Honestly, with how busy our family has been lately…I don’t know what I would do if I hadn’t rediscovered my love of slow cooker recipes! Nothing beats easy prep-work and a filling meal that everyone in the family will love. 😉
Mac and Cheese is a staple food in our house (our toddler can’t get enough) so when I found a recipe I could try in the crock pot, I was all for giving it a go! With a few recipe modifications, including adding bread crumbs, cheddar cheese and using I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter® instead of butter, I found this recipe to be very easy and toddler approved!
Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
Adapted from A Whisk and a Prayer
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of of milk (I used whole since I think whole makes everything taste better 😉 )
- 1 can of evaporated milk (12 oz.)
- 1/4 cup of melted I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter®, cooled to room temp.
- 3 eggs, lightly whisked
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 3 cups of shredded cheese (I used 2 cups of Italian blend and one cup of cheddar)
- 1/2 pound of elbow mac, cooked for 5-7 minutes = tender but not fully cooked.
- ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup of shaved Parmesan (the big thin flakes)
- bread crumbs (optional)
Directions
- Grease inside of your slow cooker.
- Add milk, evaporated milk, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter®, eggs, and salt into slow cooker. Mix them together.
- Add in shredded cheese, cooked pasta, and black pepper (to taste) and mix all together gently.
- Top with shaved Parmesan flakes (I saved a little bit to add later).
- Cover and back on HIGH for 30 mins.
- Reduce temp. to LOW and continue cooking for 2 to 2 1/2 hours (during the last 30 mins, I added the bread crumbs, I just eyed the amount) and bit more shaved Parmesan. Be careful not to leave on too long since I found that the sides of my mac and cheese tend to burn easily.
Now I know some of you are wondering about my substitution of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter®, well I just wanted to give a quick share that they’ve had an awesome reformulation of its ingredients with zero artificial preservatives and contains more simple, recognizable ingredients. With less calories and less saturated fats than butter, I figured I’d try it and haven’t been able to tell and difference in any cooking/baking recipes that I’ve made with it over the past few weeks. Woohoo! Plus I’m a huge fan that it’s spreadable (no more ripping bread apart trying spread it on top!).
Looks fantastic! What a great use of this product! I thought it was great too 🙂