Creamy, gooey 3-cheese sauce? Check! Awesome delicious bacon? Check! One pot easy? Boom! All in under 30 minutes. Mac and cheese heaven. You’re welcome!
Who doesn’t love mac and cheese? If you raised your hand you need to leave. Now.
The only way to make it better would be to add bacon. Oh wait. I totally did!
I think my daughter would starve to death if not for mac and cheese. Let’s call her a “selective eater”.
She learned at a very young age how to cook the boxed stuff. Eat what I make or fix it yourself is my dinner motto.
So she did. And still does. Although, in her defense, she’s much less selective than she used to be.
But this stuff… She’s nuts for this cheesy, bacony, gooey homemade version.
Start by cooking your pasta of choice according to the instructions on the box. Choose a pasta that will hold all of the deliciousness; something tubular like macaroni, penne, rigatoni, etc.
I chose cellantani a.k.a. cavatapi. They hold the cheese sauce nicely and they look like the fancy schmancy stuff you get in restaurants.
When your pasta is al dente, drain it and set it aside. Take care not to overcook it so it doesn’t fall apart when you mix it into the cheese sauce.
And do I really need to tell you NOT to rinse it? I thought not. Rinsing removes the starch that makes the sauce stick. Never rinse pasta. Ever.
In the same pot that you cooked the pasta (now waiting patiently in the strainer), melt the butter. Then throw in the bacon pieces. You can also use bits, if that’s all you can get.
Stir this around for a couple of minutes until the bacon gets toasty.
Next, add in the rest of the ingredients.
And stir until the cheeses are melted.
Yes, there’s nutmeg in there. I know it sounds weird, but don’t be tempted to leave it out. Nutmeg does something to cheese that just enhances the cheesiness. If you’re not sure how much a dash is, take your 1/8 teaspoon and fill it about halfway. There ya go.
Finally, gently stir the pasta back in.
Serve immediately.
Easy Bacon Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound 16 ounces pasta
- 2 2.8 ounce bags real bacon pieces
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups shredded colby jack cheese
- 8 ounces Velveeta cubed
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- dash ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to instructions. Drain and set aside.
- In same pot, melt butter. Add bacon and cook until lightly toasted, 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; stir until cheeses are melted. Gently stir in drained pasta.
- Serve immediately.
