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Cooking for a crowd

Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese 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 it 6 times over: about 24 servings.

The recipe serves 4. How it cooks: one big pot.

Pans, pots and the oven

  • About 9 quarts in all (one batch is about 1 ½).
  • One 12-quart stockpot holds it at no more than 3/4 full, or split it between 3 Dutch ovens (5½ quarts).

Timing

  • Prep: about 48 minutes of hands-on work (the recipe's 10 minutes, times 6, a little faster once you're set up).
  • Coming to a boil or simmer: about 22 minutes longer than the recipe (roughly 3 minutes for every extra quart on one burner).
  • Browning: in 6 batches no bigger than the recipe's, about 6 minutes in all. A crowded pot steams the meat instead of browning it.
  • Simmering: about the same time once it's simmering. Stir and scrape the bottom more often; a big pot scorches more easily, so lower the heat a notch.

Ingredients for about 24

Every amount × 6, except the marked ones: those don't grow in a straight line.

  • Pasta
  • 3 lb elbow macaroni
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt, for the pasta water Goes by the pot, not the recipe: plenty of water in your biggest pot, salted the way the recipe says for that much water.
  • Cheese sauce
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • 12 cups whole milk
  • 1 tbsp dry mustard powder Start with 2 ¼ tsp. Ground spices and dried herbs: start with 3/4, taste after it has cooked 15 minutes, and add more if you like.
  • 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt Start with 2 ¼ tsp. Add 3/4 of it, then taste near the end and add the rest only if it needs it. In a big batch salt adds up fast, and broth, cans and cheese bring their own.
  • 6 pinches black pepper Start with 4 ½ pinches.
  • 3 lb sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
  • 12 oz Monterey Jack or American cheese, grated or torn

Rounded to kitchen measures. Eggs are rounded up to whole eggs.

Keeping a big batch safe

Back to the recipe More recipes for a crowd

How we work it out

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.