Baked mac and cheese for a crowd
A big pan of creamy, extra-cheesy macaroni with a buttery golden top that you can put together a day ahead and bake when it’s time.
- 75 min total
- 35 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 12
- About $1.01 a serving
- 480 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 12 servings.
- 6 tbsp butter, divided, plus a little for the dish
- 1 lb elbow macaroni
- 4 cups milk, whole
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- 4 cups shredded cheddar, sharp, divided
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
From your pantry
- 1½ tbsp salt, divided
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 480 calories, 22 g protein, 38 g carbs and 27 g fat, and costs about $1.01 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No elbow macaroni? Penne works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 350°F and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Bring a large pot of water over high heat, add 1 tablespoon salt and the macaroni, and cook 2 minutes less than the package says.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Dolly’s tip: It finishes cooking in the oven, so slightly firm now means tender, not mushy, later.the pasta in a colander and set it aside, then wipe out the pot.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
4 tablespoons butter in the pot over medium heat, whisk in the flour, and keep 1 minute, until it bubbles and smells toasty.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Slowly pour in the milk, the whole time, then keep whisking 6 to 8 minutes, until it bubbles and enough to coat a spoon.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: Pour the milk a splash at a time at first. If lumps form, keep whisking and they smooth out.Take the pot off the heat and in the mustard, garlic powder, paprika, pepper and 1½ teaspoons salt.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
in 3 cups of the cheddar and all the jack, a handful at a time, until and smooth, then stir in the macaroni.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Dolly’s tip: Off the heat is the trick. Cheese sauce that boils turns grainy.Spread it in the dish, scatter the last cup of cheddar and the panko on top, and dot with the last 2 tablespoons butter in small pieces.
Dolly’s tip: To make ahead, cover and chill up to a day, then bake 15 minutes longer.uncovered 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbling at the edges and on top. Let it 10 minutes before serving.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Timer: 28 min
Food safety: Keep a make-ahead dish in the fridge until it goes in the oven, then reheat it until it’s steaming hot in the middle, 165°F. Check the center, not the edges; it’s the last part to heat.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
When you host a dinner, Dollop builds the menu around your guests’ allergies, works out a cooking timeline back from when everyone sits down, and puts it all on one grocery list.
