I’m getting Sunday and holiday dinners ready ahead of time with my Make Ahead Freezer Macaroni and Cheese.
Freezer Macaroni and Cheese
Recently I was digging into my archives, cleaning up my website to make it more user friendly, and updating pictures. While doing so, I came across some old pictures in my camera. I saw these delicious pictures of some macaroni and cheese that I took when I started practicing food photography.
Holiday Meal Planning Tips
It dawned on me that I should share my tips regarding my day to day operations for holiday meal planning, and just meal planning in general. For a few years I have been making macaroni and cheese ahead of time and freezing it.
Let It Bake
Then, when it’s time to bake it, I just pop the pan of freezer macaroni and cheese into the oven and let it bake. This saves me a ton of time when I have to cook several dishes for a big dinner or holiday dinner for that matter.
Disposable Foil Pans
To make life easier, I use these disposable foil pans. So it becomes a dump and go type of situation regarding dishes, dishwashers, and all of that mess. I’m telling you this has saved me many times for little pot lucks, and dinners.
My kid was going to a pool party that required everyone bring a dish. I had a few of these pans of frozen goodness stashed away in the freezer. I whipped a few out and baked them and sent the kid on their way with pans of creamy cheesy goodness like this mouthwatering freezer macaroni and cheese.
Freezing Macaroni and Cheese
If you’re not hip to the game yet, freezing macaroni and cheese is not a scary situation. You are basically assembling your macaroni and cheese dish, cutting out the cooking process, and placing the dish in the freezer until ready to cook.
I found using the small disposable loaf pans worked great as it allows me to make several small pans to place in the freezer. These several pans of freezer macaroni and cheese cover multiple meals.
And just because it’s frozen doesn’t mean you get a hot mess like some of the frozen TV dinner mac n cheese trays you can find in the freezer section.
You know the ones I’m talking about right? Those Salisbury steak dinners that have corn kernels spill over from the other side dishes in the tray. When this mac comes out the oven, you have a creamy dream of macaroni, and cheeses.
Hope this helps you with your meal planning for the holidays and Sunday Dinner Friends as it has for me!
Here is another fool proof unconventional way to cook macaroni and cheese – using the slow cooker! And Happy Money Saver has a delicious kids-friendly recipe, too.
Tips to Make Freezer Macaroni and Cheese
- If you are looking for that creamy runny texture serve immediately. If not possible, at least remove it from the heat source so that the pasta can retain as much moisture as possible…
- Do not overcook the noodles before adding them to the dish – to avoid “mushy” noodles.
- Make sure to put a baking pan under the pans of macaroni and cheese to prevent leaking of oils in the oven while the macaroni and cheese bakes.
- For a creamier version, don’t let the macaroni and cheese thaw for 30 minutes.
ENJOYING THIS FREEZER MACARONI AND CHEESE? YOU WILL LOVE THESE, TOO:
- Homemade Marinara Sauce Infused with Wine
- Moist Red Velvet Cake and Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- New Orleans BBQ Shrimp – Recipe
- Tandoori Inspired Roasted Chicken Legs
- Super Moist Chocolate Cake
MADE THIS RECIPE?
♥♥♥ Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below to let me know if you enjoyed it. And follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more delicious inspiration! ♥♥♥
Plan Ahead Freezer Friendly Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 small disposable loaf pans
- One pound of elbow noodles
- 3 cups shredded smoked gouda cheese (or Muenster cheese)
- 2 cups shredded gouda cheese (or Colby jack cheese)
- 1/2 cup shredded monteray jack cheese
- 4 and ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 eggs beaten
- 3 cups half and half
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 and ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a large pot.
- Once the water is boiling add the pasta to the pot.
- Cook the pasta for about 2 minutes.
- Drain and rinse pasta with cold water to prevent the pasta from overcooking.
- Mix together the eggs, sour cream, half and half, buttermilk, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and sour cream in a large bowl. Then, add the cheeses (except one cup of the sharp cheddar) to the mixture, and mix well
- Add the cooked pasta to the mixture and stir all the ingredients together.
- Place the macaroni mixture in the foil pans.
- Top the macaroni mixture with the reserved cheddar cheese. Lightly season the top of the macaroni mixture with additional fresh cracked black pepper.
- Cover the tops with foil and freeze.
- When ready to bake. Remove from freezer and cook the pan of macaroni and cheese for about one hour to one hour and 30 minutes (or until the macaroni and cheese is heated through) in a 350 degree heated oven. Start checking at the one hour mark.
