Three Cheese Bacon Mac and Cheese
This Three Cheese Bacon Mac and Cheese is loaded up with crispy baked bacon and three different kinds of cheese – Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Cheddar Cheese – it’s to die for!
The Ultimate Comfort Food
I’m a sucker for Mac and Cheese. It’s kinda the ultimate comfort food, am I right? Now when I say that this Three Cheese Bacon Mac and Cheese recipe is to die for, I mean that pretty literally.
I mean bacon, pasta, and cheese… it’s like the perfect combo! So if in the end, it’s the Mac and Cheese that gets me, well, at least it was something I enjoyed.
This recipe was actually inspired by Longhorn’s Steakhouse Bacon Mac and Cheese! I have to get it every time we go there and decided that I really needed to make a copycat recipe at home.
I might be being a little biased, but I think I nailed it!
Rebecca’s Recipe Review
Taste: Deliciously cheesy with salty bacon.
Texture: Tender pasta in ooey-gooey cheese loaded with crispy bits of bacon!
Ease: 5/10
Pros: This delicious comfort food recipe is really simple to make, and you can even cook your bacon up ahead of time to make it even quicker!
Cons: None.
Would I Make This Again? Yes!
“This is honestly the best Mac and Cheese recipe that I’ve made. It’s an amazing recipe with lots of delicious flavors and super cheesy! I highly recommend this one!”
– Crystal
Ingredients For Three Cheese Bacon Mac and Cheese
Thick-Cut Bacon
Cavatappi Pasta
Heavy Cream
Butter
All-Purpose Flour
Ground Mustard Powder
Ground Nutmeg
Garlic Powder
Kosher Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese
Shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Bread Crumbs
How To Make Bacon Mac and Cheese:
1. Begin by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place two cooling racks on top of a jelly pan and lay the bacon out on it; the bacon can be touching to start; it will shrink up during cooking, and bake the bacon for 15 – 18 minutes. Once bacon finishes cooking, remove it from the pan and transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate to rest.
3. Turn oven down to 350 degrees F.
4. Bring water to a boil in a large pan, making sure to salt it. Once boiling, add in pasta and cook until Al dente.
5. While pasta and bacon are cooking, add butter and heavy cream to a medium saucepan. Melt butter and whisk in flour and seasonings, and simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Whisk in 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and the other shredded cheeses one at a time until completely melted. Continue to simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
7. After draining, put cooked macaroni pasta back in the pan and then pour cheese sauce over it.
8. Chop up bacon and transfer it to the pan, stir it in, and transfer mac n cheese to a medium-sized baking dish.
9. Add breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons of butter to a medium skillet and toast until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Remove from the heat and add the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top of the mac and cheese.
10. Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy warm.
More Delicious Comfort Food Recipes
- Best Ever Meatloaf – You’ll love the secret ingredient!
- Chicken and Rice Casserole – This only requires one dish to make it!
- Chicken Tetrazzini – One of my husband’s favorite dinners!
- Cheesy Corn Casserole – Always a hit at Thanksgiving!
Did You Make This Recipe?
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let leave a review in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos, or join our Sugar & Soul Show-offs Community and share them there.
This post was originally published March 20, 2013
Three Cheese Bacon Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Pasta:
- 8 strips thick-cut bacon cooked and chopped
- 16 ounces Cavatappi pasta
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Topping:
- 1/2-3/4 cup Parmesan Bread Crumbs
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place two cooling racks on top of a jelly pan and lay the bacon out on it, the bacon can be touching to start, it will shrink up during cooking, and bake bacon for 15 – 18 minutes. Once bacon finishes cooking, transport it to a paper towel-lined plate to rest.
- Turn oven down to 350 degrees F.
- Bring water to a boil in a large pan, making sure to salt it. Once boiling, add in pasta and cook until Al dente.
- While pasta and bacon are cooking, add butter and heavy cream to a medium saucepan. Once butter has melted, whisk in flour and seasonings and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Whisk in 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and the other cheeses one at a time until completely melted, continue to simmer for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Once pasta had finished cooking and has been drained, put it back in the pan and then pour cheese sauce over it.
- Chop up bacon and transfer to the pan and stir it in and transfer mac n cheese to a medium-sized casserole dish.
- Add breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons of butter to a medium skillet and toast until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Remove from heat and add the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top of the mac and cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy warm.
