This BACON mac and cheese is not your ordinary macaroni and cheese! This mac and cheese is made with three kinds of cheese, and crispy bacon for added flavor. OMG!
Cook the bacon in a frying pan or bake it in the oven. Drain and set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil (water should be fairly salty). Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. The best way to get the noodles perfect is to cook two to three minutes less than what the box instructions say. The carryover heat will finish the pasta perfectly.
Heat the milk in a saucepan, but don’t boil it. Melt butter in a large pot (I used a Dutch oven with enamel finish). Whisk in the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk.
Whisk in the hot milk to form a thick and creamy white sauce and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes more.
Chop the bacon into crumbs and divide into two equal portions.
Off the heat, add the Gruyère, cheddar, blue cheese, one portion of the bacon, salt, pepper, nutmeg and a dash of cayenne pepper.
Combine the sauce with the cooked pasta, and stir until thoroughly combined. Place the mixture into a 3-quart baking dish.
Cube the bread, place it in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, and process until you have coarse crumbs. Stir in the second portion of the reserved bacon.
Sprinkle the bacon/breadcrumb mixture over the pasta. Bake until the sauce is bubbly and the breadcrumbs are golden; about 35 to 40 minutes.
Chop basil and sprinkle on top of the macaroni and cheese before serving.
Notes
You can use whatever type of pasta you like. I chose this type of pasta because the noodles hold so much cheese. The cheese can fill the inner tube and it also can ride into your mouth on the other ridges of the noodle.
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