Seriously, Think Twice Before Ordering Chick-Fil-A's Mac And Cheese Tray

When faced with many mouths to feed, cooking even simple recipes can start to seem overwhelming. Ordering large dishes from restaurants is an easy answer, and Chick-fil-A tempts with sizable options of mac and cheese, cookies, salads, and chicken nuggets. But even items this promisingly tasty can result in a disappointing experience if you unknowingly make ordering mistakes at the restaurant.

Before you call in an order of a large tray of Chick-fil-A's mac and cheese, you'll need to make some choices. For the scatterbrained and poor party planners among us, last-minute ordering is not an option. Orders of the mac and cheese trays need advanced notice, as Chick-fil-A requires at least two hours before you can carry these large portions home. Party hosts will also need to account for transportation time and any necessary reheating of the noodles before serving — and reheating may not bring the dish back to its original quality.

The melty recipe is meant to satisfy a larger dinner party and looks like it could have been made at home. Golden, bubbly, and oozing, the cheesy casserole is baked in-house with a mix of cheeses that include cheddar, Romano, and Parmesan. While individual orders of mac and cheese are delicious and tasty when ordered in smaller sizes (Chick-fil-A's recipe has made it onto our list of some of the best fast food mac and cheese you can find for good reason), you'll have to weigh out the pros and cons before committing to a larger order. 

Driving home with a tray of mac and cheese may seem innocuous enough, but if time passes between picking up your order and when you plan to serve the tray, you may find that the top crust of cheese lacks the bite you're hoping for, and you will need to compensate for the lack of crunch at home. Once reheated, the cooked pasta noodles are at risk of turning into soggy, soft messes. Even with added toppings of potato chips (one of the best ways to use potato chips) or fried onions, your large order may be difficult to rescue.

Plus, clocking in at $33 for a single tray, you'll need to decide whether the time saved cooking and cleaning up after yourself is worth it. If you are on a budget and willing to embark on a culinary journey at home, plenty of copycat recipes have cropped up online. Making mac and cheese at home means that if you want to try to amend Chick-fil-A's recipe to suit any dietary restrictions of guests, you can do so while saving yourself some money in the process.