You love mac and cheese made from scratch – who doesn't? But you don't have time much time to cook on a Tuesday night – who does? We have five, life-changing words for you: slow cooker mac and cheese.
When you use your slow cooker, it takes just minutes to prepare your mac and cheese in a single pot. Just toss in the ingredients, stir it up a bit, set the heat to low, and let the crockpot work its magic. A few hours later – voilà! The creamiest mac and cheese you'll ever hope to devour.
What's great about slow cooker mac and cheese is how easily you can vary the recipe. Need a mac that will cater to kids? Add mascarpone for even gooier goodness. A gourmet mac and cheese to impress doubtful dinner guests? Add smoked gouda, herbed havarti, or gorgonzola. Want to knock the socks off some champion cheese-lovers? Try a little brick or limburger for a powerful pot of stinky-good flavor.
Of course, your slow cooker mac is only as good as the cheese you choose – which is why you want to choose Wisconsin. With Wisconsin cheese in the slow cooker, you can be sure that your mac and cheese will be the tastiest and the meltiest. Check out the cheeses and recipes here on our website for inspiration for your next batch of slow cooker mac.
Using a slow cooker for mac and cheese takes a few hours to cook, but it cuts your preparation time in half. There's no roux to make or casserole dish to prepare. Just add all the ingredients to your slow cooker, set on low, and enjoy a scrumptious dinner a few hours later.
Keep these tips in mind when preparing your slow cooker mac and cheese:
Yes! Using a slow cooker is a great way to make extra creamy mac and cheese – and to cut your cooking time in half. You can also save time with a pressure cooker mac and cheese recipe, which lets you whip up a mac and cheese dish at dinner time in just a few minutes.
You want to use one or more cheeses with great melting properties. Try Colby, fontina, gruyere, or muenster. You can also add cheese for flavor – gouda, feta, romano, and blue-veined cheese will add zing and punch to your slow cooker mac. For these less melty cheeses, just be sure to shred them well. A cheese like sharp white cheddar may be the best cheese for mac and cheese because of its intense flavor and great melting properties.
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When you want to bring more joy to the world – or just impress your diners – all it takes is a slow cooker and some Wisconsin cheese. It's a well-known fact that slow cooker mac and cheese made with Wisconsin's finest melts hearts faster than mozzarella in the microwave or gruyere on the grill. (Kids, don't try this at home.)
That's because Wisconsin cheese is simply the tastiest, most award-winning, highest-quality cheese in the universe. Wait, you say. Really? Better than Italian cheese? French cheese? Or cheese from Switzerland? You know, the countries that, like, practically invented cheese as we know it?
Well, here in Wisconsin, we've been doing some inventing of our own over the last 180 years. We've gotten pretty dang good at it. In fact, today, we make more flavors, varieties, and types of cheese than anywhere else on earth by constantly pushing the boundaries of what cheese can be. And we've won more awards for our cheese than any other state or country – yes, even more than Italy, France, and Switzerland.
So, next time you're fixing to whip up some slow cooker mac and cheese, make sure it's Wisconsin mac and cheese. Italy, France, and Switzerland won't mind.
Craving award-winning aged cheddar, pining for parmesan, or searching for a new cheese to try? The world’s best cheese is just a click away! Explore our directory of Wisconsin cheesemakers and retailers who offer online cheese shopping and get cheese shipped right to your door. What are you waiting for?
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