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Featured Wisconsin Cheeses: Sharp Colby Jack Cheese, Parmesan Cheese

By Dude Foods

Macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite foods. I love how something so simple can be so delicious. It’s one of those dishes that even people who are terrible at cooking can whip up with no problem at all. When the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board asked me to be a part of their second annual Macaroni & Cheese Blog to celebrate National Cheese Lover’s Day I immediately jumped at the opportunity.

They asked me specifically for a “Dude Foods inspired” macaroni and cheese recipe and one of the first ideas that came to my mind was a macaroni and cheese pie with bacon. Using an actual pie crust seemed a little too easy however, so I decided to make the pie crust itself out of bacon, fill it with macaroni and Colby Jack Cheese and then use even more bacon to create a lattice top, similar to what you often see with traditional pies.

When it came time for me to decide which bacon to use for my dish it was a no-brainer. I wanted to stick with a Wisconsin theme so I chose Nueske’s, which has been providing the world with delicious meats since 1933. I’ve also noticed that their bacon seems to shrink a lot less than most other bacon when you cook it, which is essential when you don’t want any open gaps between the bacon slices in your bacon pie crust.

Mac & Cheese Pie With a Bacon Crust

Ingredients:
1 3/4 pounds bacon
8 ounces uncooked cellentani (corkscrew-shaped) macaroni
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded sharp Wisconsin Colby Jack Cheese
1/2 cup (about 1 ounce) grated Wisconsin Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch fresh basil, chopped

Directions:
Take 1 pound of bacon and tightly weave it into a square, alternating over and under with
the strips of bacon, that is roughly the size of your pie tin. Flip the bacon weave into your pie
tin and press down, conforming the bacon to the shape of the tin.

Place another pie tin on top of the bacon and press down firmly. This will help your
bacon pie crust keep its shape while cooking

Create another bacon weave using the remaining 3/4 pound of bacon. This will be the
lattice top for the pie, so with this one you’ll want to leave some space in between the slices of bacon.

Place the bacon pie crust and lattice top on separate baking sheets and cook at 400°F
for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the macaroni according to the package directions,
drain it and set aside.

In a saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat and stir in the flour. Add milk to the
mix slowly while stirring constantly. Stir in the cheeses and cook over low heat until the
cheese is melted and the sauce is slightly thick.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and brown.

When the bacon is done cooking remove the second pie tin from the top of the crust and let it
cool for a few minutes. (Pat the bacon gently with paper towel to absorb any excess grease.)
Spoon the macaroni mixture into your bacon pie crust and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the
macaroni and cheese. Sprinkle with nutmeg and basil leaves.

Cover your pie with the bacon lattice top and cook at 400°F for 15 minutes. Once your pie is
done cooking let it cool and then dig in and enjoy!

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8 Responses to “Mac & Cheese Pie With a Bacon Crust”

  1. Monique says:
    February 11, 2011 at 12:49 pm

    This looks amazing … I wonder if someone would be able to convert this to a GF/CF meal for me :) … off to scour the net to see :)

  2. Karen says:
    February 11, 2011 at 1:07 pm

    WOW does that look good and tasty

  3. wendy young says:
    March 8, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    Two of my favorites in one receipe. Looks and sounds good.

  4. Stephanie says:
    March 25, 2011 at 11:54 am

    I am making this as soon as I can afford a defibrulator :)

  5. darcy says:
    October 29, 2011 at 5:33 pm

    i would totally do the top in a peppered bacon, add some zing! but this is something i would love to try!

  6. Suzie says:
    June 24, 2012 at 9:17 am

    This looks very tasty. I would change a few things in the recipe….Bacon LOVE Bacon I have been trying a few new ones Bourbon BBQ would work well and I never use milk if I can kick it up a notch with cream or at least a 50/50 blend. And Bread crumbs would be replaced with Panko just for the crunch factor. Will be making this soon

  7. Julie says:
    October 25, 2012 at 1:25 pm

    I can’t wait to make this for my husband. He considers bacon as Vitamin B.

  8. ron radstrom says:
    March 3, 2013 at 6:50 pm

    Instead of cooking the bacon in a pie tin i draped the bacon over an inverted pie tin and set it on a baking pan.The grease just drained onto the pan.I then put another pie tin on top and turned it over,a little dabbing with some paper towels and you’re ready to continue.Thanks for the great recipe

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