This crazy house loves all things Mac and Cheese. So as a mom of 5 I used our mac and cheese love to my advantage and help my kids get their veggie intake in! This recipe started as a simple boxed mac and cheese recipe with broccoli. Over the last few years, it has developed into this homemade Southern Baked Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese recipe my family loves!
Southern Baked Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese Recipe
So I had a genius mom moment with this recipe. My kids have a crazy love for mac and cheese as most kids do. We were at a restaurant and the only mac and cheese they had was a seafood mac and cheese I told my kids they wouldn't like it but they insisted, so we ordered it for them they ate it all and I sat there in disbelief.
My husband joked that we could put anything in mac and cheese and they would eat it. He was joking, I thought he was a genius! So since no one would eat broccoli, hubby included, so I put it in a batch of boxed mac and cheese and the kids ate it!
Related: Bacon-Wrapped Corn On The Cob
Hubby didn't. He said it was the fact that it was the boxed mac and cheese.
So next time I stepped up my game and made homemade mac and cheese and added his favorite thing of all time. Bacon.
He ate it! Next was a recipe for mommies taste so I made the mac and cheese with my southern recipe. That's how this Southern Baked Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese Recipe was born.
SCORE FOR MOMMY!
Pro tip! You can use my slow cooker mac and cheese recipe and add in bacon and broccoli as well if you want to go that route.
I know you will love it! Now on to the recipe!
Ingredients:
3-4 slices of bacon, cooked
5-6 ounces freshly grated cheddar cheese
3 cups broccoli florets, steamed or blanched
8 oz elbow noodles pasta
¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, room temperature
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp garlic powder
⅛ tsp black pepper
Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Next, measure out all your ingredients, chop your broccoli, and grate your cheeses.
Boil pasta per package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside once done.
While the pasta cooks, start your sauce and your broccoli.
Cook broccoli via your favorite method. I'm a big fan of quickly blanching the broccoli in hot water until the florets are bright green and tender.
Related: The Best Green Bean Recipe With A Bacon Vinaigrette
For the sauce, melt ½ stick of butter (1/4 a cup) over medium heat.
Add flour and whisk constantly while the flour cooks off into a roux, approx. 3 minutes.
Next season with ¼ tsp salt and ⅛ tsp black pepper.
Slowly pour in your milk, whisking constantly until smooth and fully incorporated.
Remove from heat. The sauce will thicken as it rests.
Add pasta and broccoli florets into your favorite casserole dish. I love my 9 x 13-inch ceramic baking pan.
Sprinkle 5-6 ounces of freshly grated cheese on top of the pasta.
Pour your cream sauce over the noodles and cheese and use a rubber spatula to fold it all together. Feel free to top with a little extra cheese if you'd like, then top with the bacon.
Bake on center rack at 350 F for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly and all the cheese is melted and gooey.
Serve hot with our 7 Up Biscuits Recipe.
Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 3-4 slices of bacon, cooked
- 5-6 ounces freshly grated cheddar cheese
- 3 cups broccoli florets, steamed or blanched
- 8 oz pasta
- ¼ cup [1/2 stick] unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk, room temperature
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ? tsp black pepper
- Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Next measure out all your ingredients, chop your broccoli and grate your cheeses.
- Boil pasta per package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside once done.
- While the pasta cooks, start your sauce and your broccoli.
- Cook broccoli via your favorite method. I'm a big fan of quickly blanching broccoli in hot water until the florets are bright green and tender.
- For the sauce, melt ½ stick of butter [1/4 cup] over medium heat.
- Add flour and whisk constantly while the flour cooks off into a roux, approx. 3 minutes..
- Next season with ¼ tsp salt and ? tsp black pepper [add extra to taste]
- Slowly pour in your milk, whisking constantly until smooth and fully incorporated. Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken as it rests.
- Add pasta and broccoli florets to a 9-inch baking dish [or larger]
- Sprinkle 5-6 ounces of freshly grated cheese on top of the pasta.
- Pour your cream sauce over the noodles and cheese and use a rubber spatula to fold it all together. Feel free to top with a little extra cheese if you'd like, then top with bacon.
- Bake on center rack at 350 F for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size
1 gramsAmount Per Serving Unsaturated Fat 0g
This a quick and frugal recipe, but there is a little trick you could add to make it even quicker. Instead of cooking or blanching the broccoli do this – when you are nearly ready to drain the pasta, drop the broccoli on top and push it down so the broccoli is submerged in the water. When the broccoli turns bright green, the broccoli is blanched. Now strain the pasta & broccoli, add your sauce and your done!
And a very tasty variation which is particularly good if you are feeding people that don’t care for broccoli:
substitute frozen (or fresh) peas for the broccoli
substitue diced ham for the bacon