I took my love for bacon and combined it with my grandmother’s and mother’s recipes for Mac and Cheese. The result is heaven on a plate.
Be warned: If you don’t like a quiet dinner table, don’t make this recipe.
That’s because everybody will be too busy eating to talk. I mean, what do you expect when you serve comfort food that also includes bacon?
What makes this dish so spectacular is the perfect blend of salty, sharp, and gooey cheeses that gives this Bacon Mac and Cheese the ultimate flavor and texture: sharp cheddar, mozzarella, and a new one for me, Colby. Once I added that Colby, the flavor of this dish became swoon-worthy.
The addition of a bit of red pepper is essential. Red pepper is a friend to cheese and creamy sauces, period. Also, you’ll need to tend to that heavy cream roux. Heavy cream is a challenge to work with. It needs babying and whisking. And anyone who has dealt with a roux knows that it is NOT to be rushed. So don’t attempt this mac ‘n’ cheese expecting it to be pret a manger—this one takes time. But trust me when I say, it is worth the wait!
How to Easily Cook a Pound of Bacon
If you’re cooking for numerous people (or just a few really hungry people), you may find this method for doing up a lot of bacon useful—one where every strip browns from end to end, perfectly cooked, and I don’t even have to fry it or tend to it.
You’ll need a cookie sheet lined with foil, 20 minutes, and your oven preheated to 425°F.
Spread out the strips on the sheet. Once you hear that Beep Beep Beep of the oven, pop the sheet inside. At the 15-minute mark, peek inside. Once all the strips have browned to your liking, take them out to cool. Now chop, crumble, or dice them and add them to your mac and cheese.
How do I store the mac u0026amp; cheese?
You can refrigerate this dish for three days, no more—not that you will have leftovers that long. You can freeze the whole casserole for four months. In fact, Bacon Macaroni and Cheese was made for freezing — the creamier the sauce, the better it freezes, as a rule.
Serving Suggestions
Make a Tex-Mex feast with my Ultimate BBQ Cowboy Beans, my Mexican corn casserole (“Esquites“) and my Tex-Mex Chicken Melts, and you’ll be the Queen of the Cookout—or dinner table.
Bacon Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon diced
- 4 quarts water
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 1 tablespoon salt for pasta water
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons butter divided
- 4 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon salt for sauce
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cups Colby-Jack cheese shredded
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F.
- In a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil, add a tablespoon of salt, and cook the macaroni until al dente, then drain.
- In a skillet, fry the bacon until golden and set aside on paper towels, keeping the grease in the pan.
- Combine remaining butter with bacon grease, then whisk in flour and cook until golden brown.
- Gradually pour milk and cream into the roux, bring to a simmer, and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Save some cheese for topping, and whisk the rest into the sauce until smooth.
- Toss the drained macaroni with the cheese sauce and half of the bacon.
- Grease a baking dish with butter, transfer the mac and cheese into it, and sprinkle with the reserved cheese and bacon.
- Cook in the preheated oven until bubbly and golden on top.
- Serve the bacon mac and cheese hot from the oven.
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