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Rice Cooker Mac and Cheese? Not only is it creamy and delicious, but it’s so easy and fun to make with kids!
I don’t know many kids who don’t like macaroni and cheese. Come on, cheese and pasta, what’s not to like?
I love making my own mac and cheese, but even for someone like me who wants to make everything homemade, it’s not always easy. Between cooking the pasta, making the sauce and then baking it, the process can take time that many mothers (including myself), just don’t have! But as time consuming as the homemade kind can be, I just can’t break down and buy the powdered cheese, boxed version, no matter how easy it may be to prepare.
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If you have a rice cooker (and I hope you do because it is one of the great kitchen time savers), this recipe is going to change you and your kid’s world! All you have to do is put all of the ingredients into the rice cooker and let it do all the work for you.
The best part is that you can tailor this recipe to your child’s favorite tastes and flavors. For example, if you want to give it some added nutrition, just add an array of veggies. This is also a great way to involve your kids in cooking since they can have fun placing all of the ingredients in the cooker.
Now, what are you going to do with all of that time you just saved being a kitchen hero to your kids?
P.S. Click here for the Rice Cooker I love by Zojirushi!!
Photos by Matt Armendariz
Rice Cooker Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 cups pasta (I used macaroni, but you could also use rotini, faralle or bite size pasta)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (I use low sodium stock)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese ( I use a 3 cheese blend of cheddar, mozzarella and monterey jack)
Instructions
- Place the first 3 ingredients in the rice cooker and cook for 15 minutes.
- Open the lid, add the milk and cheese, stir to combine, close the lid and cook for an additional 20 minutes (25 minutes if you want it to have a crust on the bottom).
- *Rice cookers can cook at different heats, so make sure to check the mac & cheese after if cooks for 30 minutes once or twice.
- Serve.
Notes
- * Option: You can also add a cup of finely chopped broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, butternut squash or frozen peas. Do so in step #2.
It should still work, you will just need to keep an eye on the timing!
Interesting idea. Now I have an old school “National” brand rice cooker from Japan. It’s likely older than I. Would this still work? It has the one switch and that’s it.
I made this stove top because I didn’t have a rice cooker and it came out amazing! Takes a total of 10 minutes start to finish. I stopped buying boxed mac and cheese because this is so easy and tastes great! Thank you for the recipe!
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i made this last night and my older son loved it and very specifically requested that when i make mac n cheese again, i do it exactly like this ^^. Thank you Weelicious!
Wow, THANK YOU/ i was just thinking i didn’t want to slow cook a small batch of mac n cheese/ trying it now!
This recipe turned out really great. I used a mix of sharp cheddar and pepper jack cheese. Also added sun dried tomatoes. It’s important to watch it in the rice cooker and I don’t keep on warm or the noodles will continue cooking and will become soggy. Kids loved it.
Oh my goodness, thank you! My rice cooker doesn’t have a timer setting. It’s automatic. I guess I’ll have to wing it in the first few times to get the timing right. My six year olds and I will be making this for lunch tomorrow. Seriously, great idea. Thanks very much for posting this!
I do it in my multicooker Redmond 4502 – it is really good. The same recepie is in cooker book of Redmond which is much better.
I might try evaporated milk next time.
If you use pre-shredded cheese it will likely be grainy. Take a look on the back of the cheese bag – there’s cheese in there, sure, but also a bunch of other nasties like cellulose and natamycin. This can affect the way it melts.
http://www.kcet.org/living/food/the-nosh/pre-shredded-versus-freshly-grated-cheese-whats-the-difference.html
Anyone else getting grainy cheese sauce?
This recipe does not damage or degrade the rice cooker…
Would this damage or degrade the rice cooker?? (I have the same one as the one used here)
When you use low fat dairy than what the recipe calls for you will always produce a runny or soupier product than what you’re expecting. That’s why the recipe says WHOLE milk. Dairy products that aren’y ‘whole’ in their content (ie. low fat) will not have the chance to bind with the starches from the pasta and the fats from the cheese. Just use fattier milk next time and you’ll get the result you want. If you use organic or locally sourced whole milk you’ll be getting a healthier meal overall anyway.
Did you use elbows the first time? Maybe it was the bowtie I think bowties have a different texture and they are bigger than elbows i made this tonight with elbows and it came out great my picky 15 month is eating it now! Or maybe you put to much liquid on accident? Do you have a different rice cooker now? times do vary in each cooker hope this helps!