Cheesy Baked Macaroni with White Beans and Bacon. {Video!}
Dinner tonight is on me.
This is the easiest dinner idea with just an extra layer of flavor added in. Crispy, crunchy bacon pieces and creamy white beans. I KNOW! More white beans. I can’t stop. We love ‘em!
Every week Eddie makes a version of this to take for (one of his) lunches throughout the week. He eats, like, three lunches a day and I’ve spoiled him with variety AND he basically eats dinner for lunch, so this is always an easy, go-to option. I’m actually mad that he started making it for his lunch because it’s one of my favorite dinners to make and now I feel like I can’t ever make it!
Just looking at this cheesy goodness makes me crave a big dish of it. Comfort food at it’s finest.
This recipe is in partnership with my favorites over at DeLallo Foods. I don’t buy any other whole wheat pasta (the selection in their store is insane!) and we should probably own stock in it. IT IS SO GOOD.
But the real star of the show here is their Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce. Ohhhh my word. You guys know that I don’t go nuts over spicy food and this just does the trick. It adds a little zing to the dish and it’s works with all the cheese.
Oh and If I’m making this for dinner and Max is going to eat it, I tend to use regular marinara or tomato basil. These sauces are what helped turn me into a tomato sauce convert!
P.S. don’t forget about my page of favorites over at DeLallo! You can receive 10% off your order with the code SWEET10. Woohoo!
Cheesy Baked Macaroni with White Beans and Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 pound DeLallo organic whole wheat elbow pasta
- ½ pound bacon chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 can white beans drained and rinsed
- 1 jar DeLallo Pomodoro Fresco Spicy Arrabbiata pasta sauce
- ¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese plus more for topping
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 8 ounces provolone cheese freshly grated
- fresh basil and oregano leaves for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta and cook according to the directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat an oven-safe skillet or pot over medium-low heat. Add the bacon and cook until it’s completely crispy and the fat is rendered. Once crispy, remove almost all of the bacon grease from the skillet with a spoon (just set it aside in a bowl to save or firm up to throw away) and stir in the cooked pasta and white beans. Add the jar of spicy arrabbiata and stir. Stir in the parmesan cheese and a few fresh basil leaves. Top with the provolone cheese.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melty and bubbly. Add extra parmesan and fresh herbs on top. Serve!
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I appreciate you so much!
Look at that CHEESE. Dead.
15 Comments on “Cheesy Baked Macaroni with White Beans and Bacon. {Video!}”
For me is very interesting idea to put together pasta and beans. But to think, really why not :) thank you for inspiration.
http://www.estoniancuisine.com
Love all that ooey gooey cheesiness. I bet it would freeze well, too. Please put in a good word for a DeLallo store in Tampa! I bet that place is heaven.
YUM YUM YUM.
This looks amazing! I’m preparing for the arrival of me second baby boy and be trying to prep some things for the freezer to have on hand once he arrives. Do you think this would freeze well? If so, any advice on freezing defrosting? Freeze before baking? Let defrost before baking? Any help would be greatly appreciated!! ?
I made your white beans on toast recipe for dinner tonight and I give it two thumbs up! So easy and delicious. This one looks great too..
I’m a total weirdo, I know. But I don’t like bacon. Would this dish suffer enough from the omission that I shouldn’t even bother, or would it still be yummy?
Thanks,
Cheryl
Hello there! How would you adapt this for the freezer? i’d LOVE to make it for my sister, who’s a new mama, but would like to gift it as a “freezer meal.”
hey girl- yummy!
Just read this….do you use the bacon, grease and all of drain it then add to the pasta etc???
So much cheese! Love the oregano leaf topping. I used to make a roasted tomato sauce served with feta and oregano leaves — perfect for dipping some cheesy foccacia bread in!
when does the garlic go in?
This was SO good. quick & easy = great for a weeknight dinner
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What do you do with the garlic???