Sides with macaroni cheese?

[bumchic]

Got big group coming to us after a day out a football match for dinner this weekend. Planning to do a big macaroni cheese but not sure what sides.

Garlic bread? (Will we need more carbs?)
Salad? (Not much nice salad veg in season)
Coleslaw? (too creamy?)
Steamed veg? (Which ones? How to keep warm while everyone serving themselves?)

Chips and pizza it’s what they will want

Sausages.
Baked tomatoes.

No more carbs. Never double carbs!

I think veg that can be kept warm and/or stirred in are nice with macaroni cheese. Peas or corn spring to mind. I also think broccoli is lovely with cheese sauce so I’d have a spare jug of sauce and broccolini or broccoli.

I sort of think of macaroni cheese as a side. So a ham would be lovely!

I'd probably go for a green salad with maybe a mustard and white wine vinegar dressing, plus optional garlic bread (yeah a fair few people probably won't go for it but you can bake more/stash them in the freezer if they don't get eaten).

You could also potentially do some additional toppings to jazz everything up? Crispy onions, crispy bacon etc?

In Scotland it is always chips 😂

Greens for me. Either salad or spring Greens/cannage.

and garlic bread

I’d always go for something green and fresh with macaroni cheese. Salad is perfect, you can make in advance. And do garlic bread for anyone who’s especially hungry.

You need a main to go with it, it's a side dish.

I think macaroni cheese is the side dish so I'd serve fried chicken with it!

Personally I’d go chips and garlic bread 😁 with some nice crispy bacon to go on top

Chip and garlic bread. Make a table salad for any weirdos.

Definitely a roast gammon! I also like roasted tomatoes on the vine and green beans

I would have a bit of green salad, but appreciate many people don’t like hot pasta and a salad. I’m not a fan of double carbs, but for a big group some garlic bread to snack on and mop up the sauce sounds a good idea. I’m from France and we had bread with everything (also lived in Italy and Spain for a while it was also the norm there!).

People won’t be expecting a finely balanced meal, they just want some sustenance after the match and cheesy pasta and garlic bread sounds perfect.

A vinegar based coleslaw, rather than a mayo based can go well with mac and cheese. Charred broccoli is nice with it and tastes fine even if it goes cold. And I agree with PP’s suggestion of sausages, again fine if they cold. Maybe sausages in honey and mustard? I sometimes serve them with mac and cheese.

Needs to be vegetarian! And make ahead or v quick as we will have been out at football/travelling there and back from 1200-1700

@FatBottomGirlz absolutely 😂😂
although to be fair, I only eat it maybe once a year when I take a real craving for it 😂 a local pub does a great one and great chips 😊

Broccoli
Baked tomatoes — do them alongside the mac cheese
Veggie sausages
And yes, I’d do the garlic bread as well (not chips or pizza though!)

How are you heating up the macaroni?

Mac cheese is a side I think - I'd order pizza when you're close to home!

If I’m doing it at home we have it with crispy bacon and fried mushrooms on the side. But that’s a bit of a faff in your situation so I’d go with salad and garlic bread.

Really? Pasta is always a main meal for me, I’d never have it as a side dish. Maybe a very small portion before a main meal as part of a feast, but definitely not for an occasion such as this.

I would add to the mac and cheese. So make it more of a vegetable pasta bake. Add cauliflower and broccoli, sweet corn ans peas. Sun-dried tomatoes, chunks of cheese. Top with breadcrumbs mixed with lemon zest and almonds.

Serve with green beans with tomatoes x

Oh also, totally disagree that you can’t double carb. Garlic bread is delicious with mac and cheese!

Controversial perhaps, but I love pickled beetroot with macaroni cheese. I like the way the acidity cuts through the cheesy carbiness. Plus it fulfils your need for speed - I’d buy in a quantity from the supermarket and just transfer to a nice serving bowl. Sometimes I also make a carrot salad (basically grated carrot with a lemon dressing and a handful of chopped coriander or parsley on top, maybe some toasted seeds).

Green beans and broccoli
Vinegar based slaw and pickled cabbage to cut through the richness
love the idea of baked herby tomatoes too