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
You can completely leave the bacon out, if desired. Often, I'll just use bacon fat to cook the onion in for the flavour, and I've made this meal with no bacon at all and it's still great!
Nutrition
Calories: 547kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 35gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 96mgSodium: 963mgPotassium: 752mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1055IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 270mgIron: 4mg