This recipe was a huge hit at our oldest daughter’s 5th birthday party! When you have to feed 15 young kids nothing does the trick better than macaroni and cheese! When the party was over there wasn’t even a bites worth left in the slow cooker. This recipe is perfect for any type of family or friend gathering. I can see this dish at Thanksgiving, Easter, a pot luck meal or even Christmas.
This is a simple recipe that doesn’t take long to prepare and will be a huge crowd pleaser. And no one can tell it is Gluten Free!
What You Need:
Notice the cooking time on the noodles is only 6 minutes, this is to avoid them turning to mush. Also don’t over stir this dish, once is enough. Extra stirring will break up the noodles.
For the party I had 8 different topping options. The kids loved getting to pick what went on top of their mac n cheese. The hot dogs and bacon were the top 2 favorites! The toppings included: salsa, avocados, tomatoes, hot dogs, bacon, extra cheese, sour cream, and pepperoni.
I hope this simple Gluten Free recipe will become one of your family’s favorites!
Enjoy!
New Celiac Mom says
Hi Pam,
I am going to try out your recipe this weekend. What a clever idea to add toppings for all the kids. I think my kids will also go bananas over the hot dogs and bacon. Great idea! Thanks for sharing.
Ranae
Mimi says
Does it get mushy on warm in the crock pot?
Anonymous says
What brand of noodles do you use? I usually use tinkyada, those cook to full in 13 minutes, and I am not sure how long to cook them for this.
Pam Jordan says
I would not use Tinkyada past for this, rice pasta will fall apart. use a multi-grain pasta with rice and corn flours.
Anonymous says
If dairy intolerance try almond milk
Anonymous says
Is it 10oz EACH of Colby and Monterey jack, or 10oz total?
Pam Jordan says
Great Question – 10 oz of each cheese
Anonymous says
Can i leave out the velveeta?
Pam Jordan says
Sure! You may just want to add some more of the cheeses so it doesn’t get dried out.
Anonymous says
I also was wondering if there is a sub for the Velveeta cheese
Anonymous says
I was wondering the same. Not a fan of velveeta. Can I use a substitute, maybe cream cheese so its creamier then just using more cheese?
Julieann Maney says
Not sure what you mean but how much is one stick of butter?
Anonymous says
1 stick of butter is 1/4 lb or 1/2 cup. As to Velveeta – yuck! Waiting to hear if cream cheese could be substituted for part of the Velveeta.
Kerry Briggs says
When/how do you add the butter? A stick? Really? That’s an awful lot of butter!!!!!!
Anonymous says
does it have to be made wih cubed cheese or is shredded fine?!
imaceliac says
I’m sure it will work fine, I just always use the cubed cheese.
Pam
Laura says
How many would you say this recipe serves?
imaceliac says
It can be a side dish for at least 10 people. For a main dish, I would say around 6.
Sheri says
Have you ever made this faster than 3 hours? I would love to make but won’t have 3 hours to let it cook in a crockpot
imaceliac says
I would just bake it for 45 minutes in the oven instead of using the slow cooker. Same great taste in faster time!
Amy says
What size of dish do we use for the oven?
imaceliac says
I would use at least a 9×12 casserole dish
Tracy says
I have a 6 qt crock pot. Are all the ingredients OK to still use in a bigger size vs the 3qt you used?
imaceliac says
Yes, you can use a large crock pot or you can double the recipe 🙂
annette l elliott says
To bake this do you fully cook your noodles and melt you cheese ,butter, and milk before baking?
imaceliac says
I would look the noodles for about 6 minutes.
Taylor says
Ok guys I live alone and want to make this. Has anyone tried storing these leftovers? Freezer or fridge?
