What’s better than macaroni and cheese? NOTHING. Well except macaroni and cheese with stuff in it. Make your small gathering the easiest and cheesiest with a macaroni and cheese bar.
Want to get people all excited? Ask them about what makes the perfect mac and cheese.
Is it multiple cheeses? Is it just processed cheese? On the stove or in the oven? There are so many ways and so many opinions.
A few years ago the mashed potato bar became the big trend for weddings and fancy parties. First because who doesn’t love mashed potatoes, but more so because it allowed everyone to personalize their meal just the way they wanted. I like to call this “Starbucking” phenomenon and for the most part, it always works! Plus – it’s really easy to lay out options and let guests do the work.
Now just like cupcakes went to donuts, mashed potatoes has gone to macaroni and cheese. Other than a few basics, there’s not one way to do it – just let their creativity take over. I love this option and so will they! Here’s how we did this on Good Morning Texas.
How to Make a Mac and Cheese Bar
The Base
First off you’ll need a great, basic macaroni and cheese recipe. To keep the noodles warm, I suggest making a macaroni and cheese recipe in the slowcooker. Based on this recipe, I’ve added a few touches to make it noodleriffic (see below.)
The Toppings
Once you have this down, the fun begins. What sounds good to you? I’ve put together a few common elements of toppings that are popular, but don’t let it end there. Taking a little inspiration from your favorite menus, add ingredients that together make a whole new dish. For instance, one favorite is Buffalo Mac and Cheese. So don’t forget buffalo sauce and chicken as toppings. And because sometimes people want recommendations, add a few suggested menu ideas just in case!
Topping Suggestions
- Buffalo
-
Grilled Chicken
-
Lobster
-
Spinach / Artichoke
-
Bacon
-
Weenies
-
More Cheese
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Pico de Gallo
-
Jalapenos, chopped/sliced/diced
-
Broccoli
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Breadcrumbs
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Black Beans/Corn
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Chili / BBQ
Best Macaroni & Cheese for a Macaroni & Cheese Bar
Description
The best kind of macaroni and cheese is the one that you make! Make any party fun with a mac n cheese bar!
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
- 4 tablespoons butter (1/4 cup) cut into pieces
- 2 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream (I prefer Greek yogurt)
- One can condensed Cheddar cheese soup, (10 3/4-ounce can)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain.
- In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.
- In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add sour cream, soup, salt, milk, nutmeg, mustard and pepper and stir well.
- Add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Notes
- Now add any toppings you want! We share tips and recommendations for the Best Macaroni & Cheese Bar on mamachallenge.com
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What exactly do the eggs do for the recipe? Thank you
I’m checking my notes on this one – I want to make sure why I listed eggs and it wasn’t a miss on my part! There are so many liquids here I’m not sure you’d need it!
so cute
You mention eggs in your recipe, but there is no mention of them (or how many) in your ingredients list.
I am actually not sure why there is eggs in this recipe! I’ve gone back to my notes to make sure but I’ve taken it out. I’ll be doing Mac N Cheese at Thanksgiving and try both to make sure there’s not a special trick I did here! Thanks for the catch! 🙂 I did this on the TV segment too so I’m rewatching to make sure!
I would love to know how long this will keep in the slow cooker. My kids want to serve a mac and cheese bar at their grad party this spring. How do I keep the mac and cheese the best??
I’d go with as low as possible AND be ready to add a little milk or another dairy to keep it creamy! 🙂 Congrats on the graduation!
Yum! Any suggestions for a substitute for the condensed cheese soup? I’m really not a fan of condensed soups.
Me either honestly. I’d think about this substitute: http://realfitrealfoodmom.com/2013/10/20/condensed-cheddar-cheese-soup/. However, you can always mix grated cheese, milk and a little flour to make a cheese gravy or roux. But what you need is cheese and something creamy to give it the right texture.
If you can get it, Mexican sour cream makes a great base for mac & cheese sauce. Its not as thick or as sour as sour cream.
Agreed.I often use it or conversely the greek yogurt for a thicker sauce.
How many does this serve? Can I double the recipe?
Is it ok to use the Greek yogurt with the milk or should the milk be omitted?
I actually used both – one for protein, one for creamy liquid. Start with the yogurt and then add milk until the right consistency!
How many servings does your recipe make? Thank you!
Well it depends on how much you’re putting in your bowl!
For the butter, is it 4 tablespoons or a 1/2 cup?
We used a plug in recently and our conversions didn’t convert:) So it’s 1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons. Although there’s really no such thing as too much butter.
Hello – Could you confirm the number of serving sizes this recipe creates, please? Thanks!
That all depends on what you like – and how much you taste (and the size of your slow cooker.) I had more than 20 come out of ours with 1/2 cup.
I’m doing a test of this recipe for our grad party, but the cheddar cheese is not melting well. I melted it on low with the butter and it melted, but still not really a thick liquid. The butter (and some oils from the cheese?) were fairly separate from the melty blob of cheese. I put it in the crockpot with the other ingredients (they were cold. I am now cooking on high, trying to warm everything up and breaking up the cheese blobs with the back of a spoon. I haven’t added the past yet, until I can be convinced that I won’t have chunks of cheddar cheese. in the sauce. Did I do something wrong? What are your thoughts. Maybe I need a better quality cheddar. I am using Winco Shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
Ideally you can make mac n cheese over the regular pot and then put it in the crock to stay nice and warm for a long period of time. I also had to make some time to make sure it was all melted. Always add butter if you need to make it not congeal together.
Well, it finally all melted together, but it was a lot of effort. I’m thinking I should put all the sauce ingredients in the crockpot first on high, including the butter and when everything is hot, sprinkle in the shredded cheese. Then turn it to low and add the pasta. Do you think this would work? I would skip the step of melting the cheese on the stove.
You definitely can. Some crock pots take a long time to do that so it was making sure the cheese was all melted before the other ingredients came together.