Easy Bacon Mac and Cheese Recipe

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This creamy bacon mac and cheese recipe is a comfort food meal that’s sure to inspire moans and groans of happiness.

You’ll love the combination of flavors and textures in this easy dinner, which you can easily make from scratch on your stovetop. Tender pasta is topped with a creamy, homemade cheesy sauce and finished with crispy, crunchy bacon.

This macaroni recipe is family-friendly, and while the recipe calls for sharp cheddar you can use a mild or medium cheddar cheese if you have eaters with sensitive tastebuds.

Homemade bacon mac and cheese in a white dish with a spoon.

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You’ll find some recipe variations included below for more sophisticated palates, too. More kid-pleasing favorites our family loves include our tasty Bacon Weave Meatloaf, Creamy Bacon Soup, Broccoli Chicken Pasta Bake with Bacon and Bacon-Wrapped Little Smokies brushed with honey barbecue sauce.

Be sure to check out our popular roundups of 20 Best Pasta with Bacon Recipes and 60 Best Dinner Recipes with Bacon, too!

Click on any of these headings to jump ahead:

Why You’ll Go Hog Wild for This Recipe
Ingredients and Substitutions
Best Pasta for Easy Mac and Cheese with Bacon
Equipment You’ll Need
Recipe Steps
Step by Step Directions and Photos
Recipe Variations
Grownup Variations for Bacon Mac & Cheese
Pro Tips
How to Store and Reheat
FAQs
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Why You’ll Go Hog Wild for This Recipe

Amazing Flavor: The combination of tender macaroni, creamy cheese sauce and crunchy bacon is so delicious!

Versatile: It’s easy to adjust this recipe to suit your tastes. Use a milder or sharper cheese or add some heat with chopped jalapenos (see our suggestions below)!

Family Friendly: Kids and people of all ages love this flavorful macaroni and cheese!

Ingredients and Substitutions

These are the ingredients you’ll need to prepare this homemade mac and cheese with bacon:

8 thick-cut slices lean bacon – Thick cut works best for this recipe, but if regular-cut bacon is what you have, by all means use that and increase the number of strips to 10.

8 ounces elbow macaroni – See the section below about types of pasta you can use.

4 tablespoons butter – Salted or unsalted butter is fine in this recipe. If you use salted butter, reduce the amount of salt in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon.

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup milk – You can use your favorite milk. Whole milk will make a richer, creamier sauce, while low-fat milk will make a slightly lighter sauce.

1 cup half and half

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese – Shred the cheese from a block for best results, as pre-shredded cheeses have additives that can change the texture of the sauce.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

What is the Best Cheese for Mac and Cheese?

Choose a cow’s milk cheese that is intended for melting, such as Cheddar, Fontina, Asiago, or American cheese.

Don’t use aged cheeses or hard cheeses, as they don’t melt well.

Shred the cheese from a block just before cooking, and let it come to room temperature before melting.

Add the cheese to the sauce slowly in small batches, and stir well after each addition.

Best Pasta for Easy Mac and Cheese with Bacon

Look for a smaller pasta in shapes that hold the sauce well for this recipe, such as:

Classic elbow macaroni
Shell pasta
Penne (regular or mini)
Corkscrew pasta
Bowtie pasta
Ditalini, the short version of macaroni

For this batch, I used Barilla Elbows No. 41, a medium-sized macaroni with a little curl and extra texture. Here’s how it looks cooked:

Cooked curly elbow macaroni in a silver colander.

Equipment You’ll Need

These tools will help you prepare the best homemade macaroni and cheese ever:

Large skillet – to cook the bacon.
Box grater – to grate the cheddar cheese.
Large Pot – to cook the macaroni.
Saucepan – to make the cheese sauce.
Whisk – to whisk the sauce.
Cooking Spoon – to stir the sauce and combine everything.
Colander – to drain the hot pasta.

Recipe Steps

Preparing this stovetop mac and cheese with bacon couldn’t be easier! Here’s how the recipe comes together:

Cook the bacon, drain and crumble.
Grate the cheddar cheese.
Start cooking the macaroni in salted boiling water.
While the pasta is cooking, make the creamy, cheesy sauce.
Combine the sauce, macaroni and half the bacon.
Serve topped with the rest of the crumbled bacon and enjoy!

Step by Step Directions and Photos

Begin by cooking 8 strips of chopped, thick-cut bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drain on paper towels, and when it’s cool, crumble it in small pieces like this:

Cooked chopped bacon draining on a paper towel.

Shall we just stop right now and eat all the bacon?! I’m sooo tempted.

You’ll also want to grate the cheese. I prefer to grate it freshly from a block of cheese, as the pre-shredded cheese that comes in bags at the store has non-clumping additives that prevent the shreds from melting together as well as fresh cheese.

The recipe calls for sharp cheddar cheese, but you can feel free to use your favorite melty cheese.

Pro Tip: Let the cheese sit out at room temperature while you make the sauce, which will help it melt better.

A pile of cheddar cheese by a silver cheese grater on a blue cutting board.

Start your macaroni cooking in a big pot of salted boiling water over high heat. While the pasta is cooking, you’ll make the sauce, which is a variation of a basic Bechamel sauce (also known as “white sauce”). This simple, versatile sauce is made with butter, flour, milk and half and half.

