Baked Bacon Mac & Cheese
MMMMM Bacon Mac and Cheese! You might automatically think, “Hey now that sounds very good, but also very clogging on the heart arteries!” I promise you that unlike most baked macaroni and cheese dishes, this recipe does not have an insane amount of butter or flour. Inspired by foodnetwork.com Dressed-Up Bacon Mac & Cheese recipe, I wanted to make a lighter and healthier fare of this dish by using skim milk, turkey bacon, and reduced fat cheeses. Not bad right? The end result was proven to be luscious and comforting! The Mac & Cheese was not overly creamy since it had the right amount of cheese and milk. It was baked to perfection while the bacon and breadcrumbs added a nice crisp topping. So go ahead and indulge on this guilt-less comfort food!
Baked Bacon Mac & Cheese
- 1 package Cellentani Pasta
- 2 1/2 cups cold skim milk
- 3/4 cup provolone cheese, shredded
- 3/4 cup white cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 5 strips turkey bacon
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the Cellentani according to the directions on the package, about 10-12 minutes.
Drain and transfer the pasta into a bowl along with 1/4 cup of the cold milk. This will help cool the pasta and prevent it from becoming gummy
Meanwhile, add the eggs with 1/4 cup of the milk along with the bread crumbs in a medium bowl. Give it a quick whisk and set aside.
Cook the turkey bacon in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until crisp; transfer to paper towels to drain
Add the onion and garlic then cook until just brown and tender, which should take about 5 minutes
Stir in the flour, cayenne pepper, and salt then cook for 2 minutes more
Slowly add the remaining 1 3/4 cups milk and 3/4 cup water to the skillet to create a thick sauce-like consistency
Bring to a boil, whisking until the sauce has thickened
Turn the heat off and whisk in the cheeses. The cheese will melt very quickly
Crumble up the bacon and add it to the egg/bread crumb mixture
Add the sauce to the macaroni and stir to combine
Pour the macaroni into the casserole dish. Then pour the the egg mixture evenly over the pasta
Bake until a golden brown crust develops about 35 to 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven; let sit 5 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
Yum! Mac & Cheese sounds perfectly delicious with the addition of bacon!
Oh yum yum. Still full of flavor of a regular baked mac and cheese.
oh boy this sounds great!!!!
Bring. It. Here. Now.
I could eat the whole thing, that looks so delicious!
Healthy version and still looking good. I need healthier version of everything especially after this trip.
Mac n Cheese is a favorite in my house. This looks really really good. I can just imagine what the kids would say if I serve this up!
This looks so good, I have some time while my wifes out of town soon and I think I may give this a shot. It’ll make some good bachelor chow.
Oh wow, looks so delicious! I might take a few cues from you, I plan to make gluten-free mac and cheese later this week!
MMMM is right!
Oh yeah….I am so putting bacon in the next macaroni and cheese dish I make…..yours looks sooooooooooo good.
Trim the fat, keep the flavor…always a good thing!
Always a comfort food and kicked up with bacon and garlic!
Bacon makes everything better! I love the mix of provolone and cheddar!
I love mac and cheese. I’ve never tried it with provolone cheese before. I usually mix chedder and gruyere cheese. Sounds delicious! Will try it next time!
I’ve done something very similar and people just love it. I try and spread it out and put more bradcrumbs at the top too which they seem to like!
Love mac n cheese! Great recipe!
Nice to have an option like this where you feel like you are indulging, without as much guilt!
I really appreciate that you still keep the yummy bacon flavor, but still make it easier for the heart to take. Turkey bacon is just as yummy. Love it!
Yum-O – I want to try this recipe.
yum! I love the provolone cheese you used (never used that in a mac n cheese before) and I love that it’s not overly creamy. Making me hungry now!
I love the addition of the bacon to this recipe. The use of provalone and white cheddar is also a nice twist. Yum!
Love the provolone too! I love a cheesy mac n cheese… but I’ve never tried provolone. YUM!
I love this dish!!!
I’m definitely going to have pasta for lunch… Beautiful pictures!
Yum Yum! sooooooooo delicious.Great combo of taste.:)
Hey, you’ve got another bacon fan & thks for sharing!
This sounds and looks so tasty with cheese and bacon. YUM!
Oh, yumm…your version of baked macaroni got the balance of creamy and healthy sauce. Great!
Mmm… baked mac and cheese. Comfort food doesn’t get better than this! I’m really considering making this for our Thanksgiving party!
That is a great mac and cheese!
I’m so glad you visited my blog so that I could discover the wealth of recipes on your blog! This dish looks insanely good–put the words “bacon” and “mac & cheese” together and my hubby is in heaven.
Jessie this looks crazy good — my fiance is a big fan of mac and cheese. ACTUALLY when i initially met him he liked the orange kraft stuff but then I showed him what real mac and cheese was and this is definitely a recipe he would die for. Bacon makes everything 1000 times better, I cant explain it but it does
Yum!! I always use skim milk for my mac and cheese and it’s always great! This looks delicious!! I think I’m making mac and cheese this week, such a comforting dish