This is one of my go-tos when I need a make ahead dish. It works great. I prep everything up through assembling the macaroni and the sauce in a baking dish, then cover with foil and refrigerate. Next day, set it on the counter for 20-30 minutes to take the chill off the dish, put on whatever topping you want to use, then bake as normal.

I always boil the macaroni for a minute or so less than the directions on the box, so it still has a firm bite. It softens up as the final dish bakes. I don't do anything different if it's going to sit in the fridge overnight.

OP here….outstanding feedback and input! Thank you all and Happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous wrote:I don’t rinse any pasta.

+1 I only rinse if I’m making something cold with it and need the pasta to stop cooking right away.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP is right that you can assemble the day before and bake day if. I’ve done this many times. Take it out of the fridge 30-45 min before baking to allow it to come to room temperature. The quality of the dish does not suffer at all.

Ok great to these that I will definitely “slightly undercook” the macaroni…..nect question, do you rinse macaroni or not? I feel like sauce doesn’t stick to Mac if you rinse…

There’s no reason to rinse unless you’re putting plain (no sauce, butter, oil, etc.,) cooked pasta in the fridge. If it will be sitting in sauce, the noodles won’t stick together.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP is right that you can assemble the day before and bake day if. I’ve done this many times. Take it out of the fridge 30-45 min before baking to allow it to come to room temperature. The quality of the dish does not suffer at all.

Ok great to these that I will definitely “slightly undercook” the macaroni…..nect question, do you rinse macaroni or not? I feel like sauce doesn’t stick to Mac if you rinse…

Let the cheese sauce cool before mixing in the macaroni so it doesn't continue to cook it, leading to extra sogginess the next day. Don't think you need to rinse, I never have, and the cheese sticks.

I don’t rinse any pasta.

Anonymous wrote:PP is right that you can assemble the day before and bake day if. I’ve done this many times. Take it out of the fridge 30-45 min before baking to allow it to come to room temperature. The quality of the dish does not suffer at all.

Ok great to these that I will definitely “slightly undercook” the macaroni…..nect question, do you rinse macaroni or not? I feel like sauce doesn’t stick to Mac if you rinse…

Anonymous wrote:PP is right that you can assemble the day before and bake day if. I’ve done this many times. Take it out of the fridge 30-45 min before baking to allow it to come to room temperature. The quality of the dish does not suffer at all.

Also, it sounds like you skip the bread on top, but for anyone else who’s reading, you wouldn’t add the bread until just before baking if you use this method.

PP is right that you can assemble the day before and bake day if. I’ve done this many times. Take it out of the fridge 30-45 min before baking to allow it to come to room temperature. The quality of the dish does not suffer at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can prep it the day before and bake it the day of. It should be fine sitting over night not baked.

I skip the bread on top family doesn’t like it…they like extra cheese on top. Won’t the macaroni sit and get soggy? I don’t want the whole being overcooked

Slightly under cook the macaroni. It will cook more in the oven and then it won’t get soggy overnight

I would tear up the bread, make the sauce, and boil the macaroni the day before, but not combine these components. I’d rinse the cooked macaroni thoroughly with cold water to remove the starch so it wouldn’t clump together, then refrigerate sauce and macaroni separately overnight. Then on Thanksgiving, I’d take everything out of the fridge in time so it could come to room temperature, and I’d melt the butter for the bread crumbs. You might need to microwave the sauce to get it back into liquid form. I’d follow the recipe’s baking instructions at that point.

I prep the day before. Refrigerate. Take out of the fridge and hour or so before baking. Then bake. It'll still take longer to bake than the recipe calls for. It doesn't get mushy (make sure to not overcook the noodles to begin with).

Anonymous wrote:You can prep it the day before and bake it the day of. It should be fine sitting over night not baked.

I skip the bread on top family doesn’t like it…they like extra cheese on top. Won’t the macaroni sit and get soggy? I don’t want the whole being overcooked

You can prep it the day before and bake it the day of. It should be fine sitting over night not baked.

[code]
My family loves this Mac n cheese and have requested for Thanksgiving. Have you made it day before and if so did you bake it? How to make sure it doesn’t get too dry? Make extra saucy maybe? Please share your tips to have it ready to reheat day of T-giving.