Video
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Have you ever made ahead of time (like a day or two before) and then baked? Trying to make for a potluck but need to make it in advance and take it to cook.
It should be okay.
My husband found this recipe a couple of years ago. We pulled it out to take to a post-lockdown get-together with friends for a dart night. It was a huge hit!!! We brought back a small amount of leftovers, which were even better warmed up.
Then I lost the recipe…and was asked to bring it again to another event. I searched and searched and found two alternatives, but couldn’t find the original. Both were not NEARLY as delicious and a big letdown!
Lo and behold, I found it yesterday in a stack of papers. I won’t lose this one again (it’s in my bookmarks AND recipe collection book too)!!! Going to try many more Sugar and Soul recipes in the future!
So glad you found the recipe again, it’s one of our favorites and I hope you find many more recipes you enjoy on the site!
This is honestly the best Mac and Cheese recipe that I’ve made. It’s an amazing recipe with lots of delicious flavours and super cheesy! I highly recommend this one!
delicious!!!! i love this so much, i’ll be saving the recipe :).
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
What size pan did you use? Was it a 9×13?
Hi Anna, thats size pan will work just fine, the one in the photo is slightly smaller, about 9×12.
This recipe is definitely going somewhere but I followed the recipe to the T and that’s where the crucial error comes in. The Mac and cheese may as well have been Mac and that’s it. You could taste the cheese slightly but it was not gooey one bit as Mac and cheese should be, it was very dry. I would think the only way to make this good would be to double the cheese or the whole sauce as a hole(cheese and everything). Was making this for an anniversary dinner and was extremely dissapointed.
I made this and it tasted good but very dry. Needs the sauce recipe doubled.
Love this dish and so does my family! I double the cheese sauce and add some shredded chicken too.
Yum, love the chicken addition!
Could this be frozen and baked later?
Hi Meranda, I’ve never tried it myself but I’m sure it could be done.
I love this recipe! We make it all of the time in the oven, but I am wondering if it is possible to make/serve it in the crockpot so that it stays warm? What would you recommend as far as cook times/heats if we were to make it in the crockpot?
Hi Elizabeth, I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe, I actually made it this weekend, it’s one of our favorite comfort foods! So the thing with making this recipe in the crockpot is that I’m not sure it would really save you much time, you would still need to build your roux in a pan and cook your bacon and pasta separately. I guess you could add it to a crockpot after mixing everything together and then add the breadcrumbs and leave it in there to keep warm instead of baking in the oven.
Elizabeth, have you try this in the crockpot yet? I am curious about the same thing. We absolutely love this dish but with practices every night, it hard to find time to make it.
I love the bread crumb top on mac-n-cheese, and the spices and cheese mix sound to die for! Please come share your blog posts over at the Home Matters Linky Party! We’d love to have you for a visit. The Door OPENS Friday. http://lifewithlorelai.com/2015/03/05/home-matters-linky-party-27/ 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
This looks TO DIE FOR! On my to-do list for this week for sure!
Found you through Tatertots & Jello – thanks for sharing!
Rebecca,
Thank you for stopping by and linking up to Pretty Pintastic Party. I pinned this delicious looking Mac & Cheese. I totally agree that it is the ultimate comfort food. YUM! Yours looks wonderful with the bacon.
Blessings,
Diane Roark
recipesforourdailybread
ouramericantravels
We made it again yesterday, it’s the best! Thanks so much for stopping by!
hmmm I clicked five stars but it only registered 4 🙁
Thank you for sharing this yumminess at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog hop. Watch for your feature on Monday xo
Thanks so much Katherine, I’m so glad you loved it!
Im like you, Love My Mac and cheese, yours looks yummy, great comfort food!! Thanks for linking on Friday Feature, I have pinned your post to our Friday Feature Board!!! Have a great weekend, Karren
I lo-ove mac n cheese and if you add bacon, then I’m over the moon. Thanks for sharing at the This Is How We Roll Link Party on Organized 31.
Yum! This sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing on Found & Foraged!
What a yummy dinner idea! My little kiddos would love this dish. I will have to try it for them very soon! Thank you for sharing. PINNED!
This looks delish. How many will it feed?
We usually get dinner and a couple of lunches out of it. I would say it could safely feed 6 or so with a side of garlic bread.