A great Homemade Mac & Cheese recipe is a must in every kitchen – IMO! And once you have a solid one, you can start to play around with what you add into it to make it more fun, fancy, or flavorful. This go around I am going to add in some asparagus and BACON! to make Asparagus Mac & Cheese a new favorite in your house.
The made-from-scratch sauce is a huge part of this meal – and it really is super simple. Making sauces from scratch is what Home Cookin’ is all about. If you can whisk – you can make this velvety sauce. And once you have the process down you can change it up with different cheeses, different seasoning and different flavors. Sometimes I add in some lemon juice to give it brighter flavor or I add in some paprika to give it a little kick.
You might be thinking – is this just a side dish? The answer is NO Asparagus Mac & Cheese is not meant to be a side dish – but it could be if you wanted. You could serve it with some baked chicken or grilled shrimp or maybe a pork tenderloin. But trust me when I say this recipe is enough to make a meal out of it. And every other week I try to do a ~mostly meatless~ option for dinner! I can’t get away with no meat at all with my houseful of carnivores, but bacon usually placates them. I usually put out a nice simple green salad (lettuce, cucumbers, cheese, tomatoes, croutons and dressing of choice).
If you like this recipe and want more like it you can purchase the Homemade on a Weeknight Cookbook in Paperback or Kindle (eBook) versions through Amazon to get over 100 more recipes developed by me!
Now Let’s Get Cookin’
Asparagus Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 1½ lb Short Pasta rotini, shells, elbows, penne
- 1 lb Asparagus cut in 2-in pieces
- 1 lb Bacon cut in 1/2-in pieces
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 3 tbsp Flour AP or Whole Wheat
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1½ cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 tbsp Parsley
Instructions
- Prepare all of the ingredients. Start water boiling for pasta
- In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add bacon pieces. Cook until crispy and remove to a plate with a paper towel.
- Add pasta to boiling water and cook as directed on the package. In the last 2 minutes of cook time add the asparagus to the boiling water. Drain in colander and rinse with cool water to arrest cooking process then return to pot.
- While the past is cooking, in a separate saucepan over medium heat, add butter and garlic powder. Cook until butter is completely melted then whisk in flour and cook for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth and cook for 3 minutes more. Whisk in heavy cream and cook 3 minutes more. Add salt and begin to add cheese by the handful, stirring regularly, until all is added. Then stir in parsley.
- Pour sauce over cooked pasta and asparagus and combine well. Stir in half of cooked bacon. Serve in a pasta dish with a sprinkle of remaining bacon on top.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
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This is just like an old favorite one f mine from a restaurant no longer in business!! Thank you!
This Asparagus Mac & Cheese looks absolutely scrumptious!
Truly comfort food recipe
It looks delicious. I wish this were in front of me right now.
Thanks for sharing with us at the To Grandma’s hosue we go link party. I’ll be featuring you when the next party starts on my blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram!
Thank you so much! That is super exciting. I can’t wait to see it.
Estelle, this looks SO good! Thanks for sharing at Friendship Friday at Create With Joy – so excited to FEATURE YOU this week! 🙂