My uncle begs for this velvety dish every spring. Takes exactly 3 ingredients to make a completely melt in your mouth meal.

This slow cooker 3-ingredient Amish cream cheese noodles recipe is my secret weapon when life gets busy but I still want something cozy and homemade. It’s inspired by those simple, church-basement-style Amish dishes that rely on pantry basics and turn out incredibly comforting. The sauce is velvety, rich, and completely coats every twist of the egg noodles—my uncle literally asks if I’m making “those creamy noodles” every spring when the weather is still a little chilly. With only three ingredients and a hands-off slow cooker method, it’s a melt-in-your-mouth meal you can toss together before work and come home to later.

Serve these cream cheese noodles straight from the slow cooker with a big green salad or steamed vegetables to balance out the richness. Buttered peas, roasted carrots, or simple sautéed green beans work especially well. If you want to stretch the meal, add a side of crusty bread or dinner rolls to soak up every bit of the velvety sauce. They also pair nicely with roasted or grilled chicken, pork chops, or even leftover holiday ham for a no-fuss, complete dinner.

Servings: 6

1 (12 oz) package wide egg noodles

Pour the chicken broth into a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.

Add the cubed cream cheese to the broth, spreading the pieces out so they’re not all in one pile.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the cream cheese is very soft and the broth is hot and steamy.

Whisk or stir the cream cheese and broth together directly in the slow cooker until you have a mostly smooth, velvety sauce. A few tiny specks of cream cheese are fine; they’ll melt as the noodles cook.

Stir in the dry egg noodles, making sure they are mostly submerged in the cream cheese broth mixture. It’s okay if a few ends stick up; they’ll soften as they cook.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring gently every 8 to 10 minutes, until the noodles are tender but not mushy and the sauce is thick, glossy, and clinging to the pasta.

Once the noodles are cooked to your liking, give everything a final gentle stir, then turn the slow cooker to WARM. Let the noodles sit for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken slightly as they stand.

Serve the noodles hot straight from the slow cooker, scooping from the bottom to grab plenty of sauce with every serving.

To keep the promise of three ingredients, I keep the base recipe as-is, but you can easily dress it up once you’ve tried it. For extra richness, stir in a tablespoon or two of butter at the very end until melted. If you want a bit more body to the sauce, you can swap 1 cup of the chicken broth for whole milk or half-and-half (this technically adds another ingredient, but it creates an ultra-luxurious texture). For a heartier meal, add cooked shredded chicken, diced ham, or browned ground beef or sausage right before serving so the meat warms through without overcooking the noodles. You can also play with flavor by sprinkling in black pepper, garlic powder, or dried parsley after cooking. Leftovers reheat well on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of extra broth or milk to loosen the sauce back to that velvety, glossy consistency.