Mac 'N Cheese with Bacon and Cheese

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Show: Tyler's UltimateEpisode: Ultimate Mac and Cheese

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (193)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(193)

Cook Time:
40 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
6 to 8 servings

Times:

Prep: 20 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 40 min
Total:: 1 hr 0 min

Recipe Tools:

Select a Card Size

Add To My Recipe Box

Success

This recipe was added to your Folder_Name folder.

Do not show this message again

Add To My Recipe Box

Please sign in to add this recipe to your Recipe Box.

Ingredients

Kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
4 cups milk
2 or 3 sprigs thyme
4 cloves garlic, smashed and divided
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 1/2 cups shredded sharp white Cheddar
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
Leaves from 1/4 bunch fresh thyme

Directions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 9 minutes, until al dente. Drain.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small saucepan heat the milk with the thyme sprigs and 2 garlic cloves. Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, to keep lumps from forming. Strain the solids out of the milk and whisk it into the butter and flour mixture. Continue to whisk vigorously, and cook until the mixture is nice and smooth. Stir in the 4 cups of the cheese and continue to cook and stir to melt the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked macaroni and the parsley and fold that all in to coat the macaroni with the cheese mixture. Scrape into a 3-quart baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

While that bakes, heat a saute pan. Add the bacon, render the fat and cook until crispy. Add onion, garlic and thyme leaves and cook for about 5 minutes to soften the onion. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, scatter the bacon mixture over the mac and cheese. Use a big spoon to scoop out servings, making sure you get some of the smoking bacon mixture on each spoonful.

Next Recipe

More recipes? Try these recommendations:

Similar Recipe

Lady's Fried Mac

Picture of Mac 'N Cheese with Bacon and Cheese Recipe

Photo: Mac 'N Cheese with Bacon and Cheese

Similar Recipes

Recipes Like This

All About…

Recipe Collections

Showing 1-10 of 27

View all 27 Comfort Food Collections

Comments & Reviews

recipe Mac 'N Cheese with Bacon and Cheese
Dani Sun Valley, NV 11-20-2009
Flag

Amazing - with a small modification
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I used extra sharp cheddar (not white cheddar), and also used a wedge of freshly grated parmesan, reducing the amount of... cheddar. We loved this, and my family has asked for it over and over since the first time. DELICIOUS with the addition of the thyme/onion/bacon. I was surprised how much flavor was added by the thyme in the milk mixture, as well as in the topping.Read more
recipe Mac 'N Cheese with Bacon and Cheese
Ed Grants Pass, OR 11-13-2009
Flag

Really Bland, I'm Disappointed
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

I've made a lot of Tyler's recipes (loved his enchiladas the most) and I've got to say that this recipe was not worth the... time and effort, as it turned out really bland and boring. I didn't like Alton's Mac & Cheese, either, although I like a lot of his stuff (except for the current season, which I am finding dull and uninteresting) maybe next I'll try his little fillip at the end of his show, the so-called "kid-friendly" Mac & Cheese. It looked ghastly, but who knows, maybe it'll taste better than the main M&C recipe of Tyler's M&C. Ed Grants Pass, OregonRead more
recipe Mac 'N Cheese with Bacon and Cheese
Jennie Indianapolis, IN 11-11-2009
Flag

I'll make a few changes next time
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I made this dish, and overall it was pretty good. I used sharp white chedder cheese (I love white chedder!), but like some... other people mentioned, I think next time I'll mix in some mild regular chedder. The sharpness and tang of all the white chedder was a little overwhelming. I also incorporated the bacon and onions into the dish as others suggested, and I really liked this change. However, next time I will add more bacon and about half the onion (never thought I'd cut back on onion in my food, but too much onion kind of ruined it for me in this dish). Overall, it did require a lot of pot/bowl cleaning, but It was creamy and tasty.Read more
recipe Mac 'N Cheese with Bacon and Cheese
null null, null 11-10-2009
Flag

Tasty and quick
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I made this for dinner last night and was very pleased with the results. I hadn't been to the store, so I just used what I... had on hand--skim milk, and fresh chives instead of the thyme and parsley. I also skipped the bacon topping, so I added all 4 garlic cloves to the milk mixture. Very flavorful. Not very creamy (because of the skim milk, I assume) but the flavor more than compensated.Read more
recipe Mac 'N Cheese with Bacon and Cheese
Jacqulene Eugene, OR 11-10-2009
Flag

First try
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

I made this macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight after seeing Tyler make it on the show. Funny how it never looks the same... on my stovetop as it does on the TV... I was really worried because when I was making it, it seemed too runny. I ended up letting it boil a bit on the stove to try to thicken it, and then probably overbaked it in the oven, so it actually turned out to have almost no melt left to it. And I mean it was runny, soupy, could barely see the noodles through the liquid when I first mixed it all together. My boyfriend said that he liked it, but I've grown up on smooth Velveeta mac 'n cheese, so the crunchiness was hard for me to get used to. I will agree with others that it was a bit bland, but I'm sure if I had done more than "smash" the garlic as the recipe told me to, it would have helped. Read more
recipe Mac 'N Cheese with Bacon and Cheese
Erica Loveland, CO 11-09-2009
Flag

So good!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This was so good! I made mine with sharp white cheddar and parm. I also added the bacon into the mac 'n cheese along with... parsley. I had to cook mine a little longer to get it nice and crunchy on top. The family loved it! Thanks Tyler.Read more