Syn Price says
So happy I found this! My husband suffers from celiac disease and he misses mac and cheese so bad..well food in general lol. Happy we found the site!
casey says
This is a great idea. I’m the only one with food allergies so I let people forget that my dishes are gluten free so they can enjoy without knowing they are partaking in a GF dish. I tell them after, and they are shocked that gluten free can be delicious. This seems like the perfect pot lock dish
Karin Mack says
I still don’t know what to do with the butter. Do I just cube it and add to the cheeses?
imaceliac says
Yup! Cube the butter goodness in with the cheese!
Jill says
Hi Pam! Just found your site and this recipe is happening tonight! Just curious, I have a gf penne pasta that I want to use. It is made with rice and I read that it could get mushy in this dish, so would you suggest not preboiling it at all or maybe just for 3 min instead of 6? This is going to be a perfect recipe for me, I can already tell. I am allergic to egg which is found in a lot of homemade macaroni recipes. I’m also allergic to cheddar (Oh the sadness!), so using Velveeta and monterey jack is perfection. Would you suggest any other seasonings to give it a little kick? We are having slaw and chili dogs (no bun) with it, so maybe we don’t need extra spice. Thanks in advance for your help!
imaceliac says
Welcome Jill!
With just rice pasta I would cook it for a shorter time. If you want to give it a kick try chili powder or paprika
Kelly says
Pam,
Thank you so much for this! I have 2 boys that a gluten free and we haven’t had the traditional mac n cheese in so long – and I know they will appreciate this! I can’t wait to explore your other wonderful recipes! Again thank you again! Trying this tonight when I get home!
imaceliac says
Welcome Kelly! So glad you found us! I hope your boys this mac n cheese as much as our kids!
Kelly says
I made this for my niece for when she came to my son’s birthday party. She loved it! She said it was the best gluten free mac & cheese she’s had yet! Thank you so much for posting! =)
imaceliac says
Yeah!!! So glad she loved it!
Vanessa says
I am going to be traveling an hour and a half after it is done cooking from my home to a party. Do you think that the pasta will stay firm while traveling and then heating back up again in the croc pot when I turn it back on? Also what kind of gf pasta should I use? I heard that chickpea stay solid really well, but I’m not even sure where to find it…
imaceliac says
I would suggest a quinoa/ rice mixture pasta. It will hold up better. For the traveling, just cut the cook time by an hour and when you get to your destination let it heat back up and finish cooking.
Patti says
Can you leave out the evaporated milk? It the only thing I don’t have and I want to try this 🙂
imaceliac says
You could leave it out, just add some additional milk to keep the dish moist.
Betty says
If doubling recipe – do I still cook same amount of time?
imaceliac says
Yes, if you cook it longer it will just turn into mush.
Patty says
I made this for my husband’s family Xmas get together. My son and my sister-in-law both have celiac so I made the entire meal gluten free. Everyone commented on how good the mac and cheese was. There was very little left, but what was left was good reheated the next day. Thank you for the recipe!
imaceliac says
Woohoo! So glad you all loved it!
Michelle says
Is velvetta truely gluten free? I’ve read mixed reviews on the subject.
Alisa says
Velveeta is not gluten free!
imaceliac says
Check the Kraft website for the full ingredient list.
Anna says
Hello,
I bought a rice/corn flour gf pasta, but it says that it only cooks for three minutes. How long should I cook it for before throwing it in the crockpot?
imaceliac says
Cook it half the time listed on the box.
Lala says
Is Velveeta gluten free? I have been researching it but I get mixed answers!
imaceliac says
Everything I have found says it is.
Mandy Sparrow says
What temp if I want to cook it in the oven?
imaceliac says
I set the slow cooker to low. Not sure what temp to use for baking this recipe, haven’t tried it that way before.
Larissa says
I followed the directions EXACTLY and the noodles fell apart. 😰
imaceliac says
I’m so sorry it didn’t work for you 🙁
Terry says
Made this today. Added some ground mustard and paprika. I made it with half and half instead of milk. Yummy!!
imaceliac says
great idea! glad you liked it