Do your kids love mac-n-cheese? My kids do, but I haven’t been making it because – 1. I’ve been avoiding boxed foods and 2. I thought that making homemade mac-n-cheese would be a long and complicated process. Guess what? It’s not! Thanks to Dan at PlatterTalk, I was inspired to adapt his (Almost) World Famous Mac-n-Cheese to incorporate one of our favorite cheeses to make a Smoked Gouda Mac-n-Cheese.
Okay. I know you’re asking, “Why did you change the recipe?”. Don’t get me wrong, the original recipe was great! My two sons were even asking for third servings and there were no leftovers. I adapted the recipe because I don’t buy sharp cheddar on a regular basis, while smoked gouda is a cheese I always have on-hand because I’m in serious love with it. Plus, I wanted to add some type of vegetable into the mac-n-cheese. Oh, I also doubled the bacon content so this contains about 2 slices of bacon per person. I know, not the most diet friendly recipe, but it’s really good!So without further ado, here is a new family favorite meal. Thank you Dan for the inspiration!
Bacon & Smoked Gouda Mac-n-Cheese
Bacon and smoked gouda flavor this delicious mac-n-cheese meal.
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz. box Riggatoni or macaroni noodles
- 8 -10oz Smoked Gouda (grated)
- 16oz thick cut bacon (cut into 1 inch pieces)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream or milk
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon kosher salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon and adjust to your taste)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Prepare noodles per package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Slice bacon into 1" pieces. Cook in a pan on medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan and place on paper towels to drain. Set aside.
- Drain bacon oil from the pan, leaving just enough to coat the bottom of the pan, about 1 tsp. Place pan back onto medium heat and add peas. Cook peas for about 2 minutes or just until defrosted. Set aside.
- In a pot, melt 2 T. of butter and add 2 T. of flour over medium heat. Continue to stir and cook until the butter/flour mixture becomes browned, about 2 minutes.
- Add heavy cream, grated smoked Gouda, and salt/pepper to the butter/flour mixture. Slightly lower the heat and whisk until the smoked Gouda is melted.
- In a large bowl, mix together the Riggatoni noodles, cheese mixture, peas, and bacon.
- Lightly grease a 9"x13" glass cassereole dish. Pour the noodle mixture into the casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes. Serve.
Notes
If you prefer a more cheesy taste, increase the grated smoked Gouda to 10 oz
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This sounds delicious!! I’m going to pair this with corn pasta and GF flour next time we have mac and cheese.
I’ve pinned and featured your post, thanks for sharing at #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup …hope to see you again this week!
Oh boy, that sounds and looks amazing. I love smoked gouda cheese too. So good. Thanks for linking up to Tips and Tricks. I’m on my way to your party right now!
Hello beautiful! This looks so amazing. Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you on Monday at 7pm because we love to party with you! Happy Memorial Day! Lou Lou Girls
Thanks so much for hosting your awesome party each week and for pinning!
I love smoked Gouda but never thought about making mac-n-cheese with it. Oh, and everything’s better with bacon 🙂 Thanks for linking up and sharing with us at Funtastic Friday. Hope you join us again this week.
This looks delicious. This goes on my What’s For Dinner list. Thanks for sharing on Sunday’s Best. Please join us again.
We love some homemade mac-n-cheese and have tried it with some different kinds of cheese. We need to try your recipe, sounds delicious!
I never would have thought of making mac and cheese with Gouda. This sounds yummy.Thank you for linking up on #HomeMattersParty this week. Can’t wait to see what you link up next week.
That looks delicious! I’ll have to try your recipe!!!
Thanks Lisa. Let me know if you try it.
Honestly, you had me at bacon. This looks delicious, and I love the flavor combos. I’m pinning this one for dinner this week!
Lol…I’m the same way. Anything with bacon gets my attention. Thanks for pinning and I hope you enjoy.
This looks fantastic Erlene! In the deli at Whole Foods they have a Gouda cheese, spinach & I think bacon version of this. Yum! Definitely going to try this so I don’t have to buy it anymore! Thanks so much for pinning this to the P3 Party Board! You are being featured tomorrow! 🙂
Kim
I had no idea about the Whole Foods version. Spinach would be a great substitution for the peas. And thank you for the feature!
Homemade mac and cheese is much better than the boxed kind! And my husband will love the fact that you doubled the bacon. The smoked gouda is my kind of cheese! Yum! Looks delicious!
I totally agree! Homemade is SO much better than boxed. And anything with double the bacon is always better…lol. Hope you try it.