A deliciously cheesy macaroni cheese with homemade cheese sauce, crispy bacon and a breadcrumb topping… a homemade dinner idea that is easy and heavenly!
There is just something about macaroni cheese… I have always adored it, but how can I not?! Pasta, cheese, bacon, a crispy top and a cheesy sauce… it’s heaven in every bite in my eyes!
Dinner ideas
I absolutely adore cooking, and I thought it was high time I start posting some savoury bits and bobs on my blog. You guys have asked over and over, and when I share anything I cook on social media it gets such a good reaction… so here is another beauty; macaroni cheese.
Last time I posted my chicken, leek & bacon pie and oh wow… you all LOVED it! It’s an easy and delicious dinner idea, that can be quite versatile. You can serve it lightly with salad, or make it a hearty dish with some roasties and veg, it’s completely up to you, just like with this one. I have a few savoury bakes that are more lunch like, but this can also be a lunch as well if you fancy.
Cheese
When it comes to something cheese themed, I want to add as much as possible. I do prefer mature cheeses, but that is my choice. I use a mix of mainly mature cheddar cheese, and parmesan in the homemade cheese sauce, and then I use extra mature cheddar cheese on the top.
I tend to grate the cheddar cheese myself as I find if you buy pre-grated cheese, it has something on the cheese to make it stop sticking and I am not a fan. I also find that cheese is in pieces that are too large compared to grating it yourself. However, the per-grated parmesan is absolutely fine to use.
Bacon
I will start by saying that bacon is optional in this recipe… if you are vegetarian, or just don’t like or want to use the bacon, you can 100% leave it out. You can replace it with something else such as tomatoes, or even some mushrooms if you fancied – but again, these are optional.
I use bacon lardons in my cooking most of the time as I like the size of the chunks, and I find if you fry them in a dry pan until crispy and delicious they are heavenly. You can use chopped up bacon instead, or even some cooked ham however instead.
One great tip for this recipe is if you do like the flavour or bacon, you can use the grease from the pan you fried the bacon in instead of the butter in the sauce of the macaroni cheese to increase the flavour, and have no waste.
Pasta
As it’s macaroni cheese, I use macaroni pasta… I feel like this is obvious, but at the same time, you can theoretically use any pasta if you just want to make it with whatever you have in the cupboard for ease (sorry if that’s a sin to you!!).
Some pasta brands take different amounts of time to cook, so a general rule is to boil the pasta for two minutes less than the cooking instructions say. You don’t want the pasta to be too cooked already, as it may end up mushy later on; you want it to be al dente.
Sauce
The cheese sauce is a key part to this recipe, as you wouldn’t have a macaroni cheese without a cheese sauce. I make my own cheese sauce, and it’s much much easier to make than you think – so please try it.
I add the butter to the pan, and melt that down (or use bacon grease). Once that’s melted, I add the flour and stir these together. Add the mustard powder and garlic (which are both optional!), and then mix these together. One important bit here is you need to cook this mixture for a little bit, stirring well, so that you cook the flour. If you don’t cook the flour out, the mixture won’t thicken and it might have a weird taste.
Once the flour is cooked our, you want to add the milk SLOWLY to make the sauce. I add a splash of milk at first, mix in, splash of milk, mix in, etc until the sauce is become looser. Then, still slowly, add and whisk in the rest of the milk. Simmer this, whilst stirring, until starting to thicken. Remove from the heat, add the cheese and salt & pepper and stir until the cheese is melted.
Tips & Tricks
- If you like the bacon flavour, you can use the bacon grease from the frying pan instead of the butter in the sauce (if you don’t have 35g worth, make up the difference with butter)
- You can use any cheddar really, I just love mature cheddar cheese
- If you want a little kick, add 1tsp paprika to the cheese sauce along with the mustard powder and garlic
- This is best served fresh, but can last 2+ days in the fridge and be reheated.
- The bacon is optional, it and be left over if you want the dish to be vegetarian
- The breadcrumbs are also optional
- This can be made ahead of time, and frozen before baking in the oven and baked at a later date for a couple extra minutes.
Macaroni Cheese
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Ingredients
- 350 g macaroni pasta
- 200 g bacon lardons
- 75 g stale breadcrumbs
- 50 g mature cheddar cheese (grated)
Cheese sauce
- 35 g unsalted butter (or salted)
- 35 g plain flour
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
- salt & pepper
- 565 ml whole milk (one pint)
- 300 g mature cheddar cheese (grated)
- 50 g parmesan (grated)
Instructions
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Cook the macaroni pasta for two minutes less than the packet instructions and then drain and set aside
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Cook the bacon lardons in a dry pan, over a medium high heat, until crispy
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Preheat the oven to 200ºc/180ºc fan and grab a large baking dish
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Add the butter to a pan, and melt on a medium heat
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Add the flour and mix together. Add the mustard powder and garlic.
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Once mixed, increase the heat to hot and cook the flour out for a minute or two
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Gradually add the milk to the pan, whisking well each time, until you have added all the milk. Add very small amounts at first as it will need to mix with the flour and this prevents lumps.
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Once you have added all of the milk, simmer the sauce for 5 minutes, stiring well, so that the mixture doesn’t catch on the bottom if the pan
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Remove the pan from the heat and add the grated parmesan, grated cheddar and salt and pepper and mix together until the cheese has melted into the sauce
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Add the bacon lardons to the baking dish, along with the cooked macaroni pasta, and then pour over the sauce. Stir it all together a bit.
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Sprinkle over the extra cheddar, and breadcrumbs, and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until golden.
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Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- If you like the bacon flavour, you can use the bacon grease from the frying pan instead of the butter in the sauce (if you don’t have 35g worth, make up the difference with butter)
- You can use any cheddar really, I just love mature cheddar cheese
- If you want a little kick, add 1tsp paprika to the cheese sauce along with the mustard powder and garlic
- This is best served fresh, but can last 2+ days in the fridge and be reheated.
- The bacon is optional, it and be left over if you want the dish to be vegetarian
ENJOY!
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