Comfort Food Mac and Cheese (Print Version)

Rich mac and cheese baked with golden cheese and crispy bacon crumb topping for smoky, savory flavor.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 14 oz elbow macaroni

→ Cheese Sauce

02 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
03 - 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
04 - 2 cups whole milk
05 - ½ cup heavy cream
06 - 7 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
07 - 3.5 oz Gruyère cheese, grated
08 - 1.75 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
09 - 1 teaspoon mustard powder
10 - ½ teaspoon garlic powder
11 - ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
12 - Salt and black pepper to taste

→ Bacon Crumb Topping

13 - 4 slices bacon
14 - 2 oz panko breadcrumbs
15 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
16 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, optional

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
02 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add elbow macaroni and cook until just al dente, approximately 8-9 minutes. Drain and set aside.
03 - Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute while stirring constantly to eliminate lumps.
04 - Gradually whisk milk and heavy cream into the roux. Continue stirring until the mixture reaches a gentle simmer and thickens, approximately 3-4 minutes.
05 - Remove from heat. Add grated cheddar, Gruyère, and Parmesan cheeses. Stir in mustard powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper if desired, salt, and pepper until the sauce is smooth and fully blended.
06 - Toss the cooked macaroni with the cheese sauce until evenly coated. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
07 - Cook bacon slices in a skillet over medium heat until crispy, approximately 6-8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels and crumble once cooled.
08 - In a mixing bowl, combine panko breadcrumbs, melted butter, crumbled bacon, and parsley if using. Mix until evenly distributed. Sprinkle topping uniformly over the macaroni.
09 - Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the cheese sauce is bubbling at the edges. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • It's the kind of dish that fills your home with a warmth you can actually feel, especially on days when you need comfort the most.
  • The contrast between creamy cheese sauce and crispy bacon crumbs gives you multiple textures in every spoonful, which keeps it from ever feeling boring.
  • You can have it on the table in under an hour, making it perfect for those moments when you want something impressive without the fuss.
02 -
  • Don't skip the cooling time at the end—I learned this the hard way when I pulled a dish from the oven and immediately scooped it out, only to have the whole thing collapse into a soupy mess on the plate.
  • If your sauce breaks or gets grainy, turn off the heat immediately, add a splash of cold milk, and whisk vigorously—sometimes you can save it, and sometimes you just learned an expensive lesson.
  • The pasta will continue cooking slightly in the residual heat of the cheese sauce, so truly aim for just-al dente when you drain it or you'll end up with mushy noodles in the final bake.
03 -
  • Make the cheese sauce while the pasta is cooking so everything finishes around the same time and comes together hot, which means better flavor and texture integration.
  • If you're serving this to guests, you can assemble it completely a few hours ahead, cover it with foil, and bake it just before eating—add an extra 5 minutes to the baking time since it'll be cold when it goes in.
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