Short on time with a hungry family to feed? Try this festive chicken and bacon mac and cheese topped with a gorgeous garlic crumb, enriched with cranberries and walnuts.
Long-time readers will know that I'm a big fan of Primula and I love cooking with it, especially at Christmas.
For the uninitiated, Primula has been a leading family food brand for 95 years, and it's most famous for its squeezy cheese tubes.
Primula combines delicious cheese with real, tasty ingredients so it's super convenient and yummy. Primula's core range consists of Original Cheese, Cheese ‘n’ Chives, Cheese ‘n’ Ham, Cheese ‘n’ Prawns, Cheese ‘n’ Jalapeños, Cheese ‘n’ Paprika and Light Cheese. It also has a range of tubs and dips.
A quick squeeze of Primula Cheese can transform your meal in a matter of minutes. In the gorgeous chicken and bacon macaroni and cheese recipe, it's Primula Original Cheese that melts perfectly into the easy cheese sauce to make it smooth, creamy and delicious.
Ingredients
For the filling
- 500 g (1.1 lb) macaroni
- 1 tsp salted butter
- 150 g (5.3 oz) bacon lardons
- 2 cooked/roasted chicken breasts sliced
- Pinch salt and black pepper
For the sauce
- 900 ml (1.9 pint) whole milk
- 100 g (3.5 oz) plain white flour (all purpose flour)
- 50 g (1.8 oz) salted butter
- 300 g (10.6 oz) Primula Original Cheese (2 tubes)
- Pinch salt and black pepper
For the crumb topping
- 100 g (3.5 oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
- 30 g (1.1 oz) dried cranberries roughly chopped
- 35 g (1.2 oz) walnuts roughly chopped
- 1/4 tsp garlic granules
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Olive oil
Instructions
To prepare the filling
Put the macaroni in a large pan of boiling salted water and cook for 8 minutes, then drain.
Put the butter in a pan over a medium heat.
Add the bacon and fry for a couple of minutes until cooked through.
Add the sliced chicken and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
Fry for a couple of minutes until golden.
Tip onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain off any excess fat.
For the sauce
Put the milk, butter and flour in a pan with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Whisk over a low heat until it thickens.
Taste to make sure the flour has cooked out, then add the Primula.
Whisk through. It will melt easily into the sauce. Season if necessary and set aside to cool.
Tip the cooked and drained macaroni into a large greased roasting dish.
Top with the chicken and bacon.
Pour the sauce on top and mix through.
To make the crumb
In a bowl, combine the fresh white breadcrumbs, cranberries, walnuts, garlic granules, dried sage, black pepper and salt.
Sprinkle the crumb evenly over the macaroni.
Drizzle all over with olive oil.
220C (200C fan) for 10-15 minutes until golden on top.
Enjoy!
Extra tips for the perfect chicken and bacon macaroni cheese
Can I make this chicken and bacon macaroni cheese vegetarian
Yes, you can make this recipe into a meat-free "chicken and bacon" macaroni cheese, simply by using something like Quorn or soya chicken-style fillets and Quorn or soya bacon in place of the meat.
Primula Original is already suitable for vegetarians, as are the other ingredients in this recipe.
How can I avoid my stodgy macaroni cheese?
Macaroni and cheese bake usually becomes stodgy if the pasta is overcooked before it's added to the dish. Cook for no more than 8 minutes and then drain to ensure it will still have some bite when it comes out of the oven.
Another cause of stodgy macaroni cheese is making a sauce that is too thick. Make sure to use the correct quantities of flour, butter, milk and cheese and don't overcook it - stop heating as soon as the flour taste has gone from the sauce.
Can I use other fillings in the festive macaroni cheese?
Yes! You could swap out bacon and chicken for any other festive fillings you fancy.
How about some roast turkey or goose? You could even add some cranberry sauce or sage and onion stuffing leftover from Christmas dinner. All would be delicious.
Do I have to cook the meat before adding it to the mac and cheese?
Yes, it's very important that you cook the chicken and bacon (or any other meats you're using) fully before you stir them into the macaroni cheese.
Your dish only bakes for 10-15 minutes in the oven, so putting the meat in raw would risk food poisoning - and it without being fried off, it wouldn't taste as good either.
Can this chicken and bacon mac be made in advance?
