Bacon Cheeseburger Mac is a quick and easy comfort food for busy weeknights, offering that mouth-watering cheeseburger taste in a single skillet meal. The best part is that you can easily transform it into a delicious Cheeseburger Mac by leaving out the bacon, making this dish versatile for different tastes and preferences. It packs in all the flavors we crave from a classic burger—juicy ground beef, tangy cheddar cheese, savory bacon (if you choose to include it), and a perfectly balanced blend of spices; without the need to fire up the grill or assemble a full spread of toppings. Thanks to its one-pot preparation, this recipe delivers a quick, filling, and family-friendly option whenever the craving for burgers strikes but practicality calls for something simpler.
This dish is very flexible in terms of pasta choices. Elbow macaroni, with its small, curved tubes, is a popular go-to because it nestles the creamy sauce into every crevice, ensuring a flavorful bite each time. Penne, distinguished by its ridged exterior and slightly angled ends, also does a great job of capturing rich sauces and seasonings within its hollow centers. Rotini, with its fun spiral shape, traps cheesy goodness in every twist, while shells form tiny pockets that cradle the saucy mixture. Feel free to experiment with different shapes—such as cavatappi, ziti, or fusilli—to find the one that best complements this savory recipe.
What really makes this Bacon Cheeseburger Mac shine, however, is the rich, velvety sauce. A combination of cream cheese and melted cheddar ensures that each forkful is supremely creamy, while a spot-on seasoning blend, featuring ingredients like paprika, dry mustard powder, and oregano, delivers that signature cheeseburger flavor. The result is a comforting, hearty meal that manages to be both indulgent and surprisingly easy to prepare.
Moreover, this meal is incredibly practical for households with busy schedules, since it typically comes together in under 30 minutes and doesn’t require any complicated techniques or tools. Any leftovers also reheat easily for a warm, comforting lunch the next day, making it an ideal dish for meal prepping or feeding a crowd. Whether you opt for the bacon-enhanced version or go the simpler Cheeseburger Mac route, you’ll have a satisfying meal that captures the essence of a classic burger in a cozy bowl of pasta.
Bacon Cheeseburger Mac
Ingredients
Pasta
- 5 L water
- 500 g desired pasta macaroni, penne, rotini, etc
Beef Mixture
- 1½ lbs lean ground beef
- 4 slices bacon sliced into small pieces, optional, see notes
- 1 onion large, diced (a little over 1 cup)
- ½ bell pepper finely diced, red, orange, or yellow
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dry mustard powder
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp salt or to taste, if desired
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
- 6 oz tomato paste or 1 small can
- 2 tbsp Better than Bouillon Beef Flavor
- water as needed to make sauce, see instructions
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Start browning 1½ lbs lean ground beef in a large pot or saucepan over medium to medium-high heat, breaking up as it cooks, into crumbles. Start pasta while beef cooks.
- Add 5 L water to a large pot and heat on high until boiling. Start beef mixture while water is coming to a boil. Once boiling, add pasta, stir, and cover, setting a timer according to pasta package.
- When the timer goes off while the beef mixture is being prepared, drain the pasta and set aside until beef is finished.
- Drain ground beef when cooked, set aside.
- In the same ground beef pot, add sliced bacon if using and cook until desired crispiness. Drain, retaining fat if desired, and add bacon to the set-aside ground beef.
- Add 2 tbsp bacon fat or cooking oil to the same pot and add diced onion. Cook until translucent and starting to caramelize, then add diced bell pepper add cook for 2 more minutes. Lower heat to medium.
- Add bacon and ground beef back into pot with onion and pepper, stir.
- Season beef mixture with 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp dry mustard powder, ½ tsp oregano, ½ tsp ground black pepper, and ½ tsp salt (if using). Stir.
- To beef mixture, add 4 oz cream cheese, 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce, 6 oz tomato paste, and 2 tbsp Better than Bouillon Beef Flavor.
- Stir 1 cup of water into the beef mixture and continue stirring, breaking up the cream cheese until it's melted and incorporated in. Then add more water, about a half-cup at a time, until the mixture has a nice sauce.
- Add the drained pasta into the pot with the beef mixture and gently stir to combine. You can add some more water if it's too thick to nicely coat the pasta.
- Heat the pasta and beef mixture, gently stirring to ensure evening heating, then mix the shredded cheese in. Once melted in, remove pot from heat, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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