Smoky Rooster Bacon Mac and Cheese. This indulgent baked pasta dish has 3 cheeses, loads of crisp bacon, and smoky spiced rooster cooked proper in. This makes an final consolation meals meal.
Smoky Rooster Bacon Mac and Cheese.
This terrific baked pasta dinner has all of it. Tender grilled rooster, bacon, a creamy, flavourful sauce and a buttery crumb topping!
Winter is the perfect time for dishes like these that please the entire household. It’s warming, hearty consolation meals with all the appropriate acquainted flavours.
It could simply be my favorite baked pasta dinner. That’s most likely because of the truth that it’s based mostly upon my favorite Bacon Mac n’ Cheese Recipe, which I’ve been making for years.
Assembled components.
Chopped cooked rooster.
The completed sauce.
Utilizing a grill pan to prepare dinner the rooster thighs.
The absolutely cooked rooster thighs.
We had deliberate to make it once more with friends coming for dinner, as my sister amd mother have been within the metropolis for the day. On a busy day, we needed one thing easy to make slightly forward, and mac and cheese match the invoice.
Fairly often, we use our extremely in style Smokin’ Summer time Spice Seasoning Mix on grilled rooster, in order that was the preliminary plan. We’ve got had that mix constantly readily available all yr lengthy, since I first developed it properly over a decade in the past.
It’s such a flexible seasoning for all the pieces from pork chops to burgers. We use it in all the pieces.

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The inspiration for Smoky Rooster Bacon Mac and Cheese.
I first thought of serving the Summer time Spice Grilled Rooster with the mac and cheese on the facet together with a wholesome salad as slightly wholesome stability for the indulgent pasta.
As I used to be grilling the rooster I believed, why not add the rooster into the mac n’ cheese?
If I added the rooster into the dish immediately, that may make a extra full meal of the leftovers. Good, I believed, so I did simply that.
Able to assemble.
Including one other rooster layer.
Including a layer of cheese.
Including the sauce.
Including the crumb topping.
Prepared for the oven.
As with many baked pastas, we freeze the leftovers , as single parts for a simple lunch afterward. We vacuum seal it in particular person parts, so it’s simple to thaw in a bowl of water, should you don’t wish to dry it out an excessive amount of within the microwave.
They are often finicky machines the perfect of occasions, and sometimes overheat leftovers, particularly from frozen!
Simply yesterday we did that with the leftovers from our baked ziti this week. (That recipe is coming quickly too!)
Leftover Baked Ziti prepared for the freezer.
The evaluations!
The entire household of holiday makers beloved it. So did Partner and I!
In reality, solely a few weeks after first making the dish, we had completed off about 3 meals of the leftovers for lunch. I made a double batch to verify there would certainly BE leftovers and that was a really good move certainly!Â
Love nice pasta dinners?
In case you can’t get sufficient of nice pasta dinner recipes, please take a look at our assortment of 20 Greatest Pasta Dinners!
Like this Smoky Rooster Bacon Mac and Cheese recipe?
You’ll discover lots of of different nice concepts in our Fast & Simple Dinners Class and much more in our Rooster Recipes Class.

Components
- 2 cups dry macaroni or scooby doo pasta
- 2 lb boneless skinless rooster thighs (or breasts)
- 3 tbsp Smoky Spice BBQ Seasoning ( see Observe beneath)
- salt and pepper to season
- 2 cups complete milk (or use half milk and half whipping cream for additional richness)
- ½ pound smoked bacon
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 clove minced garlic, non-obligatory
- 2 tbsp common or Dijon mustard
- 8 ounces mozzarella
- 8 ounces smoked cheddar or aged cheddar d
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 cup cracker or bread crumbs, I exploit Ritz cracker crumbs
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- Pinch of cracked black pepper
Directions
To arrange the rooster
- Season the rooster thighs with salt and pepper and add the BBQ spice seasoning liberally over each side of the rooster thighs.
- Prepare dinner for about 3-4 minutes per facet in a evenly oiled grill pan or a skillet.
- Relaxation the cooked rooster for 10 minutes.
- Chop the rooster into chunk sized items
For the Sauce
- Within the microwave, scald the milk nearly to boiling
- In a medium saucepan, slowly fry the bacon.
- Prepare dinner to crisp, rendering out as a lot of the fats as doable. Drain on paper towels and pressure all of the fats from the pan.
- Don’t clear the saucepan however return it to the range and add the butter, flour, black pepper, salt & garlic.
- Prepare dinner collectively for 1 to 2 minutes till foamy.
- Whisking continuously, slowly pour in scalded milk. Proceed to prepare dinner for two extra minutes stirring continuously.
- Lastly, stir within the mustard.
For the pasta
- Prepare dinner the macaroni in properly salted water till al dente and even rather less.
- The pasta will take up some liquid from the sauce, so you don’t need it to turn into too mushy
For the Topping
- Combine collectively the crumbs, butter and pepper.
- Sprinkle evenly excessive.
To layer the mac and cheese
- Grate the cheeses and mix them collectively.
- Butter an 10-12 cup casserole dish. (9×13 works properly)
- Place â…“ of the pasta within the backside of the dish.
- Pour on â…“ the sauce.
- Scatter 1/3 of the bacon over the floor.
- Add 1/3 of the rooster items in a fair layer.
- Sprinkle â…“ of the cheese mix over the rooster layer.
- Repeat the layers ending with cheese on the highest.
- Sprinkle on the crumb topping
To Bake
- Cowl the casserole dish and bake at 375 levels F for half-hour.
- Uncover and prepare dinner for quarter-hour longer or till it simply begins to bubble on the middle
- In case you double this recipe, add further baking time for bigger casserole dish.
Notes
I exploit my Smokin’ Summer time Spice Dry Rub for the seasoning on the rooster. It is one thing we all the time have readily available yr spherical at our home.

You need to use your favorite BBq seasoning should you like or make a easy seasoning combine with
2 tbsp Smoked paprika
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
Advisable Merchandise
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Vitamin Info
Yield
10
Serving Measurement
1
Quantity Per Serving
Energy 705Complete Fats 37gSaturated Fats 17gUnsaturated Fats 20gLdl cholesterol 193mgSodium 2745mgCarbohydrates 42gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 49g
The dietary info offered is mechanically calculated by third celebration software program and is supposed as a tenet solely. Precise accuracy is just not assured. For recipes the place all components is probably not used completely, corresponding to these with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for instance, calorie & dietary values per serving will doubtless be considerably decrease than indicated.
Rock Recipes a participant within the Amazon Providers LLC Associates Program, an affiliate promoting program designed to offer a way for us to earn charges by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated websites. Our product suggestions are nearly completely for these we at present use or have used prior to now.
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