Bacon Sriracha Macaroni and Cheese

Homemade mac and cheese can be a real struggle. It seems easy. Take macaroni. Mix with cheese. DONE-ZO. Except not. Because how many times have you had (or even made yourself) homemade mac and cheese that was too dry, too bland, and maybe even a little stringy? If only making good mac and cheese was as easy as the name makes it sound.

There are no less than a million recipes out there for creamy mac and cheese (literally, I googled “creamy mac and cheese” and there are a million hits), so I’m sure you probably have your tried-and-true favorite already. But just for the heck of it, let me give you my tips for how to make the creamiest mac and cheese everโ€”do with it what you will.

Bacon Sriracha Macaroni and Cheese

First up, keep it soupy. If you are going to bake your mac and cheese, it should be nice and liquidy before it goes in the ovenโ€”trust me, that macaroni is going to absorb a lot more sauce than you think. So often people are tempted to stretch the recipe by adding just a bit more pasta, or, even worse, thinking the recipe is wrong because it’s super liquidy when it goes into the oven. If your mac and cheese looks like it’s finished before it even goes in the oven, you’re going to end up with dry mac and cheese. Keep it soupy.

Secondly, and this one is going to be controversial, don’t use a lot of cheese. Okay, okay, I know mac and cheese, but cheese can be such a booger to work with. Trust me, you don’t actually want macaroni and cheese. What you want is macaroni and a cream sauce that is flavored with cheese. I also, personally, believe you don’t need eight different $20 cheeses from the specialty store either to make really good mac and cheese. A few cups of good extra sharp cheddar will do you fine.

Thirdly, promise me you won’t used pre-shredded bagged cheese. If you’ve ever had stringy mac and cheese, it’s probably because it was made with preshredded cheese. If you check the ingredients on those bags of cheese, you’ll probably find two ingredients to help keep the cheese from sticking togetherโ€”cellulose (AKA: cardboardโ€”seriously) and potato starch. Sure, they help keep the cheese easy-to-sprinkle in the bag, but they also keep the cheese from getting all dreamy creamy in a sauce. Promise me you’ll grate your own cheese. Promise.

Bacon Sriracha Macaroni and Cheese

And my final tip is the granddaddy of all mac and cheese tips. It’s also maybe the weirdest one of the bunch. Are you ready for it?

Use coconut milk.

There, I said it. In place of milk (or cream), use full-fat coconut milk from the can. Coconut milk is so incredibly velvety smooth, and it holds up really well to cooking at high temperaturesโ€”something that can’t be said for cow’s milk. And before you go about thinking your mac and cheese is going to end up tasting like a macaroonโ€”I swear the coconut flavor fades away. I tend to use half coconut milk and half evaporated skim milk to help keep the coconutty flavor down, but even that really isn’t necessary. It definitely doesn’t taste “like coconut”. If anything, it just adds a nice lightly-sweet undertone to the dish. If you didn’t know it was in there, you probably couldn’t taste it. This is true with even the simplest of mac and cheese recipes, but it is especially true when you’re making a recipe with a little more flavor gustoโ€”like this Bacon Sriracha Macaroni and Cheese.

Bacon Sriracha Macaroni and Cheese

This mac and cheese is pretty life-affirming. In fact, it’s so crazy good, my husband declared this the best macaroni and cheese he’s ever had (which is saying a lot, considering he requests my Pepperoni Pizza Mac and Cheese for his birthday each year). And I have to admit, I did do pretty good on this one. It’s spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. It’s incredibly cheesy and creamy. And it’s got a wonderful crunchy layer of panko and bacon on top.

Enjoy!

 
Bacon and Sriracha Macaroni and Cheese

Bacon and Sriracha Macaroni and Cheese

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Combine spicy and smoky flavors into this Bacon Sriracha Macaroni and Cheese. It's creamy, cheesy, and super delicious!

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 small onion, diced finely
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small red bell pepper, diced finely
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 13.5-ounce can full-fat coconut milk {recommended: Native Forest Organic}
  • 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2 tablespoons Sriracha hot chile sauce
  • 8 ounces whole wheat macaroni, cooked according to package directions {recommended: Barilla}
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs {recommended: Ian's}

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 11" x 7" casserole dish with cooking spray, set aside.
  2. In a Dutch oven or high-sided skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon pieces until crisp. Remove the bacon pieces to drain on paper towel, leaving the bacon grease the skillet.
  3. Add in the butter, and once melted, add in the onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook until just tender and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle on the flour, and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes, just to remove the flour flavor. Then whisk in the coconut milk and evaporated milk. Add in the paprika, dry mustard, and salt. And continue to cook until mixture become just slightly thickened.
  5. Remove mixture from heat, and stir in the cheese, continuing to stir until completely melted. Add in the Sriracha sauce.
  6. Add the cooked macaroni to the sauce, and stir well to coat. Spoon the entire mixture (extra sauce and all) into the prepared casserole dish.
  7. In a small bowl, mix together the cooked bacon pieces and Panko. Sprinkle over top of macaroni.
  8. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the casserole is bubbly.

Notes

Like it hot? Add more Sriracha for even more spicy flavor.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 578Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 652mgCarbohydrates: 60gFiber: 8gSugar: 9gProtein: 27g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

20 Comments

    1. Hi Michele! We haven’t tried this recipe in a crockpot, sorry. If you give it a go, please let us know how it turns out!

  1. I had all the ingredients ready to make this TWO YEARS ago when I found out my newborn had a dairy allergy and it was suddenly off the menu (I gave up dairy as well so I could keep feeding her.) I finally made this yesterday, and oh my gawd, it is amazing! So delicious and creamy. Thank you!

  2. I love all of your recipes, and this is one of the best! Can’t wait to try it; it has basically all of my favorite ingredients! Your blog is awesome; I can’t believe I just now found it! Also, a “small farm in southern Indiana”? You could be my neighbor! ๐Ÿ™‚

      1. I know this is a very old post, but Iโ€™m making this for a contest at work tomorrow. Iโ€™m wondering if i can make it tonight but cook it tomorrow morning. Thank you!