Bacon Mac and Cheese

Bacon and macaroni and cheese: two of my favorite comfort foods.  These two foods put together is like a match made in food heaven.  Mr. Apron is still talking about it.  Upon eating the mac and cheese he promptly said, this is defintely a dish to be listed as one of his favorites and claimed the leftovers for his lunches. I don't know why it took me so long to embrace bacon, but now Mr. Apron and I are on a total bacon kick. 

I wanted to make the dish a bit more adult so I used penne rather than elbows and added cream of mushroom soup to give the flavor more depth.   I know that cream of mushroom soup seems unusual for mac and cheese but it adds a lot of flavor.  I have found that some macaroni and cheese can be a little bland and one dimensional.

I used a nice cut of thickly sliced bacon which isn't too salty and has big flavor.  Much better than the standard bacon you find at the grocery store. (I purchased this bacon at Whole Foods.)   I recommend trying a higher grade of bacon.  It is definitely worth the few extra dollars.

The bacon is baked right in the dish, so its hard to see in the photos all smothered with cheese, but I promise its in there.  I even took some nice photos of the bacon all cut up to prove to you that it is in there! 

Like most other baked pasta dishes it is very important not over cook the noodles.  The pasta will absorb the access moisture while baking.

This dish is certainly not diet friendly, but everyone needs a day to indulge.  I highly recommend trying it, your tastebuds will not be disappointed.   Enjoy!

Bacon Mac and Cheese
1 lb penne, cooked al dente
1 lb  cooked bacon, cut into one inch pieces
1 small onion, diced
1 cup of milk
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (fat free works great)
4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (I like to mix mild and sharp)
1/2  cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.  Cook the onion in a large pot over medium heat until softened.   Reduce heat to low.  Add the milk, soup and 3 cups of cheese to the pot.  Stir constantly until the cheese is melted. Turn off heat.  Add bacon and penne to pot.  Stir to combine.  Spread the mac and cheese in the prepared baking pan. Top with remaining cheese.  Mix the breadcrumbs and the melted butter.  Then spread the bread crumbs over the mac and cheese.  Cook until brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

This post was created as part of the Food Buzz BACONALIA Challenge!