Gluten free noodles drenched in a cheesy sauce, cooked in a crockpot while you run around doing a million other things! Crockpot Gluten Free Mac and Cheese recipe is the perfect dish for parties, holiday meals that require a kid-friendly option, or busy weeknight meals when you need to feed the whole family quickly!
Before going on gluten free diet, I used this delicious recipe for crockpot mac and cheese. It was a staple at my kid's birthday parties. It got rave reviews and became the perfect recipe with minimal prep time and minimal ingredients for feeding a large group.
Once I started eating gluten free noodles, I wasn’t sure if the old recipe would work - but it does- trust me, we tried eight different versions to land on this final recipe! With a few, ok many tweaks and modifications, homemade mac and cheese for the win! My daughter claimed it to be the best, and I agree.
Ingredients
- Gluten Free Elbow Macaroni Noodles - We love the Barilla gluten free brand.
- Evaporated Milk - Helps keep the milk from curdling in the slow cooker.
- Milk- use any percentage but not skim milk. Skim doesn't have enough fat to make a creamy result.
- Kosher Salt - My favorite salt for all cooking.
- Egg - Helps add structure to the sauce.
- American Cheese - The king of melty cheeses. I order it from the deli department.
- Block of Cheddar Cheese - Also another classic cheese for mac n cheese. Cutting or shredding your own cheese is better than using pre-shredded cheese. It is coated in starch that prevents a creamy sauce.
See the recipe card for the exact measurements and complete instructions. Selected ingredients are based on current serving sizes measured by the Monash FODMAP App at the time of publishing. As always, follow your gut and modify as needed.
Jump to RecipeInstructions
On a large cutting board with a sharp knife, cut the American cheese and the cheddar cheese into small cubes. This will help the melting process. If you would rather shred the cheese, that is another great option.
Add the evaporated milk, milk, salt, and egg into the greased six-quart slow cooker liner. Whisk it together until the egg is fully combined.
Add the cubed cheese to the two kinds of milk. Cook cheese sauce on low heat for an hour and a half.
When the cheese sauce has a half hour left to cook, boil the gluten free noodles based on the directions on the package minus two minutes. This will cook the noodles al dente.
Drain the noodles, collecting one cup of starchy liquid in a small bowl under the colander.
Add the cooked noodles to the cheese sauce. Stir the noodles into the cheese sauce to fully combine. Cook on the low setting for another fifteen minutes or until the noodles absorb more liquid. If the noodles absorb too much cheese sauce, add ¼ cup of the starchy noodle liquid at a time into the mac and cheese. Keep adding until there is a beautiful creamy cheese sauce again.
Variations
- Broccoli - Increase the veggies in your life by adding a frozen bag of broccoli florets or fresh broccoli when there are thirty minutes left of the cooking time for the cheese sauce.
- Diced Ham - Make this a complete meal by adding ham.
- Hot Dogs - Add some sliced hot dogs to the cheese sauce to make the kids happy and increase their protein!
- Mustard Powder - While optional, mustard powder adds a little something to it. It is one of those spices that you cannot really pinpoint, but you know there is just something extra.
Substitutions
- Spicy - Swap out the cheddar cheese for pepper jack cheese. It will add just a subtle hint of spice.
- Milk Options - Swap out traditional dairy milk for plant-based milk. We love unsweetened almond milk. Use whole milk or heavy cream for a creamy, luxurious cream sauce.
- Cheese Options - Great options include Monterey Jack, sharp cheddar, parmesan cheese, and even Velveeta cheese. Use whatever variety or combinations of cheeses you love. Just keep the amounts the same.
- Regular Pasta - If you do not need to eat gluten-free pasta, feel free to sub in any regular type of pasta. Elbow noodles are a great choice. Shells are the classic choice.
Low FODMAP Notes
If you follow a low FODMAP diet and cannot tolerate lactose, this recipe may not be the best choice. You can use lactose free milk and lactose free cheese to reduce the lactose.
Also keep the serving size small but it is a heavy dairy recipe even with the low lactose cheese options. However, you should test lactose to be sure. Imagine a life without mac and cheese, when you could have tolerated it, even just a ½ cup of mac n cheese. Keep testing and knowing exactly what your system can handle. It is one of the easiest ways to know what you can and cannot eat.
Storage
After serving, immediately store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Do not let the macaroni and cheese sit, and continue to cook in the crock pot.
To reheat any leftovers the next day, add a splash of regular milk before putting it in the microwave. Do not freeze any leftovers. They will not withstand the freezing and defrosting process.
Meal Planning
Crockpot gluten free mac and cheese can be a meal all on its own because it is the best comfort food. However, if you want to add protein to the mac and cheese side dish, BBQ bacon chicken, or sloppy joe's would be great main dish options to add to the meal. Don’t have a crockpot or time, try making instant pot macaroni and cheese. Another great option is to get more mac and cheese in your life. It also gives you another gluten free noodle option - chickpea noodles!
FAQs
Using anything smaller than a 6-quart crock pot will not work. The cheese sauce will take longer to cook and when the noodles are added, it will almost overflow.
You must follow the directions on the box. Did you add enough water to the saucepan to boil the noodles? Did you make sure the water was at a full boil before adding the noodles? Did you not stir the noodles after you added them, and they turned into a big mushy lump?
You can prep everything except the noodles. The noodles will still need to be cooked when there are thirty minutes left in the cooking time on the cheese sauce.
Crockpot Gluten Free Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 12 oz. Gluten Free Elbow Noodles
- 12 oz. Evaporated Milk
- 3 cups Milk
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Egg
- ½ pound American Cheese
- 8 oz. Cheddar Cheese
Instructions
- Grease with nonstick cooking spray a large six-quart crockpot liner.
- On a large cutting board with a sharp knife, cut the American cheese and the cheddar cheese into small cubes. This will help the melting process. If you would rather shred the cheese, that is another great option.
- Add the evaporated milk, milk, salt, and egg into the crockpot. Whisk it together until the egg is fully combined.
- Add the cubed cheese. Cook cheese sauce on low for an hour and a half.
- When the cheese sauce has thirty minutes left to cook, boil the gluten free noodles based on the directions on the package minus two minutes on the cooking time. This will cook the noodles al dente.
- Drain the noodles, collecting one cup of starchy liquid in the process by placing a bowl under the colander.
- Add the cooked noodles to the cheese sauce. Stir the noodles into the cheese sauce to fully combine. Cook the mac and cheese on the low setting for another fifteen minutes or until the noodles absorb more liquid. If the noodles absorb too much cheese sauce, add ¼ cup of the starchy noodle liquid at a time into the mac and cheese. Keep adding until there is a beautiful creamy cheese sauce again. If your cheese sauce looks great, discard the starchy liquid and do not use it.
- Turn the crockpot to the warm setting. Serve immediately. Do not allow the crockpot to warm the macaroni and cheese for too long. The cooked macaroni noodles will turn to mush and make any leftovers inedible. Once everyone is served, package any leftovers in an airtight container and place them in the refrigerator. Reheat leftovers with a splash of milk.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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