Yes, you could make this mac and cheese up, including adding the crumb topping and then store in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
Alternatively, you can freeze this mac and cheese before or after baking. See the information below for advice on how to do this safely.
Can this chicken and bacon mac and cheese be frozen before it is baked?
Yes, you can assemble your mac and cheese in a freezer and oven safe tray (such as a foil tray) and place a suitable, airtight lid on top.
Freeze, then bake from frozen. I have not tested how long it would take to cook this recipe from frozen, but expect to add at least another 15 minutes.
Use a thermometer poked into the dish in several places to ensure the dish is safely heated to 75C (65F) all the way through.
Can this chicken and bacon mac and cheese be frozen after baking?
Yes, you can freeze this recipe. Pop it into a freezer-safe container as soon as it has cooled, seal and place in the freezer.
Make sure to reheat fully - it will take at least an extra 15 minutes. Use a thermometer poked into the dish in several places to ensure the dish is safely heated to 75C (65F) all the way through.
Can mac and cheese be left out overnight?
No, you should not leave this chicken and bacon mac and cheese out overnight.
As it contains both dairy and meat, it's very important that you place leftovers in the fridge asap after cooling.
Is this mac and cheese recipe gluten-free?
This recipe is not gluten-free as it contains wheat flour as well as durum wheat pasta.
However, if you wanted to make this recipe gluten-free, you could use gluten-free macaroni and a gluten-free flour in the sauce. Primula Original Cheese is already gluten-free.
Make sure to check the packaging on all the other ingredients to be sure they are safe for a gluten-free diet.
Where was macaroni and cheese invented?
Pasta in sauce is, of course, traditionally thought of as an Italian invention and there are records of mac and cheese recipes going back as far as the late thirteenth century in southern Italy.
However, mac and cheese as we know it today - macaroni pasta in a cheese sauce - is thought to be an English invention, appearing in English cookbooks from 1770.
And of course, it has long been popular in the USA - long enough, in fact, to be thought of as something of a national treasure. A recipe called "macaroni and cheese" appeared in the cookbook The Virginia Housewife way back in 1824.
What is macaroni and cheese good with?
I'd recommend serving this chicken and bacon mac and cheese recipe with plenty of green veg, such as wilted spinach, steamed broccoli or green beans.
It would also be wonderful with a fresh, crunchy salad.
Print this festive chicken and bacon macaroni cheese
Chicken and Bacon Mac and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
For the filling
- 500 g (1.1 lb) macaroni
- 1 tsp salted butter
- 150 g (5.3 oz) bacon lardons
- 2 cooked/roasted chicken breasts sliced
- Pinch salt and black pepper
For the sauce
- 900 ml (1.9 pint) whole milk
- 100 g (3.5 oz) plain white flour (all purpose flour)
- 50 g (1.8 oz) salted butter
- 300 g (10.6 oz) Primula Original Cheese (2 tubes)
- Pinch salt and black pepper
For the crumb topping
- 100 g (3.5 oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
- 30 g (1.1 oz) dried cranberries roughly chopped
- 35 g (1.2 oz) walnuts roughly chopped
- 1/4 tsp garlic granules
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Olive oil
Instructions
To make the filling
- Put the macaroni in a large pan of boiling salted water and cook for 8 minutes, then drain.
- Put the butter in a pan over a medium heat.
- Add the bacon and fry for a couple of minutes until cooked through.
- Add the sliced chicken and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
- Fry for a couple of minutes until golden.
- Tip onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain off any excess fat.
To make the sauce
- Put the milk, butter and flour in a pan with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Whisk over a low heat until it thickens.
- Taste to make sure the flour has cooked out, then add the Primula.
- Whisk through. It will melt easily into the sauce. Season if necessary and set aside to cool.
- Tip the cooked and drained macaroni into a large greased roasting dish.
- Top with the chicken and bacon.
- Pour the sauce on top and mix through.
To make the crumb
- In a bowl, combine the fresh white breadcrumbs, cranberries, walnuts, garlic granules, dried sage, black pepper and salt.
- Sprinkle the crumb evenly over the macaroni.
- Drizzle all over with olive oil.
- 220C (200C fan) for 10-15 minutes until golden on top.
Video
Nutrition
This is a commissioned post for Primula
More delicious pasta recipes to try
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Claire Rocks says
This looks like a great twist on the traditional mac and cheese. I'll give it try with my boys.
Emily Leary says
Yay! Send me a pic if you do!