Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Bacon
This Pumpkin Mac and Cheese is ultra-cheesy! Loaded with cheddar & gruyere, bacon, and crispy sage breadcrumbs and baked until bubbly.
It’s fall in a bowl and truly the ultimate mac and cheese recipe. Perfect for your next dinner party or for your Thanksgiving table!
Table of Contents
The Best Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Bacon
The ultimate mac and cheese recipe for the holidays: Pumpkin mac and cheese with bacon! Perfectly cooked noodles are tossed into a velvety, rich sauce made with 3 cheeses, bacon, and sage. The mac and cheese is topped with crispy sage breadcrumbs before baking in the oven until bubbling and crispy. There is nothing better!
If you know me, you know that mac and cheese is the side dish I reach for first! My white cheddar mac and cheese and my 5-ingredient stovetop mac and cheese are staples during the holiday season. But, this pumpkin mac and cheese with bacon is giving all the fall flavors and I’m here for it!
No Thanksgiving table is complete without mac and cheese, in my opinion, and this recipe is just something special. Need more Thanksgiving inspo? Check out my collection of tried and true Thanksgiving recipes.
A QUICK, IMPORTANT NOTE:
Something important to acknowledge before we jump into the details of this recipe is the cultural significance of mac & cheese throughout the South, & especially for the Black community. While this pumpkin mac and cheese recipe is inspired by the soulfulness of serving mac and cheese with a holiday meal, this recipe is by no means an attempt at being an authentic soul food dish.
For real-deal soul food Southern mac and cheese, check out this recipe from Chavez at Butter, Love & Salt. Chavez’s recipe calls for four kinds of cheese, yielding the most perfectly ooey-gooey baked mac and cheese with a browned crust.
How to Make Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Bacon
You’ll need a dutch oven or 4 qt pot to make the sauce and a sturdy 9×13 baking dish for finishing the mac and cheese in the oven.
Tools Needed
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Noodles. Any short format pasta will do! My favorites are classic elbow macaroni, cavatappi, lumache, ziti, or rigatoni.
- Pumpkin puree. Be careful to buy pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling!
- Bacon. If you want to keep this recipe vegetarian, you can omit the bacon.
- Butter. Butter adds so much flavor here, I don’t recommend swapping a different ingredient in its place.
- Sage leaves. The flavor the fresh sage leaves add is unparalleled.
- Half & half and heavy cream. Sorry folks, this isn’t a low-fat mac and cheese! I don’t recommend going low fat here.
- Cheese. I used a mix of sharp cheddar, gruyere, and parmesan. You could swap different cheeses in, but please don’t buy pre-shredded cheese!
- Panko breadcrumbs. I think that panko breadcrumbs add the best crunch, but you could swap in fresh breadcrumbs or regular.
The Process
- Cook the pasta and prep the cheese. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente. The pasta should still have some bite to it. This process is usually 2-3 minutes shy of the package instructions. Drain and rinse your pasta with cold water. If you do this step in advance, toss the pasta with a little oil to keep it from sticking. Use a box grater to shred the cheeses and set aside.
- Render the bacon. Add the bacon to a 5 quart dutch oven over medium-low heat. Cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until browned and crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a small bowl. Remove 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat and set aside.
- Toast the sage breadcrumbs. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the bacon fat left in the dutch oven over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and foamy, add 2 tablespoons of the chopped sage leaves and the panko breadcrumbs. Stir well and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the panko is toasty, but not browned. Transfer the panko to a small bowl and wipe out the dutch oven to remove any crumbs.
- Build the cheese sauce. Add the reserved bacon fat and the rest of the butter to the dutch oven over medium heat. Once the butter is hot and foamy, add the shallots and remaining chopped sage. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the shallots are soft. Stir in the flour really well and cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes to cook out any raw flour flavor. Switch to a whisk and slowly whisk in the half and half so that there are no lumps. Whisk in the pumpkin puree and bring to a gentle simmer, until thickened (about 5-6 minutes). Stir in the dijon, paprika, nutmeg, garlic powder, and heavy cream and let everything warm through for another 3-4 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.
