Macaroni and Cheese with Caramelized Onions and Bacon

  4.5 – 198 reviews  • Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipes

When pumpkins are plentiful in the fall, we prepare this. Our family enjoys it as a morning or afternoon snack. You can eliminate the brown sugar and use vanilla yogurt in place of plain yogurt if you don’t have any on hand.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins
Servings: 8
Yield: 1 – 9×13 inch casserole

Ingredients

  1. 1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
  2. ¼ cup butter
  3. ½ cup sour cream
  4. 1 egg, beaten
  5. 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
  6. 4 cups grated Asiago cheese
  7. 4 cups grated Vermont Cheddar cheese
  8. 4 slices bacon
  9. 2 tablespoons butter
  10. 1 large onion, sliced thin
  11. 4 cloves garlic, minced
  12. ⅛ teaspoon brown sugar
  13. ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  14. ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
  15. 2 tablespoons butter
  16. 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  17. 3 cups milk
  18. ½ teaspoon ground mustard
  19. ½ teaspoon paprika
  20. ¼ teaspoon salt
  21. ½ teaspoon pepper
  22. 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add macaroni and cook for 8 minutes (noodles will still be slightly hard). Drain noodles and transfer to a large bowl with 1/4 cup of butter and toss to coat. Whisk together the sour cream, egg, and cream cheese; add to the pasta and mix well. Stir in 3 cups of grated Asiago and 3 cups of grated Cheddar cheese, reserving the remaining 2 cups of cheese for the topping.
  2. Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate and chop into small pieces.
  3. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  4. Stir 2 tablespoons butter, the onion, and garlic into the bacon drippings in the pan and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the brown sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes until the onions are very soft and golden brown. Mix the cooked bacon, parsley, and panko breadcrumbs into the onions, transfer mixture to a small bowl and set aside.
  5. Return the skillet to the heat and melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour, and stir until the mixture becomes paste-like and light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk the milk into the flour mixture and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook and stir until the mixture is smooth and thickened. Stir in the ground mustard, paprika, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Remove sauce from heat and let cool for five minutes.
  6. Pour the sauce over the macaroni mixture, stirring well. Transfer to a greased 9×13 inch pan and sprinkle with the remaining 2 cups of Cheddar cheese. Top cheese with the onion breadcrumb mixture.
  7. Bake in preheated oven until bubbling, hot and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 942 kcal
Carbohydrate 57 g
Cholesterol 197 mg
Dietary Fiber 2 g
Protein 46 g
Saturated Fat 36 g
Sodium 1475 mg
Sugars 7 g
Fat 60 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

David Conrad
The only drawback to this dish is that I cannot take credit for it. I am looking forward to making a double batch and bringing it to the next big family event. Aloha
Carlos Baker
Sooooo unhealthy! But yummy. So, we prepare this once every couple of months. I cut way back on the butter (I only use 2 T in the pasta and skip the rest in favor of the bacon fat). You can make this ahead of time and keep in the fridge over night (I do this). I also bake it in a disposable pan to keep the mess down to a minimum.
Gregg Soto
Whatever you do, DO NOT MAKE THIS RECIPE! It is horrible. it takes forever to make and is lousy
Leslie Guerra
tasty, i only had cheddar cheese, but still awesome
Cindy Rhodes DVM
This is absolutely delicious! My family and friends loved it. I also doubled the topping. I’ve already had a request to bring it to an Easter get together.
Robert Marks
This recipe was time consuming, but totally worth it! Soooo yummy! I will definitely be making it again!
Linda Rivera
An adult version of the comfort food! It has a very gourmet taste when Asiago cheese was used! This is the third time that I made the recipe already!! Loved the taste and look of the dish!
Robert Gonzales
This delectable Mac n Cheese is rich and filling. Although it did take a long time to make, it was worth the effort. We doubled the topping and used less cheese and were extremely happy with the results. Next time, we would consider adding jalapeños. So delicious.
Andrew Smith
This is my new family dish. What great flavor. I suggest that you get all the ingredients organized to relieve any last minute stress. I did it one step at a time and because I was disorganized I was a little frantic to get each task done. I did not change the recipe and it was fabulous. Family loved it.
Travis Stokes
I made this and my wife loves it.
Russell Kidd
Five stars for FLAVOR ONLY! This recipe is incredibly delicious BUT incredibly time consuming (for a side dish)
Chad Cox
It was amazing! Had a few variations- didn’t have flour (who runs out of flour?!) so I used bisquick instead and that worked fine. I’m totally an amateur and this was an intimidating recipe but the step by step made it easy to follow. It was our special Easter dish during Quarantine!
Michael Gonzalez
This recipe is fantastic! I used cavatapi pasta, which really hangs onto the cheese. I make a similar type of mac and cheese, so the prep work was what I expected. I used six pieces of bacon and doubled the panko. I also put some salt and pepper into the caramelized onions. The flavors are phenomenal, and leftovers reheat well. I will definitely make this recipe again!
Daniel Castillo
This was excellent! It did take quite a while to get it all together, but it’s worth the effort and clean up! The topping is “da bomb!” I totally recommend increasing the amount of bacon to 6 slices! Great recipe!!
Jennifer Johnson
I only made half the recipe but I kept the toppings for full recipe. This was delicious. Everyone loved it. You need to multitask to get this prepped in twenty minutes. I put my water on to boil. Fried the bacon. I sliced the onion while bacon was frying. I started the onions as soon as bacon was done. I cooked macaroni as soon as the water boiled. Made the sauce as soon as the onion mixture was finished.
Vanessa Davis
The best macaroni and cheese recipe I have ever made! Rich and decadent! The bacon and caramelized onions add a delicious crunchy topping with the Bread crumbs which makes the dish! Yummy !!
Angela Santos
This recipe is fabulous! This has a lot of steps and takes a bit of time, but of so worth it! It was all the rave at our Thanksgiving feast! As per other reviews, I doubled the topping and used 3 cups each asiago & extra sharp white cheddar – divided. Will definitely make again!
Bradley Martin
This recipe is highly underrated. I’ve been making it for years now and I get rave reviews every dang time. It is labor intensive, but worth it. My husband just said the other day that he can’t ever get excited about mac and cheese anymore unless it is this recipe. It’s that good. I do not add the hot sauce because I usually don’t have any and I cook for kids, too. Still amazing. Otherwise I make it exactly as stated.
Richard Miles
Just like old school mac & cheese Grandma used to make, but with a twist. Awesome flavors. I used jumbo elbow macaroni. Next time I will add a bit more bacon to the mixture!
Andrew Johnson
Loved it. I would double the bacon onion garnish next time and convect bake for 40 minutes instead of the full hour. Was even delicious on day 2 and 3
Christopher Dickson
Awesome! Definitely worth the time & trouble to make

 

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