot today.

08:29I was gonna try that pizza.

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