Colby Jack Mac and Cheese Pie With a Bacon Crust

Cooling on the window sill...Macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite foods. I love how something so simple can be so delicious. It’s one of those dishes that even people who are terrible at cooking can whip up with no problem at all. When the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board asked me to be a part of their second annual 30 Days, 30 Ways Macaroni & Cheese Blog to celebrate National Cheese Lover’s Day I immediately jumped at the opportunity.

They asked me specifically for a “DudeFoods inspired” macaroni and cheese recipe and one of the first ideas that came to my mind was a macaroni and cheese pie with bacon. Using an actual pie crust seemed a little too easy however, so I decided to make the pie crust itself out of bacon, fill it with macaroni and Colby Jack cheese and then use even more bacon to create a lattice top, similar to what you often see with traditional pies.

When it came time for me to decide which bacon to use for my dish it was a no-brainer. I wanted to stick with a Wisconsin theme so I chose Nueske’s, which has been providing the world with delicious meats since 1933. I’ve also noticed that their bacon seems to shrink a lot less than most other bacon when you cook it, which is essential when you don’t want any open gaps between the bacon slices in your bacon pie crust.

I’m far from great when it comes to cooking, so the bacon crust was a little challenging, but luckily my buddy Jeff from EatWisconsin.com helped me out with plenty of cooking tips. Without him and the help I got from my wife this creation of mine probably would have turned into a huge burnt disaster, but thanks to them it actually turned out perfectly.

To create the bacon crust I took a pound of Nueske’s Thick-Sliced Peppered Bacon and created a bacon weave on a sheet of aluminum foil. I then flipped the bacon weave into a pie tin and patted it down before placing another pie tin on top of it so it would keep its shape when cooking. I also put together the lattice top (this time using Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon) at the same time and put it in the oven along with the crust so that when the macaroni and cheese was done cooking on the stove I could fill the mostly cooked bacon crust with it, add some breadcrumbs, cover it with the lattice top and then throw it back in the oven to finish cooking. Once the pie was all done I let it cool on the window sill for a little while and then dug in!

Interested in trying to duplicate this awesome creation for yourself? Just head on over to the 30 Days, 30 Ways Macaroni & Cheese Blog for the full recipe and more detailed cooking instructions!

23 Comments on Colby Jack Mac and Cheese Pie With a Bacon Crust

  1. Scott Fisk
    February 11, 2011 at 9:15 am (14 years ago)

    Wow. That looks awesome! I will have to make one of those.

    Reply
  2. Peef
    February 11, 2011 at 10:24 am (14 years ago)

    This is so great and so inspiring. I’m thinking there are many other fillings that would be great in a bacon crust. Wondering how it might hold up to a pecan pie? Great job, Nick!

    Reply
    • Nick
      February 11, 2011 at 10:42 am (14 years ago)

      The pecan pie idea sounds delicious! The possibilities are endless!

      Reply
  3. AJ
    February 11, 2011 at 11:08 am (14 years ago)

    Nice work again Nick!!! The creativeness is pretty sweet!

    Would probably be pretty neat do add some hot dogs to the mix as well, you know sliced up dogs to give it a little more meatier appeal!

    Reply
  4. Amanda
    February 11, 2011 at 1:46 pm (14 years ago)

    Wow. I’m impressed! I’ve tried lots of cheeses in my mac and cheese and I think colby jack is my favorite.

    Reply
    • Nick
      February 11, 2011 at 5:16 pm (14 years ago)

      Yeah, it worked out pretty well. Each blogger had to choose a separate cheese to use as the main cheese in their dish and by the time I selected mine a lot of them were already spoken for, but it turned out really good with the Colby Jack.

      Reply
  5. Paavo
    February 11, 2011 at 6:28 pm (14 years ago)

    I…I…have no words…nom…nom…nommmm. My first thought was, wow, greasy, but pre-baking the crust probably cut down on that I’ll bet.

    Reply
    • Nick
      February 14, 2011 at 10:09 am (14 years ago)

      Yeah, after I pre-baked the crust and top I dabbed it with a paper towel to get rid of all the grease. The finished pie wasn’t really greasy at all.

      Reply
  6. Erin
    February 14, 2011 at 1:44 pm (14 years ago)

    Love it!!

    Reply
  7. Sarah Commerford
    March 8, 2011 at 7:43 am (14 years ago)

    Well, whatever skillz you think you lack in cooking, you make up for in humor and creativity. Totally boss blog, dude!

    Reply
  8. Kirsty
    April 17, 2011 at 7:57 am (14 years ago)

    That looks amazing! My mum (from Scotland) used to make macaroni cheese (baconless) but added curry powder to the cheese sauce – it is amazing, not too much but a hint of spice – I also add mustard, sometimes English for heat and sometimes American for flavour and savouriness. Yum. I was going to make the traditional roast this afternoon – beef/yorkshires/horseradish/Jersey Royal potatoes/veg but I made need to make some Mac for the side now :0)

    Reply
  9. JMR
    April 29, 2011 at 9:12 am (14 years ago)

    It moved when I saw that

    Reply
  10. dave
    December 1, 2011 at 2:07 pm (13 years ago)

    Wow! Talk about man food, this is it. What is better than bacon and mac and cheese for a killer meal.

    Reply
  11. @chaddukes
    July 5, 2012 at 5:16 pm (12 years ago)

    Mother of god

    Reply
  12. @ChrisCaveMMA
    July 5, 2012 at 7:04 pm (12 years ago)

    I can only dream of how insane that has to taste

    Reply
  13. @popmitzvah
    August 10, 2012 at 12:28 pm (12 years ago)

    Your daily Augustus Gloop moment: mac and cheese pie with bacon crust.

    Reply
  14. @Speaking_of_JJ
    August 15, 2012 at 11:37 pm (12 years ago)

    Yes please!

    Reply
  15. Irene McNish
    October 25, 2012 at 5:59 pm (12 years ago)

    This sounds so good. Will not be making it as I only cook for myself any more. If I only would of thought of this 10 years ago to make for grand kids. Would of gone down in history. So go ahead grandmas an make memories.
    I

    Reply
  16. Bear
    October 26, 2012 at 9:20 am (12 years ago)

    great! nothing like real-man food!

    Reply
  17. DavetteB
    May 23, 2013 at 7:50 pm (12 years ago)

    I’m seeing this as mini pies done in my Texas muffin tin:
    bacon macaroni &cheese + portable food = LOVE <3

    Reply
  18. Mirandom
    June 3, 2013 at 9:23 pm (12 years ago)

    Hi! This looks amazing and I HAVE to try it out. I am not the best baker so is there any way you could tell me the temp you baked the crust at and for how long?

    Reply
    • Mirandom
      June 3, 2013 at 9:25 pm (12 years ago)

      Oh, I found the link! Sorry!

      Reply
  19. Anna
    November 18, 2013 at 12:01 am (11 years ago)

    What were the cooking times and temperature for baking?

    Reply

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