Bacon mac & cheese
A easy recipe for bacon mac & cheese. A family favourite dinner and a great midweek meal.
Bacon mac & cheese is one of our favourite mid-week meals. It takes our kid’s favourite macaroni and cheese and takes it to the next level with the addition of onions, tomatoes and bacon which makes it popular with grown ups too.
This is our favourite family dinner which i’ll always make if I fancy a no-fuss, quick meal that everyone will eat. I used to have macaroni cheese as I child and this is based on that but this bacon mac & cheese adds some bacon and other flavours to make it more interesting and substantial.
How can kids help to make bacon mac & cheese?
There are few steps to this dish which means there are plenty of opportunities for kids to get involved. I like to keep my kids busy making the cheese sauce while I cook the bacon and onions.
To make the sauce, if your kids can be trusted around a cooker, they can be in charge of stirring it and adding the milk slowly so you end up with a nice smooth sauce. My kids always feel really proud of themselves when they do this job.
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the bacon sauce
1 medium onion
6+ rashers of bacon
2 tomatoes
1/2 tbsp BBQ seasoning
400g pasta
For the cheese sauce
40g (2 tbsp) butter
40g (2 tbsp) plain flour
500ml (2 cups) Milk
1 tsp Mustard powder
150g Cheese (grated)
how to make bacon mac & cheese
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
Prepare the bacon sauce
Chop the bacon, onion and tomatoes.
Fry the onions in a little oil until for a few minutes until they have softened. Add the bacon and fry for a further 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and BBQ seasoning and continue cooking on a low heat, stirring occasionally.
Make the cheese sauce
Melt the butter in a small pan. Add the flour and stir into the butter until it is well combined. Cook for a minute.
Add the milk a little at a time stirring continuously as it thickens. I normally start with a tiny bit at first and only add the next bit when that’s fully combined as I find it stops it going lumpy.
Add the mustard powder if you have any as it will bring out the flavour of the cheese more.
Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.
Combine everything together in one pot, stir, serve and enjoy
Bacon mac and cheese
Ingredients
For the bacon sauce
- 1 medium onion
- 6 + rashers of bacon
- 2 to matoes
- 1/2 tbsp BBQ seasoning
- 400 g Pasta
For the cheese sauce
- 40 g (2 tbsp) butter
- 40 g (2 tbsp) plain flour
- 500 ml (2 cups) Milk
- 1 tsp Mustard powder
- 150 g Cheese grated
Instructions
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
Prepare the bacon sauce
- Chop the bacon, onion and tomatoes.
- Fry the onions in a little oil until for a few minutes until they have softened. Add the bacon and fry for a further 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and BBQ seasoning and continue cooking on a low heat, stirring occasionally.
Make the cheese sauce
- Melt the butter in a small pan. Add the flour and stir into the butter until it is well combined. Cook for a minute.
- Add the milk a little at a time stirring continuously as it thickens. I normally start with a tiny bit at first and only add the next bit when that’s fully combined as I find it stops it going lumpy.
- Add the mustard powder if you have any as it will bring out the flavour of the cheese more.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.
- Combine everything together in one pot, stir, serve and enjoy!
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