Delicious Homemade Bacon Mac and Cheese Recipe

It's not a dish meant for fine dining; nor is it exquisite in any way. But there are very few dishes that soothe frayed nerves like Mac and cheese. This is a world favourite comfort food. There's some magic in the delicious blend of macaroni and cheese that makes us keep wanting more in spite of the fat content it has. And yes! Kids love this dish; some are ready to live on just Mac and cheese topped with tomato ketchup.

Though the origin of this humble dish is not exactly know, what with everyone claiming ownership to its creation, the Mac and cheese has journeyed a lot around the world. The United States has adopted this dish as one of its own ever since Thomas Jefferson served this dish in the White House in 1802. It's now an American favourite dish with lots of customized versions.

Here's a bacon Mac and cheese that's guaranteed to impress you. The bacon not only adds taste to the dish; it also makes it protein-rich and nutritious.

What will you need for Bacon Mac and Cheese?

Elbow macaroni - 1 lb
Milk - 4 cups
Crushed garlic - 4 cloves
Butter - 3 tbsp
White Cheddar, shredded - 5.5 cups
Powdered black pepper
Thyme - 2 sprigs
All purpose flour - 3 tbsp
Onion, cubed - one large
Sliced bacon, cut into strips - 4 slices
Crushed garlic - 2
Fresh thyme leaves to garnish
Flat leaf parsley - ¼ cup
Coarse salt

How to make the dish -

Boil water with salt in a pot. To this boiling water, add macaroni and cook for about nine minutes till it's thoroughly cooked, but still firm. Drain the excess water. Preheat your oven to 400oF. Take a small pan; pour in the mil with thyme and two cloves of crushed garlic. Take a heavy bottomed skillet and melt butter keeping heat at medium. Slowly blend in the flour and keep stirring to prevent lumps. Pass the milk through a strainer and add it to the butter. Keep stirring this mixture hard till you get a thick, lump less texture. Now add in about four cups of cheese and keep stirring till the cheese melts. Add pepper and salt.

This is the time to spoon in the macaroni and parsley. Stir well to cover the macaroni fully with the butter-cheese mix. Shift this to a baking dish and top up with the remaining cheddar. Keep it in the oven and bake for half an hour.

Now to prepare your bacon, take a pan and saute the bacon strips till it's crisp. Add crushed garlic, onion and thyme leaves to the pan and keep cooking till the onion turns pink. Sprinkle salt and pepper.

When the mac and cheese is ready, take it out and spread the cooked bacon over the dish.

Your Bacon, Mac and Cheese is ready. Make sure you include the bacon pieces when you serve this dish. Serve it piping hot and enjoy.