Bacon makes mac and cheese an upscale comfort dish. This dish has everything you need: it’s quick and simple, creamy, and cheesy.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
- 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk, or as needed
- 2 cups KRAFT Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese, divided
- 3 slices OSCAR MAYER Center Cut Bacon, cooked, crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and keep warm.
- At the same time, melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Whisk in flour and stir until mixture becomes paste-like and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook and stir until the mixture is thick and smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in 1 1/2 cups Cheddar and cook until melted, about 5 minutes.
- Add macaroni and bacon to the saucepan; gently stir to combine with sauce. Add additional milk only if needed to evenly coat the pasta. Transfer to a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish; sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes.
- You can use mild Cheddar cheese if desired.
Reviews
It’s a great recipe but the sauce is a little bland so I would recommend putting your favourite hot sauce in with it as well to give it a little more flavour and a nice kick.
The cheese sauce aka rue was was not thick so we added more cheese but it is good my mom was glad I made dinner!
Best ever! I swapped 1/2c half and half for 1/2c of the milk, because I only had 2% milk. I added 1c or so cheese, swapping 1/2c Monterey Jack. Topped it with panko crumbs mixed with some bacon drippings and Parmesan cheese. Yum! This creamy concoction is a great base for any taste- broccoli, red peppers, onions, lobster or anything you like could be added.
I added some Pablo and Frank’s red hot powder on top at the end and chicken breasts. Delicious!!
Easy fast and delicious
Super easy to make…not as good as my mom used to make, but good enough.
I followed the recipe exactly. My husband, son and I loved it! It has been added to my favorites.
Best mac and cheese out there. What i like about it its not trying to br fancy with fancy smancy cheeses. Kid friendly, quick and delicious. Yumm.
This is now our favorite Mac and Cheese. We have it about once a week now.
Very yummy and quick & easy to make! I added some finely chopped garlic to the butter for the sauce and pepper to the pasta mix before putting in the oven. It was delicious!
It was very tasty and I would make again
Made this tonight and it turned out really bland. Next time I make this, I’m going to make it my mom’s way … without the milk and just use onions, more bacon, and more cheese.
Just doubled it. Put bacon on one pan and not the other. Used the premade bacon in the pouch.
Delish! I took Brian M’s suggestions & added garlic & used heavy cream & eliminated the flour. It took a little extra to cook but I got rave reviews! I also added extra bacon as my husband is a self proclaimed baconholic! This is a keeper for sure!
Great recipe! Easy too! Made numerous times. My boys eat this up with no leftovers. That makes me a happy mama!
I had to simmer for longer than 5 minutes
Added salt and pepper to rue mix for a little bit extra flavour. Also add panko crumbs to top before baking
Doubled everything. Amazing!
Everyone loved it I added more bacon cuz who doesn’t love bacon !
I made this for thanksgiving and it came out great. I think in the future I would use twice the amount of bacon because I felt there wasn’t enough. Very easy to make too.
I quadrupled the recipe. Used light cream instead of milk. Used 4 cups of max n cheese blend, 2 cups of extra sharp cheddar and 1.5 cups of shredded parmesan cheese in the sauce. I added 4 tablespoons of bacon grease to the rue. I also added a layer of shredded extra sharp in the middle and a layer on top with some parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs. Came out rich and delicious!