- Add the cheese and pasta. Fold in the cheeses off the heat until completely melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add in ? of the cooked bacon and the cooked pasta. Stir well and then pour the mac and cheese into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake. Top evenly with the sage breadcrumbs and remaining bacon. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 5-10 minutes more, until the cheese is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Pumpkin mac and cheese with bacon is easy to make, but there are always tips to help you perfectly execute. Here are all my best tips and tricks:
Grate your own cheese. I know it’s an additional step but so worth it. It makes a huge difference to shred the blocks of cheese yourself using a food processor or box grater. Pre-shredded bags of cheese contain a white powdery substance called cellulose. That anti-caking agent prevents the cheese from having that ultra-creaminess level.
Don’t overcook the pasta. This is super important! The pasta will continue cooking as it bakes and if you overcook it you’ll end up with mushy pasta. Cook your pasta until it is al dente (cooked, but firm). I usually achieve this right around 7-8 minutes, depending on the shape.
Season your pasta water. This is the only opportunity you have to season the pasta itself! You don’t want bland mac and cheese, so make sure to season your pasta water well.
Don’t go low fat. I cannot recommend making this with low fat milk instead of half and half. The heavy cream also plays an important part so that the sauce doesn’t curdle. This is the time to truly indulge!
Make Ahead Instructions
When you’re hosting a large dinner or event (especially Thanksgiving), I am definitely team prep ahead! Any recipe that can be made early will be made early so that the big day goes off without a hitch.
There are a couple of ways that you can prep white cheddar mac and cheese in advance.
Cook the pasta ahead of time. You can boil, drain, and rinse the pasta up to 2 days in advance. Toss the rinsed pasta with a little oil and store in a ziplock bag.
Build the mac and cheese 4 hours in advance. Follow all the steps up to when you bake the mac and cheese and let the mac and cheese sit covered at room temperature. Then, bake right before serving. NOTE: The mac and cheese will likely be a bit thicker here since the sauce has had a chance to sit and absorb into the pasta.
Storage Instructions
Any leftovers need to be refrigerated and covered tightly to prevent spoilage. Mac and cheese can be stored this way for 3-4 days. The mac and cheese will lose a little bit of creaminess from being refrigerated. I do not recommend freezing this dish.
To reheat, stir in a little bit of milk or cream and microwave partially covered with plastic wrap. Stir often as it reheats. You can also reheat it on the stovetop with a bit of cream or milk, which will keep it creamy.
This Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Bacon this the ultimate fall mac and cheese. It’s perfect for holidays and weeknight dinners alike! If you do give this recipe a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!
More Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes to Try
Delicata Squash Salad
Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
Cornbread Stuffing
Brussels Sprouts Gratin
Parmesan Creamed Corn
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Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Bacon
Ingredients
- 16 oz short pasta (shells, lumache, elbows, cavatappi, etc)
- 6 strips uncooked bacon, diced
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 20 sage leaves, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 large shallots, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups half and half
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 6 oz gruyere cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- kosher salt & freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a 9×13, or 3 quart baking dish with butter. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta and prep the cheese. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente. The pasta should still have some bite to it. This process is usually 2-3 minutes shy of the package instructions. Drain and rinse your pasta with cold water. If you do this step in advance, toss the pasta with a little oil to keep it from sticking. Use a box grater to shred the cheeses and set aside.
- Render the bacon. Add the bacon to a 5 quart dutch oven over medium-low heat. Cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until browned and crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a small bowl. Remove 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat and set aside.
- Toast the sage breadcrumbs. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the bacon fat left in the dutch oven over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and foamy, add 2 tablespoons of the chopped sage leaves and the panko breadcrumbs. Stir well and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the panko is toasty, but not browned. Transfer the panko to a small bowl and wipe out the dutch oven to remove any crumbs.
- Build the cheese sauce. Add the reserved bacon fat and the rest of the butter to the dutch oven over medium heat. Once the butter is hot and foamy, add the shallots and remaining chopped sage. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the shallots are soft. Stir in the flour really well and cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes to cook out any raw flour flavor. Switch to a whisk and slowly whisk in the half and half so that there are no lumps. Whisk in the pumpkin puree and bring to a gentle simmer, until thickened (about 5-6 minutes). Stir in the dijon, paprika, nutmeg, garlic powder, and heavy cream and let everything warm through for another 3-4 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.
- Add the cheese and pasta. Fold in the cheeses off the heat until completely melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add in ? of the cooked bacon and the cooked pasta. Stir well and then pour the mac and cheese into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake. Top evenly with the sage breadcrumbs and remaining bacon. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 5-10 minutes more, until the cheese is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.
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