Creamy, Cheesy, Crunchy and Crisp, this Breaded Bacon Mac and Cheese is full of delicious flavor.
Holy moly, Macaroni!
Mac and cheese has always been one of my all time favorite foods for as long as I can remember but this here, has to be the best I’ve made yet. And it’s ALL about the topping! A combination of melted butter, Italian bread crumbs (used for added flavor) and fresh bread chunks will give you the second best crumb topping one can ask for. Add bacon to the mix and WOW, it’s perfection!
It’s crunchy and crisp with just that perfect amount of salt blended in a mouth full of creamy cheesy macaroni. What’s not to love about this dish? Maybe the fact that it goes straight to my hips. But every now and then when you want to indulge into something savory then, I see nothing wrong with a small bowl of mac and cheese.
Health Tip: To make a lighter (less calorie dense) version of this recipe, simply substitute bacon for turkey bacon (or go without), whole milk for skim milk, full-fat cheese for part-skim cheese and a total of 2 tablespoons of butter used just for the macaroni portion. In the photos here, I omitted butter for the crumb topping (only because I forgot) but as you can see, it’s not really necessary. The butter is good to use if you want the crumbs to adhere more to the macaroni.
I used six mini porcelain frying pans with the same quantity of ingredients in this recipe. Based on the remaining portion of macaroni and cheese, it’s estimated 9 mini frying pans can be used instead of a 2-quart casserole dish.
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Breaded Bacon Mac n’ Cheese
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Creamy, Cheesy, Crunchy and Crisp, this Breaded Bacon Mac and Cheese is full of delicious flavor.
Ingredients
- 8 oz elbow macaroni
- 4 to 6 strips bacon
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
- 1 and 1/2 cups bread cubed
- 2 tablespoons Italian bread crumbs
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In medium saucepan, boil macaroni until tender; drain and set aside in colander.
- Meanwhile, pan fry 4 to 6 strips of bacon to desired crispness. Lay cooked bacon on a paper towel over a plate to drain excess fat.
- In medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until mixture begins to bubble; remove from heat. Whisk in milk.
- Boil for 1 minute stirring constantly; remove from heat. Whisk in cheese until melted. Add macaroni and 2 to 4 strips of crumbled bacon (optional), mix well.
- Pour evenly into a 2-quart broiler-safe baking dish or porcelain frying pans. Bake on center rack uncovered 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Remove from oven; set aside.
- Meanwhile in small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of melted butter, cubed bread, bread crumbs and remaining crumbled bacon. Sprinkle over baked macaroni.
- Adjust oven rack to the top. Broil 3 to 6 minutes until crumbs are deep golden brown. Rotate dish for even browning if necessary. Cool for 5 minutes before serving. ENJOY!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Cuisine: American
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