Pouring milk into a basic white sauce in a saucepan to make the creamy cheese sauce.

Once it’s thick and bubbly, turn off the heat and cool for 1 minute. Slowly add grated cheddar cheese by the handful.

Grated cheese has been added to the basic white sauce.

Stir well after adding each small batch of cheese, until cheese is incorporated and sauce is smooth. Oh, yum!

A spoon showing the creamy consistency of the blended cheese sauce.

Combine the sauce with the hot, cooked pasta.

A spoon shown stirring the cheese sauce and pasta together in a large saucepan.

Stir in half the crumbled bacon.

Half of the cooked chopped bacon is shown added to the macaroni and cheese mixture.

Divide among 4 individual serving dishes and sprinkle with the remaining crumbled bacon.

Close up of creamy bacon macaroni and cheese in a white square dish on a red and white dishtowel.

Recipe Variations

Jalapeno Bacon Mac and Cheese – Add some spicy kick to this dish by seeding and dicing 2 large jalapeños and sautéing them in 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet over medium heat until tender. Add to the mixture when you add the bacon. So good!

4 Cheese – Instead of using 2 cups of grated sharp cheddar in your mac and cheese recipe, use 1/2 cup each of four of your favorite cheeses. One combination we love is grated Cheddar, Mozzarella, Asiago and white American cheeses for fantastic flavor.

Garlic Bacon Mac and Cheese – To add a delicious garlic flavor this dish, you can sprinkle in 1/4 teaspoon of dried garlic powder when you season with salt and pepper.

Grownup Variations for Bacon Mac & Cheese

This recipe makes a family-friendly mild sauce. You can mix things up by using extra-sharp cheddar cheese or a sophisticated cheese like grated smoked gouda.

For added zing, you can sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or more or less to suit your tastebuds) in the sauce.

Or you can sprinkle the finished dish with red pepper flakes or smoked paprika.

Chopped green onions or chopped chives are a nice addition (if you live in a household with people who are not afraid of green things).

Pro Tips for Success

Grate your own cheese for this recipe, rather than using pre-shredded cheese. The grated cheese sold in plastic bags at the store has been coated with additional ingredients to prevent sticking, which can affect how the cheese melts and make the sauce less smooth.

Before adding the grated cheese to the sauce, take the pan off the heat and let it cool for a minute so the cheese doesn’t melt too quickly and separate.

How to Store and Reheat

Any leftover macaroni and cheese with bacon can be stored in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days. (This dish doesn’t really freeze well.)

Reheat leftovers in a saucepan over medium heat. Add a little milk to the pan to refresh the sauce, and stir frequently until hot.

FAQs

Can you freeze mac and cheese?

You can freeze it in a tightly sealed container, but we don’t really recommend it. The creamy texture of the sauce, the tenderness of the pasta and the crunch of the bacon are all compromised by freezing.

What’s the best milk for mac and cheese?

We prefer either whole milk or 2 percent milk for this recipe. A little bit of fat in the milk adds flavor and creamy richness to the sauce.

What to serve with bacon mac and cheese?

We love steamed broccoli, tender green beans or a crisp green salad with this creamy dish.

How do you keep mac and cheese creamy?

This recipe includes butter, milk, and half and half, which makes a rich, creamy sauce. Don’t cook the sauce at too high of a temperature (we recommend medium), and let it cool briefly before adding the cheese. Once the cheese is incorporated, pull the saucepan off the heat so the cheese doesn’t over-melt and separate.

Enjoy!

We Live for Your Ratings and Comments!

If you enjoy this recipe, we’d be thrilled if you clicked on the stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and left a rating! We love reading your comments, too!

Here’s the full recipe, which is adapted from the bacon cookbook 101 Things To Do With Bacon written by BENSA’s founder Eliza Cross.

You might also enjoy watching the web story Mac and Cheese with Bacon.

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Creamy Bacon Mac and Cheese

Eliza Cross

Homemade stovetop creamy bacon mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food! You'll love the tender macaroni topped with creamy, cheesy sauce and crunchy bacon.

4.88 from 25 votes

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Course Bacon Dinner Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings servings

Calories 822 kcal

Ingredients

8 thick-cut slices lean bacon
8 ounces elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup half and half
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until browned and crispy. Drain on paper towels. When cool, crumble in small pieces.
Cook the macaroni in a large pot of boiling salted water over medium-high heat as package directs.
While the macaroni is cooking, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk in the flour, stirring until blended. Slowly add the milk and half and half, stirring constantly, until smooth. Heat until mixture bubbles, and cook for two minutes.
Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat and cool for 1 minute. Add cheese a handful at a time, stirring until all of the cheese is incorporated and melted.
Drain the macaroni in a colander and return to the pot. Pour the cheese sauce over the hot pasta and stir to combine. Add half of the crumbled bacon, stir, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve in individual bowls and garnish each serving with the remaining crumbled bacon. Makes 4 servings.

Notes

This recipe may be easily doubled. Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat until hot and bubbly, adding a little extra milk if necessary.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 822kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 43gFat: 57gSaturated Fat: 32gPolyunsaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 169mgSodium: 1261mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3g

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Keyword bacon recipes, easy dinners, mac and cheese

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Close up of Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon in a white serving dish.

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