Recipe
June 6, 2023
Overnight Mac & Cheese

“This is the easiest, cheesiest, crustiest mac & cheese I’ve ever made! It’s the perfect prep-ahead dish; you don’t even need to make a roux.” – Ina Garten
Directions
Yield: Serves 6
- A day before you plan to serve, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt and the pasta and cook for 4 minutes (it will be undercooked). Drain (don’t rinse) and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a medium (10-inch) bowl, combine the cream, 1½ cups of the Gruyère, 3/4 cup of the cheddar, the nutmeg, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1½ teaspoons pepper. Stir the hot pasta into the cream mixture, cover the bowl with plastic, and refrigerate for 24 hours. The pasta will absorb the cream and expand.
- When ready to bake, allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for about one hour. (You can also microwave it for 4 minutes.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Butter a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking dish. Stir the pasta mixture well, transfer it to the dish, and spread it evenly. Combine the remaining 1½ cups Gruyère and 3/4 cup cheddar and sprinkle evenly on top. Combine the breadcrumbs and the 3 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle evenly over the cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating halfway through, until golden brown. Serve hot.
Note: For 2½ cups of breadcrumbs, remove the crusts from 6 slices of white bread and dice. Place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until finely ground.
Source:
Recipes excerpted from the book GO-TO DINNERS: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten. ©2022 by Ina Garten. Photographs ©2022 by Quentin Bacon. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC