I’m not going to lie and say this is the healthiest thing I’ve ever made, BUT, it is pure comfort food and we all need to have a bit of comfort food in our lives. I wanted to try something new since I’ve made many variations of macaroni and cheese over the years, and add something to really make it interesting. Bring in… Halloumi. So, this salty delicious cheese is my new favorite thing. It has a really high melting point so you can bake it and it wont melt so quickly, which makes these slices of heaven perfect to top this mac ‘n’ cheese, thin and crispy slices covering the creamy, gooey noodles. Add that buttery cracker crust and crunchy bacon and this is pretty much everything you need. Ever. I think I ate 3 servings before I fell into a cheesy noodle coma.. I’ll have salad for dinner tomorrow. Moderation. 😛
Ultimate Mac 'n' Cheese with Halloumi & Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 lb elbow macaroni
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2-3 cups milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons corn starch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup halloumi cheese, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups crushed Ritz crackers
- 6 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 10 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
- fresh parsley, chopped
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lightly grease a 9X13 baking dish with butter. Set aside.
- Cook pasta per box directions until al dente. Drain, mix with olive oil and set aside.
- Place a large sauce pan over medium heat and once it is hot add butter, stirring until melted.
- Add the flour and whisk until fully combined with the melted butter.
- Continue whisking, slowly adding the milk. Keep whisking to thicken and create the bechamel sauce.
- In separate bowl, combine cream and cornstarch, whisking until dissolved. Add the mixture to pan, stirring to combine.
- Add onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, mustard powder, red pepper flakes and salt.
- Still over medium heat, bring mixture to boil and let simmer for about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the sour cream and cream cheese until fully combined. If the sauce is too thick you can add a little milk. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.
- Reduce heat to low and add the cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Stir to combine, until fully melted.
- Remove pan from heat and add the cooked macaroni. Stir to combine.
- Transfer the mixture to your prepared casserole dish.
- In a medium bowl, combine cracker crumbs with melted butter and stir with fork to combine.
- Level the top with a spatula and place sliced halloumi on top of the macaroni.
- Sprinkle the cracker topping evenly over the surface.
- Bake the casserole uncovered for 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and bubbly. (I turned the oven to broil for the last 5 minutes to really crisp the topping- watch carefully if you do this as it happens quickly!)
- Remove from oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving.
- Top with crumbled bacon and fresh, chopped parsley. Enjoy!