Bacon and Pea Macaroni & Cheese
You’ll never guess that this unbelievably creamy, cheesy mac and cheese is actually lightened up!
As bikini season is slowly coming to an end, I decided to make the best kind of comfort food of all: mac and cheese. With bacon. Lots and lots of crisp bacon bits mixed in and sprinkled on top because, well, everything is always better with bacon, right?
But to balance out all that bacon goodness, I lightened this up by swapping out just a few ingredients. For starters, I used Silk’s Unsweetened Original Almond Milk. It only has 30 calories per serving with absolutely no added sugar and 50% more calcium than dairy milk! Best of all, you can’t even taste the difference with all these goodies in here.
I also swapped out the sour cream for a little bit of Greek yogurt and it was just as creamy and rich. And with the addition of peas – well, there’s your serving of veggies!
No, but in all seriousness, this is my absolute favorite kind of mac and cheese. It’s rich, creamy and lightened up so you can have 2 servings instead of 1!
Bacon and Pea Macaroni & Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 1 cup Silk Unsweetened Original Almondmilk
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- ¾ cup shredded gruyere cheese
- ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to toaste
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce, optional
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Within the last minute of cooking time, add peas; drain well.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- In a medium saucepan, combine almondmilk, garlic and thyme over medium heat. Bring to a slight boil. Stir in cheeses, a handful at a time, until smooth, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir in pasta, peas and bacon until well combined. Stir in Greek yogurt and hot sauce. Add more almondmilk as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve immediately.
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Silk. All opinions expressed are my own.
We do really enjoy the taste of this dish, but I have trouble getting the cheese to incorporate into the milk. What am I doing wrong?
Can you taste the Greek yogurt in this? My husband hates the taste of yogurt.
just happened upon your site today and I can’t wait to cook tomorrow. I’ll keep in touch.
I am a house wife I like cooking. Is so different I will make it for dinner
I don’t have fresh thyme, would I use the same amount for dried thyme?
Because dried herbs are generally more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you’ll need less – typically three times the amount of fresh herbs as dry. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano, you need only 1 teaspoon of dried.
I always bake my mac & cheese,,,can I baked this mac. & cheese and it still be good?
This recipe is really meant for the stovetop but please feel free to pop this in the oven until the desired consistency/texture is reached.
Love, recipe, all perfect lo-cal gredients, fam luved!
I made this last night with well cooked/browned ham steak pieces, and the kids devoured it! And I did not have gruyere, I used what I had on hand – cheddar & monterey jack. THis recipe is versatile – a keeper!
What a great combination of flavors – I can not wait to try it! Thank you for the inspiration! 🙂
Do you have to use Greek yogurt????? Can you sub sour cream?
Sour cream should work just fine.
I have coupons from Silk that I can buy more silk products and my kids will love this mac and cheese! The first picture made me wish that that spoon will go into my mouth… 😀
My family would go crazy for this dish!
Your close up shots get me every time! Always make me hungry – even when I’m not :).
This sounds so amazing!! Love the addition of the bacon and peas.
This works for me. Good swaps outs. What is it about America’s love for mac and cheese. I am so glad its in a revival mode with all the wonderful versions that are popping up here and there and everywhere—including this wonderful and quick version.
Oh Gosh.. I can’t think of anything more delicious right now!!
is there an alternative gruyere cheese? That’s the only thing preventing this from being a pantry-ready dish!
You can use mozzarella or fontina, although it will have somewhat of a milder taste.
This mac and cheese looks awesome! Love the addition of bacon and peas. Also love that you make this a little healthier with almond milk and yogurt! Totally going to have to try that. 🙂
I love this mac & cheese with added peas and bacon, it looks super delicious. I’m such a pasta girl!
I’m a huge mac n’ cheese fan and I think this looks so delicious! I like how you used almond milk in this recipe. Great idea!