- Your macaroni and cheese is done when your macaroni and cheese is completely heated through and it has a nice creamy texture when you scoop out a spoon of the casserole.
Notes
- This is a casserole type macaroni and cheese dish.... That means it binds together and is the ingredients are not loose like a boxed macaroni and cheese. If you are looking for that creamy runny texture serve immediately or at least remove it from the heat source so that the pasta can retain as much moisture as possible....
- Also the key to success with this dish is to not overcook the noodles before adding them to the dish. This prevents "mushy" noodles when cooking the noodles for only a few minutes before adding them to the mixture.
- Make sure to put a baking pan under the pans of macaroni and cheese to prevent leaking of oils in the oven while the macaroni and cheese bakes.
- For a creamier version, don't let the macaroni and cheese thaw for 30 minutes.
- Place the frozen macaroni and cheese in a preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this time, check the middle to ensure that it warm and cheese has melted. It should look like my updated pictures in this recipe. If it still feels cool to touch, add another 10 to 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Please note that I am not a nutritionist, and the nutritional information is an estimate only. It varies based on the products and brands used.
Thanks for stopping by! Welcome to the Savory Spicerack! In my kitchen, there is no such thing as a bland meal. Each of my creations are just the way food should be – packed with flavor and created with love. 
Thank you, this is exactly the kind of tried and tested method of making and freezing mac and cheese ahead I was hoping to find!
This recipe was a hit! I am not an accomplished cook at all – & I pulled this off and received lots of compliments and requests for the recipe. Thank you!!
This is such a handy recipe to use. I can easily make a whole bunch of mac’n’cheese in advance now!
I made a double recipe of the Freezer Macaroni & Cheese for elderly in-laws and my family. It was the very best recipe I have ever used! and believe me, I have made many different recipes over the years. This one is my “go to” from now on as my search is over. Thank you very much.
Hi! I’m going to make this today for my baby sister who just had a baby 🙂 can I use milk instead of half and half?
Yes you can use milk instead!
Delicious! Everyone wanted the recipe. Now if I want to make this and not freeze, how much should I reduce the liquid?
Hello! Happy you liked the recipe! Even when I am not freezing this macaroni and cheese recipe, I still keep the same measurements – it’s still a great recipe straight in the oven after prepping. 🙂
Do you fill half the pan?
I use the disposable small foil pans that one would use for banana breads when baking. I fill them about 3/4 full.
I use the disposable small foil pans that one would use for banana breads when baking. I fill them about 3/4 full. Happy cooking!
I always bake this dish covered. 🙂
If I were to make this the morning of and cook that afternoon any suggestions? Recipe looks great thank you!
So sorry for the late response! Missed this in the emails!! I would probably still put in the freezer to keep it from drying out. If you put it in the fridge maybe add a little more liquid before baking in the afternoon. This will help to prevent the casserole from drying out if you placed it in the fridge that morning, and wanted to cook it that afternoon… Let me know how it went.
Can this be made in one big batch (rather than four loaf pans) for a Thanksgiving crowd?
I have not made it in big batches because I know it would take longer to cook. You would probably have to increase your cooking time if you decide to make larger batches. Let me know how it works for you!
I doubled this recipe and it ended up making about 2.5 13 by 9 pans and they turned out great. I baked for 1.5 hours right from the freezer. It was a crowd favorite. I would be sure just to keep an eye on cooking time, otherwise baking in a larger pan did not effect the taste.
Awesome to hear! Thanks for sharing!
Hello. I am sorry but am not sure how long it will stay in the freezer in reference to Thanksgiving… The only thing I could recommend is to make sure you cover the pan very well with foil, and place the covered pans in freezer plastic storage bags (i.e. ziploc bags). Hope this helps..
Just what I needed to plan for a multi-family ski trip this holiday. Thanks!
So glad to hear!
Delicious recipe Sharee! We love Mac n cheese, but are trying to limit making it when we’re on a diet:) Your recipe is a fantastic excuse for breaking that limit (once again) :):)
And you’re right; a proper homemade mac and cheese is thick and not a loose “cheese soup” like in store-bought mixes. It’s filling. We’ll substitute the sour cream with Greek yogurt (as sour cream isn’t available here) and try it out soon.
Have a wonderful day ahead sweetie! xoxoxo
Oh my good luck with your diet! I keep trying and failing 🙂
Yes I try to stay away from the store stuff when it comes to mac n cheese… Greek yogurt sounds like a good substitute! Happy holidays!