Bacon, Kale And Tomato Mac And Cheese
Ingredients
- Casserole
- 5 slices bacon
- ¼ cup butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups milk
- 2 cups shredded white sharp Cheddar cheese 8 oz
- 1½ cups uncooked elbow macaroni 6 oz
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh kale or spinach stems removed (about 7 oz)
- 1 can 14.5 oz fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained
- Topping
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup plain panko crispy bread crumbs
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F.
- Spray 2-quart casserole with cooking spray.
- Arrange bacon between sheets of microwavable paper towels on microwavable dinner plate.
- Microwave on High 3 to 4 minutes or until bacon is crisp.
- Cool; crumble.
- In 3-quart saucepan, melt ¼ cup butter over low heat.
- Stir in flour, mustard, salt and pepper.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly.
- Remove from heat.
- Gradually stir in milk.
- Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil 1 minute.
- Stir in cheese, ½ cup at a time, until melted.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in uncooked macaroni.
- Gently stir in kale, tomatoes and bacon; pour into casserole.
- Bake uncovered 15 minutes; stir.
- (If any macaroni is sticking up above surface, press down with back of spoon.
- ) Meanwhile, in small microwavable bowl, microwave 1 tablespoon butter uncovered on High about 40 seconds or until melted.
- Stir in bread crumbs.
- Sprinkle topping over macaroni mixture.
- Bake 12 to 17 minutes longer or until macaroni is tender when pierced with fork and topping is light golden brown.
- Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Time-saver
We prefer hand-shredded cheese for this recipe because the coating on pre-shredded cheese causes the baked casserole sauce to not be quite as smooth — but in a time crunch, pre-shredded cheese will be just fine.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 540 kcal