Make-Ahead Creamy Mac and Cheese for 300

I have made Mac and Cheese dozens of times during my three years of working at the IPC kitchen, but I was never quite satisfied with the result. Creamy, yet flavorful mac and cheese for 300 seemed like a distant, unachievable goal.

However, I was inspired to give it another try after reading Jenna's post on her success of making Mac and Cheese. Though I could not use her exact recipe (it contained blue cheese; we have too many young palates who wouldn't be too keen on that) I wanted to give it another try. Creamy Mac and Cheese or bust!

Cook elbow pasta alente. I cooked 12 pounds of pasta and used six full-size disposable, aluminum steam pans for easy clean up. This can be done up to two days ahead. Toss a bit of melted butter before storing. Bring to room temperature before adding cheese sauce.

For cheese sauce, make blonde roux: cook butter until it begins to foam. Add dry mustard, freshly grated garlic, and cayenne pepper.

Add equal amount of flour and cook until light golden.


Whisk in chicken broth and milk slowly. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking often until slightly thickened.

Add freshly grated sharp cheddar and Colby cheese. Colby cheese gave the sauce the smooth texture I was after.

Divide and pour cheese sauce over pasta. Adjust with salt and pepper. Cover tightly with foil.


This is not a necessary step for home cooks. But for large volume cooking, use stainless steel steam pans to support the weight of the food, since thin aluminum disposable pans are used. Then, carefully pour a little hot water between two pans to keep the pasta edges from burning. Hot water acts as an added insulation to the pans, keeping the temperature even throughout the pans.

For crisp, buttery topping, toss Panko bread crumbs, a dash of paprika or dry rub, and melted butter. Spread it on a rimmed cookie sheet and toast in oven for 8-12 minutes. After mac and cheese is completely heated through, sprinkle topping right before serving.

Ahhh. Finally...dreamy, creamy Mac and Cheese! I was so thrilled! Thank you so much for the inspiration, Jenna!

Print This Recipe

Make-Ahead Baked Mac and Cheese

Serves 6-8 (sit down dinner); buffet 16-18; portioned and served 25+

2 Cups of Toasted Panko Bread Crumbs (see note below)
1 pound elbow macaroni, or any small pasta
1 tablespoon table salt
6 tablespoons (3 oz) unsalted butter
6 tablespoons ((1.8 oz) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 medium garlic clove, grated
2 1/4 cups chicken broth
3 1/3 cups milk
1 pound Colby cheese , shredded (4 cups)
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese , shredded (2 cups)
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Make the topping and set aside. Bring 4-5 quarts of water to boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt and pasta. Stir and cook until just beginning to softened and firm in the center to bite. About 5-7 minutes depending on the quantity. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

2. Wipe the pot dry and heat the pot medium heat. Add butter and melt, stir in the garlic, mustard, and cayenne for about 30 seconds until fragrant and butter begins to foam. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until light golden.

3. Gradually whisk in broth and milk; bring mixture to boil, whisking constantly (mixture must reach full boil to fully thicken). Reduce heat to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally, until slightly thickened to consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes (requires more if cooking a large amount). Off heat, whisk in cheeses until cheeses are fully melted. Add pasta and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Pour into 13x9 inch baking dish.

4. To Store: After cooling, wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap first then foil. Refrigerate up to 2 days or freeze up to 1 month. Thaw completely and bring the casserole to room temperature before baking. Toast, cool, then freeze bread crumbs.

5. To serve: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove plastic wrap! But cover tightly with foil. Bake until the filling is hot throughout, 40-45 minutes. Add topping and serve.

Toasted Panko Topping:
2 Cups of Panko Bread Crumb
1 teaspoon of paprika or dry rub mixture

4 tablespoon melted unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Toss bread crumbs, paprika (or dry rub) and melted butter in a bowl. Spread out over a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring until toasted. 8-12 minutes. Cool completely.

Make-ahead tips:

Make the casserole and refrigerate up to 2 days. Or freeze up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator completely in the refrigerator about 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before baking in oven.

For serving 300 people: for 12 lbs of pasta, make recipe X 11 for the cheese sauce.

3-4 Days ahead: all cheese was shredded with food processor and stored in refrigerator.

Up to 6 hours ahead: cooked 12 pounds of pasta, drain, drizzle some melted butter & store in 6 full-size disposable steam pans until ready to bake

**toast topping, cool completely and set aside

Up to 3 hours ahead: make cheese sauce, divide and pour into 6 pans. Cover with foil and set aside until ready to bake.

1 hour ahead: Put 1 1/2 cups hot water between 2 layers of pan. Bake until filling is hot. Before serving, generously sprinkle topping.