Macaroni and Cheese for a Crowd
This mac and cheese recipe makes a large batch for 20 to 25 people, which you can then double for 50 to 60 people.
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Calories: 462kcal
Servings: servings
Equipment
Ingredients
For the mac and cheese
- 32 oz elbows macaroni pasta
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 gallon whole milk, plus additional 2-3 cups to adjust consistency
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 4 tsp kosher salt, plus more to salt the water for the pasta (see Notes)
- 5 slices American cheese
- 32 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
For the topping
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 6 oz Ritz crackers, crushed
- 1 handful chopped fresh, flat-leaf parsley for garnish, if desired
Instructions
Make the topping
- Combine the melted butter and crushed crackers in a bowl. Set aside.
Cook the pasta and make the sauce
- Bring a very large pot of water to a boil (see Notes). Add a handful of salt.
- Heat oven to 400℉.
- Separately, in a large pot, melt the butter. Add the flour and once bubbly, cook a minute to make a roux.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water. Stir to ensure pasta doesn't sink and stick to the bottom. Cook to al dente according to package directions.
- While pasta is cooking, whisk in the milk to the roux. Cook until the milk starts to steam, stirring constantly. Occasionally, also stir the pasta again to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Once the milk starts to steam, add the Dijon, salt, and cheeses. Stir until cheese is at least half melted and the mixture thickens a bit. Turn off the heat.
- Add additional milk to adjust for consistency (~2 cups). This will ensure the mixture stays creamy while cooking and serving because the pasta will thicken it further. You want the sauce to be the consistency of hearty soup: not thin broth and not thick chowder, but in between. Like a bechamel.
- Taste for seasoning! This is KEY. You want to taste SALT at this point. If you don't, your mac and cheese will be bland once the pasta is added.
Assemble and bake
- Drain the pasta and add to the cheese sauce. Pour all into a hotel pan (see Notes).
- Top with the butter-cracker mixture.
- Bake at 400℉ for ~30 minutes or until golden on top and bubbly around the edges. Garnish with chopped flat-leaf parsley, if desired, and serve.
Notes
- If a very large pot is not available, use to large, regular kitchen pots and simply divide the pasta between the two. This does not have to be exact since the pasta will all end up in the sauce.
- Hotel pans are the large pans seen in large-scale buffets. They are generally 12 x 20 inches in dimension, and 2.5 to 4 inches deep. If not available, divide the mac and cheese between 2 (13 x 9 inch) pans or bake dishes. Note that 2 (13 x 9-in) pans may cook faster than 1 (12 x 20 inch) pan.
- I don't generally add salt to water for cooking pasta, but I do when large scale cooking as extra insurance against a bland outcome.
Nutrition
Calories: 462kcal