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Bacon mac and cheese pasta bake

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Today I want to share with you my bacon mac and cheese recipe – it’s basically a pasta bake! If you want to get right to it then skip to the end of this post for the full recipe card.

We love a nice hearty dinner in our household. A hot, steaming meal coming out of the oven makes me feel like my day has been productive and I’m winning at the housewife life!

If you’re looking for something a little faster then be sure to try out this air fryer mac and cheese recipe or even my air fryer pasta bake recipe.

Bacon mac and cheese pasta bake

Ingredients for bacon mac and cheese

50g butter

50g plain flour

1/2 tsp mustard

600ml milk

Nutmeg

300g shredded cheese

100g smoked bacon – sometimes I use leftover air fryer bacon

salt & pepper

400g pasta

25g parmesan

20g ground polenta

A garlic baguette that has been cooked in the air fryer and is in an enamel baking dish

Method for bacon mac and cheese

Cook the bacon.

Bacon mac and cheese - cooked bacon

While this is frying cook your pasta in salted water for 8 minutes until it is firm, but not completely cooked. Al dente is perfect.

Set your bacon to one side, and drain your pasta or cooked macaroni.

Pasta for the Bacon mac and cheese

Melt the butter in a saucepan, and then add the flour to it.

Cook this for one minute.

Add the mustard, salt and a pinch of nutmeg. Then slowly begin to add the milk, while whisking, and remove the sauce from the heat.

Continue adding the milk until you’ve combined all of the ingredients and then bring back to the boil and it will thicken up.

Bacon mac and cheese - cheese sauce

Once the sauce is thickened up then remove from the heat again, add the cheddar, and keep stirring until the cheese has melted. Season with black pepper. Add the bacon. Set aside.

Bacon mac and cheese - bacon being added to the cheese sauce

Preheat your oven to gas mark 6 (200C) while finishing the dish.

Add the cheese sauce to your cooked pasta and then pour into your baking dish. Top with the parmesan and ground polenta.

Bacon mac and cheese - pasta and cheese sauce mixed together

Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.

Bacon mac and cheese
15 minute spaghetti bolognese - frugal, delicious, simple and quick to make! #FrugalFood #SpaghettiBolognese #PastaRecipes #PastaDishes #Bolognese #FrugalEats #CheapEats

This recipe is so simple – best of all you can make it up in advance and leave it in the fridge until you want to cook it for dinner. You can also reheat the leftovers – and they are almost as good!

Air fryer cheese chips

How to make my bacon mac and cheese:

Bacon mac and cheese

A creamy, cheese, delicious, bacon mac and cheese pasta bake to please the whole crowd!

Course Main Course
Cuisine British
Keyword bacon, cheese, pasta
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 484 kcal
Author Katykicker

Ingredients

Cheese sauce

  • 50 g butter
  • 50 g plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp mustard
  • 600 ml whole milk
  • pinch Nutmeg
  • 300 g cheddar cheese

Other ingredients

  • 100 g smoked bacon
  • 1/4 tsp salt & pepper
  • 400 g pasta your choice

Topping

  • 25 g parmesan
  • 20 g ground polenta

Instructions

  1. Fry off the bacon.
  2. While this is frying cook your pasta for 8 minutes until it is firm, but not completely cooked.
  3. Set your bacon to one side, and drain your pasta.
  4. Melt the butter in a saucepan, and then add the flour to it.
  5. Cook this for one minute.
  6. Add the mustard, salt and a pinch of nutmeg. Then slowly begin to add the milk, while whisking, and remove the sauce from the heat.
  7. Continue adding the milk until you’ve combined all of the ingredients and then bring back to the boil and it will thicken up.
  8. Once the sauce is thickened up then remove from the heat again, add the cheddar, and keep stirring until melted fully. Season with black pepper. Add the bacon and stir through.

  9. Preheat your oven to gas mark 6 (200C) while finishing the dish.
  10. Add the sauce to your cooked pasta and then pour into your serving dish. Top with the parmesan and ground polenta.

  11. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.

Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.

Air fryer bacon

Like this bacon mac and cheese recipe? Fancy trying another one of my recipes? Here are some great ones:

Super cheap calzone

Pizza dough

Slow cooker chicken curry with rice made in the slow cooker

Mince pasta bake

Slow cooker cottage pie

If you enjoyed this post I’d love it if you could pin it on Pinterest!

Delicious bacon mac and cheese - a rich, indulgent recipe that is cheap to make and tastes fantastic. #bacon #cheese #macandcheese #pastarecipes #macaronicheese
Recipe Rating




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Paula @MummyVsWork

Monday 6th of August 2018

Looks delicious! One for us to try too I think :)

katykicker

Tuesday 14th of August 2018

Hope you enjoy it!

Kim Carberry

Saturday 4th of August 2018

I am going to make this next week. It sounds so good and I think my girls would love it. It's going straight on my meal plan :) x

katykicker

Tuesday 14th of August 2018

Hope you enjoyed it x

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