Bacon Macaroni and Cheese
Posted Nov 02, 2025
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This bacon macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. Made in 30 minutes on the stovetop, bacon mac and cheese is rich, creamy, cheesy and loaded with bacon—an easy dinner your whole family will love.
This bacon macaroni and cheese recipe might be my son’s most requested recipe of all-time.
I can’t blame him either, it’s so delicious! Because what’s not to love? Macaroni smothered cheesy sauce – that includes bacon grease for the ultimate bacon flavor – and tons of crispy bacon in every bite. Total perfection.
We had bacon mac and cheese once and he begged me to recreate it at home because he loved it so much – and this recipe is the winner! It’s easy to make in 30 minutes and is 100% guaranteed to earn you cool mom points!
Bacon Mac & Cheese: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Macaroni. Any pasta variety works well in this recipe. Some suggestions include shells, wagon wheel pasta, bowties, rotini, etc. You can also use gluten-free pasta, whole wheat macaroni, chickpea pasta, etc. etc.
- Bacon. this recipe calls for 12 ounces of your favorite bacon. Any variety works well. I don’t suggest using turkey bacon, however.
- Salted Butter. unsalted butter works great.
- All-Purpose Flour. There are a few substitutions that work well for the flour including corn starch, tapioca starch/flour, and all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Whole Milk. I suggest dairy with fat in it like whole milk, heavy cream and half and half for the best results.
- Cheddar Cheese. shredded gouda, Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, etc. are all good substitutes.
How to Make Bacon Macaroni and Cheese
Let’s walk through how to make this recipe step-by-step, and as always you can watch the video for further guidance.
Begin by cooking the macaroni in salted water according to package instructions. Drain, but do not rinse. If you rinse with water, the noodles will absorb that extra water instead of the sauce.
While the macaroni is cooking, dice the bacon into small pieces (think bite-sized).
Then, cook the bacon in a large pot or saucepan over medium heat until it’s slightly crispy, making sure to stir often.
Once the bacon is crispy, use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove it from the pan to a bowl or plate. Make sure to save the grease and leave it in the pan!!!
After the bacon has been removed, add the butter to the pan with the bacon grease and let it melt.
Then, whisk in the flour, salt, and pepper and and cook it for one minute.
Next, whisk in the whole milk and sour cream until the sauce is smooth.
Cook over medium heat until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spatula (see photo below). Make sure to whisk often.
Then, turn the heat to low and whisk in the cheese until it’s melted.
Once the cheese is melted, turn off the heat, add the cooked macaroni and stir.
Then stir in bacon. If desired, reserve about ¼ to ½ cup of the bacon to sprinkle on top.
Serve
Serve warm. with bacon sprinkled on top. We often serve this bacon macaroni and cheese as a main dish with a side salad, or veggies like roasted broccoli or sautéed brussels sprouts.
Or, you can serve it alongside your favorite dinner recipes like meatloaf, buttermilk chicken, or turkey meatloaf.
Store/Freeze
Store leftover bacon mac and cheese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop over low heat.
Bacon Macaroni and Cheese Recipe FAQS
This recipe is easily doubled or tripled to serve a crowd!
You can make it an hour or two in advance and just keep it warm on the stovetop, covered on a warm burner. Or you can cook the bacon and make the cheese sauce in advance. Then cook the noodles and stir in the sauce/bacon when you’re ready to serve.
My top 3 pasta shape picks are:
1) Elbows
2) Shells
3) Wagon Wheels (they hold so much sauce)
Shred your own cheese instead of using bagged shredded cheese. Also make sure to cook the cheese sauce on medium-low heat, cooking on high heat can cause the sauce to curdle.
Absolutely! Just use gluten-free macaroni and gluten-free flour in these sauce.
If you make and love my recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so I can see your creations!
Bacon Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 ounces elbow macaroni (uncooked)
- 12 ounces bacon
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Finely dice bacon into small pieces.
- Cook macaroni in salted water according to package instructions. Drain, but do not rinse.
- Cook the diced bacon over medium heat in an 6 to 8-quart saucepan until slightly crispy ( 5-8 minutes), stirring often.
- Use a slotted spoon or tongs to remove bacon from the pan and transfer it to a bowl or plate. Leave the bacon grease in the pan.
- Melt butter over medium heat in the pan with the bacon grease.
- Once the butter is melted, add flour, salt, and pepper, whisk to combine and cook for 1 minute.
- Then, add the whole milk and sour cream and heat over medium heat until the sauce is thick. Stirring or whisking often.
- Turn heat to low and whisk in cheese until melted.
- Then, turn off the heat, add the cooked macaroni and stir.
- Then stir in bacon. If desired, reserve about ¼ to ½ cup of the bacon to sprinkle on top.
- The bacon macaroni and cheese thickens as it cools, so you can serve it immediately or let it cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- Macaroni. Any pasta variety works well in this recipe. Some suggestions include shells, wagon wheel pasta, bowties, rotini, etc. You can also use gluten-free pasta, whole wheat macaroni, chickpea pasta, etc. etc.
- Bacon. this recipe calls for 12 ounces of your favorite bacon. Any variety works well. I don’t suggest using turkey bacon, however.
- Salted Butter. unsalted butter works great.
- All-Purpose Flour. There are a few substitutions that work well for the flour including corn starch, tapioca starch/flour, and all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Whole Milk. I suggest dairy with fat in it like whole milk, heavy cream and half and half for the best results.
- Cheddar Cheese. shredded gouda, Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, etc. are all good substitutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
