{"id":7885,"date":"2026-09-26T19:06:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T19:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/?p=7885"},"modified":"2026-09-26T19:06:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T19:06:33","slug":"slow-cooker-cheeseburger-macaroni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/26\/slow-cooker-cheeseburger-macaroni\/","title":{"rendered":"Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Macaroni"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Macaroni<\/h1>\n<p>This hearty Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Macaroni combines seasoned ground beef, tender macaroni, rich tomato sauce, creamy cheese, and classic cheeseburger flavors in one comforting meal.<\/p>\n<h2>Ingredients<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>1 lb (500 g) ground beef<\/li>\n<li>1 large onion, diced<\/li>\n<li>2 cloves garlic, minced<\/li>\n<li>2 cups (300 g) elbow macaroni, uncooked<\/li>\n<li>2 cups (400 g) tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes<\/li>\n<li>1 cup hot water or beef broth<\/li>\n<li>1 cup heavy cream or milk<\/li>\n<li>2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided<\/li>\n<li>1 tablespoon olive oil<\/li>\n<li>1 teaspoon salt<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 teaspoon black pepper<\/li>\n<li>1 teaspoon paprika<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 teaspoon cumin<\/li>\n<li>Fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Instructions<\/h2>\n<h3>1. Brown the Ground Beef<\/h3>\n<p>Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for about 2 minutes, until it begins to soften.<\/p>\n<p>Add the minced garlic and ground beef. Break the beef apart with a wooden spoon and cook until completely browned with no pink remaining. Drain any excess fat.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Start the Slow Cooker<\/h3>\n<p>Transfer the cooked beef mixture to the slow cooker. Add the tomato sauce, hot water or beef broth, salt, black pepper, paprika, and cumin.<\/p>\n<p>Stir everything together until well combined.<\/p>\n<p>Cover and cook on <strong>HIGH for about 3 hours<\/strong> or <strong>LOW for 5\u20136 hours<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Add the Macaroni<\/h3>\n<p>About 30 minutes before serving, cook the elbow macaroni separately according to the package directions, but stop cooking about 2 minutes earlier than recommended so it remains slightly firm. Drain well.<\/p>\n<p>Add the partially cooked macaroni to the slow cooker along with the cream or milk and 1 cup of shredded cheese. Stir gently to combine.<\/p>\n<p>Cover and continue cooking for about 20\u201330 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and the sauce is creamy.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Add the Final Cheese<\/h3>\n<p>Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese over the top. Cover and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is completely melted.<\/p>\n<p>Garnish with fresh parsley if desired and serve warm.<\/p>\n<h2>Tips<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Browning the ground beef before adding it to the slow cooker helps ensure it is fully cooked and gives the dish better flavor.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid overcooking the macaroni, as it can become mushy.<\/li>\n<li>For a lighter version, use milk instead of heavy cream.<\/li>\n<li>You can add diced bell peppers, mushrooms, peas, or spinach for extra vegetables.<\/li>\n<li>For a spicy kick, add crushed red pepper flakes or a little hot sauce.<\/li>\n<li>Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Serves:<\/strong> 4\u20135<br \/>\n<strong>Prep Time:<\/strong> 15 minutes<br \/>\n<strong>Cook Time:<\/strong> 5\u20136 hours on LOW or about 3 hours on HIGH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Macaroni This hearty Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Macaroni combines seasoned ground beef, tender macaroni, rich tomato sauce, creamy&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recipe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7885"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7887,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7885\/revisions\/7887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}