Homemade macaroni and cheese is a process. You need to make a cheese sauce while also cooking pasta in another pot. And you’ll almost definitely feel the need to make a buttery topping and bake it (even though it was already perfectly cheesy and saucy already). No to mention, the amount of dishes can be insane.

Enter: this slow-cooker mac & cheese. Everything—including the pasta!—cooks in a slow cooker. And in the end you have just ONE DISH to clean. This recipe is essentially fool proof but we are here to answer to your inevitable doubts and questions are below. (We were skeptical at first too!) And for more easy dinner ideas, check out our best slow-cooker recipes.