Cooking for a crowd
Oven-Baked Eggplant Parmesan for 24
These are estimates. They come from rules of thumb, not a recipe we tested at this size. Go by the recipe's own doneness cues and a thermometer, and taste as you go.
The plan
Make 4 batches of the recipe as written: about 24 servings.
The recipe serves 6. How it cooks: baked in pans.
Pans, pots and the oven
- 4 × 9x13-inch rectangle.
- A home oven fits 4 at a time (two per rack on two racks), so that's 1 round in one oven.
Timing
- Prep: about 1 hour 38 minutes of hands-on work for 4 batches (the recipe's 30 minutes each, a little faster once you're set up).
- Oven: about 55 minutes, one round.
- With both racks full the oven bakes less evenly: swap the pans between racks and turn them halfway through, and expect about 5 to 10 minutes more than the recipe says. Go by its doneness cue, not the clock.
Good to know
- Make it as 4 separate batches of the recipe as written, one 9x13-inch rectangle at a time (two at once if your mixer or bowl holds a double batch). The salt and spices in each batch stay as measured.
- Don't put two batches in one deeper pan: it takes much longer and the middle can stay underdone. A bigger, shallower pan works if you rescale for it with the pan size converter.
Using bigger or different pans? The pan size converter rescales the recipe for them.
Ingredients for about 24
The totals to shop for. Each batch uses the recipe's own amounts, so mix and season them one batch at a time.
- Eggplant
- 8 medium eggplants, about 2 1/2 lb total
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ⅓ tbsp kosher salt, divided
- 12 large eggs
- ¼ cup water
- 8 cups panko
- 2 cups parmesan, finely grated
- 1 ⅓ tbsp italian seasoning
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 ⅓ cups olive oil, divided
- Assembly
- 12 cups marinara sauce
- 3 lb mozzarella, shredded (about 3 cups)
- 2 cups parmesan, finely grated
- 1 cup fresh basil, torn
Rounded to kitchen measures. Eggs are rounded up to whole eggs.
Keeping a big batch safe
- Keep hot food at 140°F or hotter and cold food at 40°F or colder; nothing sits out more than 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F). (USDA FSIS: "Danger Zone" (40°F to 140°F))
- Split big batches into shallow containers so they cool quickly. Hot food can go straight into the fridge. (USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety)
Back to the recipe More recipes for a crowd
How we work it out
- How it cooks decides how it grows. Baked dishes and casseroles are made as separate batches of the recipe as written, one pan's worth at a time. Soups, stews and chili go in one bigger pot, or several. Slow cooker and pressure cooker recipes get one batch per cooker or per round. Roasts become more roasts, not a bigger one. Skillet, griddle, grill and fried recipes cook in rounds.
- Pans and the oven. We assume a home oven with two racks, two baking dishes or cake pans per rack, or one sheet pan per rack. More pans than that means another round in the oven.
- Pots. The volume comes from the weight of the ingredients (about a liter for each kilogram; dry pasta, rice and grains count 2½ times, since they soak up water), in a pot no more than 3/4 full.
- What we don't simply multiply. Salt: add 3/4, taste, then the rest. Cayenne, chiles and hot sauce: start with 2/3. Ground spices and dried herbs: start with 3/4 once it's 3 batches or more. Bay leaves and other whole spices: about half the extra. Baking soda, baking powder and yeast: batch by batch. Frying oil and the water for boiling: by the pot, not the recipe. A big pot of soup or stew: hold back a tenth of the liquid.
- Timing. Each extra batch adds about 3/4 of the recipe's prep time. A big pot takes about 3 more minutes per extra quart to come to a simmer on one burner. Meat browns in batches no bigger than the recipe's. A full oven bakes a little slower: swap and turn the pans halfway, and allow 5 to 10 minutes more.
These are our rules of thumb, not tests of each recipe at each size. The recipe's own doneness cues and a thermometer come first.