Equipment Needed
- 6-Quart or larger slow cooker
- Large pot for boiling pasta
- Colander
- Box grater or food processor with grating disk
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Wooden spoon or silicone spatula
Step-by-Step Instructions
First, get your pasta going. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and cook the elbow macaroni for just 5 minutes. It will be very firm, almost hard in the center—that’s exactly what you want! I learned this timing the hard way; if you cook the pasta to al dente beforehand, it turns to absolute mush in the slow cooker. Drain it immediately and don’t rinse it; that little bit of starch helps thicken the sauce.
Now, let’s build our cheesy foundation. Add the drained, par-cooked pasta directly into the bowl of your slow cooker. Scatter the cubed butter and Velveeta over the top, then pour in the whole milk and evaporated milk. Give everything a very gentle stir—just enough to combine. At this stage, it will look shockingly liquidy and wrong. I promise you, it’s not. Walk away. Have faith. This is the slow cooker’s time to shine.
Here comes the cheesy glory. In a separate bowl, toss your freshly grated yellow and white cheddar with the garlic powder, dry mustard, smoked paprika, pepper, and salt. Sprinkle this glorious cheese mixture evenly over the top of the milk and pasta in the crockpot. Do not stir it in. I repeat, walk away from the spoon! You want the cheese to sit on top, melting slowly into the milk beneath. This creates layers of flavor and prevents clumping.
Place the lid on your slow cooker and cook on LOW for 2 hours. Resist the urge to peek before the 90-minute mark to keep the heat steady. At the 2-hour mark, remove the lid—your kitchen will smell like heaven—and give it a thorough, but gentle, stir. You’ll see the sauce has thickened beautifully and coated every single noodle. Taste it here (careful, it’s hot!) and adjust salt or pepper if needed. Let it sit with the lid off for about 10-15 minutes; this allows the sauce to set up to the perfect, spoon-coating consistency.(See the next page below to continue…)