Macaroni and Cheese with Pancetta and Caramelized Onions

My Macaroni and Cheese with Pancetta and Caramelized Onions is made with a mixture of three types of cheeses, some light cream, crispy pancetta, and caramelized onions, and topped with shredded mozzarella.  It’s flavorful, light, and TOTALLY delicious! 

What better way to surprise my girls when they come home from college than find some good old-fashioned comfort food like mac and cheese?   

I had some pancetta left over in the fridge and decided to use it with this recipe to give my mac and cheese more flavor.  The pancetta added a nice smoky flavor, not too overpowering.

Besides the mixture of cheeses, mozzarella, mild cheddar, and Gruyere gave a nice mild flavor to this mac and cheese.

It also gave its luscious creamy-cheesy texture that everyone expects and adores.

TIPS for this MAC and CHEESE!

The extra bonus to our mac and cheese with pancetta is the wonderful flavor of caramelized onions.  YEP! 

Caramelized onions offer so much flavor to our mac and cheese.  You’ll notice the difference right away!

Plus, to make it lighter in calories and texture, I decided to add half-and-half instead of heavy cream, or butter.  And I easily mixed everything directly into my casserole dish, instead of a mixing bowl.  

Then baked in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes.

Next, I carefully removed the casserole from the oven and topped it with more shredded mozzarella cheese, and baked it for 5 minutes more, until the cheese was completely melted.

Macaroni and Cheese with Pancetta and Caramelized Onions turned out to be amazingly delicious!!

 

Your family and friends will adore our mac and cheese with pancetta and caramelized onions!

This is such a delicious mac and cheese casserole.  Everyone gave me a thumbs up, even my daughter who is a picky eater, loved it!

I was so happy it turned out really well.  After all,  I created this recipe myself and was very happy with the outcome!  And so will you!

Best of all, no need to use a mixing bowl, all the ingredients are easily blended into your baking dish, making clean-up a little easier.

The best part is taking leftovers (if any) for lunch the next day!

Enjoy!

*You can follow along or jump down to the bottom of our post for the full recipe card!

Ingredients for Macaroni and Cheese with Pancetta and Caramelized Onions:

• 2 cups elbow pasta or Gluten-Free elbow pasta

• 1 package (4 ounces) Pancetta-chopped

• 2 to 3 medium Sweet Onions-chopped

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

• 1 cup shredded Mild Cheddar cheese

• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese -divided

• 3 ounces Gruyere cheese -minced

• 1 +1/2 cups half-and-half

• 1/8 tsp. fresh cracked pepper

• olive oil cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray lightly all sides of a (7 x 11) medium-size casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.

2.  In a medium saucepan, cook the elbow pasta in boiling water with 1 teaspoon of salt.  Cook pasta for about 7 minutes until “al dente.” Drain.

3.  Meantime, in a large skillet, cook the pancetta until fully cooked and crispy.  Drain and discard the fat. Transfer to a 7 x 11 baking casserole dish.

4.  In the same skillet add olive oil and sauté the onions for about 5 to 7 minutes, until onions are tender and golden brown.  Transfer onions to the baking dish.

5.  Using a wooden spoon, transfer the cooked elbow pasta to the baking dish.  

6.  Add 1+1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella (reserve the other 1/2 cup for topping), cheddar cheese, Gruyere cheese, and fresh cracked black pepper.  Then pour in the half-and-half.

 

7.   Give it a good stir and mix until everything until well combined.

8.  Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove and stir gently. Top with remaining shredded mozzarella. AND Bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese on top is completely melted.  Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 6

 …THANKS for PINNING!!  

MORE TASTY RECIPES!

• Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
• Easy Pimento Mac and Cheese
• BEST Shrimp Mac and Cheese

 

Yield: 6

Macaroni and Cheese with Pancetta and Caramelized Onions

Print

Macaroni and Cheese with Pancetta and Caramelized Onions are made with a creamy white sauce made from three different kinds of cheese and half-and-half, then topped with shredded mozzarella and baked with crispy pancetta and caramelized onions. Light, creamy and delicious, I promise everyone will be back for seconds!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups elbow pasta or Gluten-Free elbow pasta
• 1 package (4 ounces) Pancetta-chopped
• 2 to 3 medium Sweet Onions-chopped
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 cup shredded Mild Cheddar cheese
• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese -divided
• 3 ounces Gruyere cheese -minced
• 1 +1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1/8 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
• olive oil cooking spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray lightly all sides of a (7 x 11) medium-size casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, cook the elbow pasta in boiling water with 1 teaspoon of salt.
4. Cook pasta for about 7 minutes until "al dente." Drain.
5. Meantime, in a large skillet, cook the pancetta until fully cooked and crispy.
6. Drain and discard the fat. Transfer to a 7 x 11 baking casserole dish.
7. In the same skillet add olive oil and sauté the onions for about 5 to 7 minutes, until onions are tender and golden brown. Transfer onions to the baking dish.
8. Using a wooden spoon, transfer the cooked elbow pasta to the baking dish.
9. Add 1+1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella (reserve the other 1/2 cup for topping), cheddar cheese, Gruyere cheese, and fresh cracked black pepper.
10. Pour in the half-and-half.
11. Stir and mix everything until well combined.
12. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove and stir gently. Top with remaining shredded mozzarella. Bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese on top is completely melted. Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.
13. Serves 6

Hi friends! Are you cooking or baking with us?  If you make our mac and cheese with pancetta and caramelized onions, let us know and leave a comment and a star rating below!  We’d love to hear from you. 🙂

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Thanks for stopping by!  🙂

 xo Anna and Liz