Bacon, pea & basil macaroni

Bacon, pea & basil macaroni

The perfect summer comfort food - classic macaroni cheese with extra veggies and herbs

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 20 mins

Freezable

Method

  1. Fry the bacon and leeks in the oil for 10 mins until the bacon is golden and the leeks soft. Tip in the peas and heat through. Meanwhile, boil the pasta and heat the grill to high.
  2. Reserve 150ml of the cooking water before you drain the pasta, then add it, the soft cheese, half the grated cheese and the mustard to the pan with the veg. Stir until the cheese melts into a creamy sauce. Stir in most of the basil and the pasta, then scatter with the rest of the cheese. Grill for 2-3 mins until the cheese melts. Scatter with basil to serve.
Try

Making it with pastry: Creamy cheese & bacon tart

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Unroll a 375g pack ready-rolled puff pastry onto a baking sheet, then score a 2cm border around the edge. Cook the bacon, leeks and peas as before. Mix the soft cheese with the mustard, then spread over the middle of the pastry. Scatter with the veg and bacon, then bake for 20 mins, adding the cheddar with 5 mins to go, until the cheese is melting and the pastry is golden.

703 kcalories, protein 28g, carbohydrate 81g, fat 32 g, saturated fat 16g, fibre 6g, sugar 7g, salt 1.87 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, July 2009.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 21-40

  • 03 September 2009

    khitajrah rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Rated 5 stars by everyone, including a very fussy 9 year old. This recipe is now replacing Nigella Lawson's macaroni and cheese as a regular meal.

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  • Binder photo Liz

    04 September 2009

    Liz rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This went down very well with everyone - used 300g macaroni and there was still some over after feeding 2 adults & 2 hungry teenagers.

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  • 07 September 2009

    callingpiper rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Nay

    07 September 2009

    Nay rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Yum, yum, yum! I made this with veggie bacon pieces from Tesco and low fat Philly and it was soooo tasty! definitely great comfort food. I'm going to make all of my cheese sauces like this in the future. :)

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  • 11 September 2009

    khitajrah commented on this recipe

    Made a variation of this again tonight (as it was such a hit last time). Used an onion in place of the leeks, and used garlic & herb low fat cream cheese, as no basil. Still scrummy!

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  • 11 September 2009

    khitajrah commented on this recipe

    Tried this again tonight as it was such a hit last time, but varied it. Used an onion in place of the leeks, and garlic & herb low fat cream cheese and omitted the basil. Still scrummy!

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  • 18 September 2009

    mandy rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This is a great family recipe for a quick mid week meal. I cut down on fat by using very low fat cream cheese. It was really tasty and all the family enjoyed it.

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  • 21 September 2009

    mother*ship rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Very tasty, but not quite cheesy enough for us even though I used mature cheddar so next time I think I'll add a bit more.

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  • 28 September 2009

    mathewsmummy rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    my husband and 2 1/2 year old son love this !!! really nice and creamy altho i use half fat soft cheese and grated cheese also put in frozen sweetcorn as well as peas to up the veg count ! this freezes really well so tend to cook double the amount as easy to reheat on a sat for luch ..esp nice with crusty bread an all round winner !!

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  • 02 October 2009

    laureana rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    this was sooooooooooooooo delicious, i didnt have any basil and used smokey bacon, there wasnt a single crumb left, everyone loved it. i will definatly make again yummmmmy

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  • 28 October 2009

    Lucy rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Yum, yum. I made this last night and it was delicious! I didn't have basil though but it was still lovely. Will definitely make it again.

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  • 29 October 2009

    thynk2much rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Nice comfort food and was a great thing to take as a reheat for lunch at work.

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  • 25 February 2010

    Maz McGill rated this recipe

    3 stars

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  • 24 July 2010

    Katy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was very tasty. We put in the oven for 20 minutes rather than grilling.

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  • 02 September 2010

    liandi commented on this recipe

    wiil defnitely try this recipe but would change the beacon foe chicken breasts or staek strips or make it vegetarian. just by looking at it I think it will taste fantastic

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  • 02 September 2010

    liandi commented on this recipe

    wiil defnitely try this recipe but would change the beacon foe chicken breasts or staek strips or make it vegetarian. just by looking at it I think it will taste fantastic

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  • 04 September 2010

    GillChelt rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this for friends for dinner and it went down well. I forgot to put the basil in (even though it was right in front of me on the table as I was cooking!!) I didn't make it bacony enough as only used 2 large thick rashers but I did add some garlic salt too. It wasn't that cheesy so maybe next time i'll use a packet cheese sauce instead of the pata water and cream cheese. Would make again though.

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  • 06 September 2010

    cinnamon rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    delicious! will be making again!

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  • 07 September 2010

    Aunty Yv commented on this recipe

    This sounds delicious and I can't wait to try it. I will probably use low fat cream cheese but extra strong cheddar, some gluten-free pasta (as I find it not so stodgy) and bake in the oven for a bit so it goes golden brown and there's crusty bits of cheese on top. Yum! I'm hungry already!

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  • 17 September 2010

    Minigirl rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I changed the recipe slightly: Pour all water away from Macaroni. Heat 200ml of milk in a pan with a knob of butter, thicken with cornflour and add mature cheese to taste. Pour over macaroni and add the bacon peas and spring onions. YUMMY.... (Didn't use soft cheese at all)

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 20 mins

Freezable

Ingredients

  • 6 rashers streaky bacon , chopped
  • 2 leeks , finely sliced into rings
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 140g frozen peas
  • 400g macaroni
  • 200g pack soft cheese
  • 85g mature cheddar , grated
  • 1 tbsp English mustard
  • small bunch basil , shredded
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703 kcalories, protein 28g, carbohydrate 81g, fat 32 g, saturated fat 16g, fibre 6g, sugar 7g, salt 1.87 g

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