Baked Bacon Mac and Cheese
Servings: 10
This delicious baked bacon mac and cheese is full of classic comfort food flavors! Enjoy the smoky bacon stirred into the creamy mac and cheese base, all topped with crispy panko. It’s a flavor and texture explosion that you can make for a quick and easy dinner everyone will love!
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Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked elbow macaroni
- 8 strips bacon
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups 1/2 and 1/2 or whole milk
- 8 oz Monterey Jack cheese grated
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese divided
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs or panko
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 13x9 inch baking dish.
- Cook macaroni according to directions on the package.
- Meanwhile fry bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Saute onion in bacon fat with 2 tablespoons butter until golden. (you need around 4 tablespoons of fat so if you have 4 tablespoons of bacon fat don't add any butter ) Add in flour and cook until smooth. Slowly stir in 1/2 and 1/2 . Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add in grated Monterey jack, cheddar, 1 cup Parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon. Reduce heat to low and stir until smooth.
- Drain macaroni and pour in cheese mixture. Stir well to combine. Pour into baking dish and top with more parmesan and panko. Bake for 15 minutes or until bubbly. (I broiled mine for a couple of minutes afterward to brown my bread crumbs some more. Completely optional )