Bacon Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter; melted ⓘ
- 1-1.5 cups breadcrumbs ⓘ
- 1 cup (125 g) grated sharp cheddar ⓘ
- chopped parsley/sage/rosemary (optional)
- Sauce: ⓘ
- 1 lb elbow mac ⓘ
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (3 tbsp if not using bacon) ⓘ
- 3 tbsp flour ⓘ
- 2 tsp pepper flakes ⓘ
- 2 3/4 cups milk ⓘ
- 3/4 cup cream ⓘ
- 2 cups (250 g) grated orange cheddar
- 2 cups (250 g) grated sharp cheddar ⓘ
Instructions
- Cook mac until al dente about 4-5 minutes. Rinse with cold water and keep on the side.
- Dice bacon. Fry it in a skillet until crispy and render the bacon fat, scoop out the bacon and put it on the side. Keep the bacon fat.
- In a large pot, pour in 2 tbsp of the bacon fat and the 1 tbsp of butter over low heat. Stir in flour and pepper flakes. (If not using bacon, replace the 2bsp of bacon with butter)
- Cook for 3 minutes, stirring.
- Whisk in milk and cream and add bay leaves
- Bring to a boil, whisking constantly for 3 minutes.
- Remove bay leaves
- Stir in mustard, S & P and cheese.
- Remove from heat, add mac and stir. Add most of diced bacon and stir. Put remaining diced bacon in with bread crumbs
- Butter a baking dish and pour the mac in.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the mac.
- Bake in 400 oven for 20-25 min or until bubbling. Broil for last 3-4 minutes to crisp up the crust.
Nutrition & Diet Analysis (per serving)
955
kcal
48% DV
Protein
Fat
Carbs
* % Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet (FDA 2020).