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 and find some good old fashioned comfort food like mac and cheese.
I had some pancetta leftover 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 it 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 in 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:
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2 cups elbow pasta or Gluten-Free elbow pasta
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1 package (4 ounces) Pancetta-chopped
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2 to 3 medium Sweet Onions-chopped
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1 Tbsp. olive oil
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1 cup shredded Mild Cheddar cheese
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2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese -divided
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3 ounces Gruyere cheese -minced
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1 +1/2 cups half-and-half
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1/8 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
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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 sautรฉ 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!
Yield: 6
Macaroni and Cheese with Pancetta and Caramelized Onions
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
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray lightly all sides of a (7 x 11) medium-size casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Using a wooden spoon, transfer the cooked elbow pasta to the baking dish.
- 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.
- Pour in the half-and-half.
- Stir and mix everything until well combined.
- 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.
- Serves 6
11 Comments
annaliz
September 16, 2015 at 7:52 pmLol Roz !! We feel the same! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
Roz Corieri Paige
September 16, 2015 at 7:45 pmOh I cannot wait to make this recipe . . . I am such a sucker for anything mac and cheese! And with the pancetta — shut the front door you two! Thanks Anna and Liz!
SavoringTime in the Kitchen
September 14, 2015 at 10:04 pmOh, how you're making my tummy growl! Perfect fall comfort food and I love the addition of onions and pancetta.
annaliz
September 16, 2015 at 7:55 pmThank you Sue! Our families adore pancetta which is why you will see it in many of our recipes. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
michaelswoodcraft
September 18, 2014 at 12:46 amJust got home and have not had dinner yet and your Mac and Cheese looks delicious!! Wish I had some to go along with my dinner! ๐
annaliz
September 18, 2014 at 1:30 amThank you Mike for your sweet comment.
Mary Callan
August 27, 2013 at 2:07 amSeconds!!! I'd polish off the lot!! totally delicious – a wonderful sophisicated mac and cheese!
[email protected] is How I Cook
August 26, 2013 at 7:47 pmI must admit I am not a huge fan of mac and cheese. But this one might change my mind. I will definitely tell my daughter about this as she could eat mac and cheese morning, noon and night!
annaliz
September 10, 2013 at 2:08 pmHI Abbe! Welcome to 2sistersrecipes! Go nice to meet you! My kids too can eat this morning, noon and night! Thanks for stopping by!
Warmly, Anna and Liz
Amy
August 26, 2013 at 5:58 pmThis Macaroni and Cheese with Pancetta and Caramelized Onions screams comfort food to me. As the weather cools down, my family craves for this kind of meal. ๐ Thank you so much for sharing.
Tricia @ Saving room for dessert
August 26, 2013 at 4:12 pmAbsolutely drooling over this dish! I adore caramelized onions and the addition to this cheesy dish is perfect. Love the cheese combo too!