The bacon mac 'n' cheese quesadilla breaks so many rules

Bacon Mac and Cheese Quesadilla — Thrillist Recipes
Drew Swantak
Drew Swantak

Someone told me that using so much bacon in my recipes is cheating. Well, if that’s so, who wants to be a rule-following bacon-less square anyway? Not quesadillas, that’s for damn sure. And not just because they’re round.

Which is why we took 2lbs of bacon, wove it into crispy, porky tortillas, and stuck gooey mac 'n' cheese in the middle, making a quesadilla that's too damn hip to be square. Sorry Huey Lewis.

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It feels good being bad.
Drew Swantak

Bacon Mac 'n' Cheese Quesadilla Recipe

Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 pounds bacon
  • 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
  • 8 ounces (2 cups) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
DIRECTIONS:
  • Preheat oven to 425℉.
  • Line two rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil. Make a bacon weave on each baking sheet. Cut off the corners with shears to make the weaves circular. Set the cut pieces aside and bake the weaves until crisp, about 15 minutes.
  • Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain.
  • Return pot to medium-high heat. Add the pieces of bacon you cut from the weaves. Cook until crispy, about 5 minutes. Break up large pieces with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to low, add drained pasta and remaining ingredients. Stir until cheese is melted and well-combined.
  • Transfer bacon weaves to a wire rack or paper towels and let cool/crisp up for 5 minutes. Place one weave on a cutting board. Top with mac ‘n’ cheese. Cover with the other weave. Cut into 6 equal pieces.
Bacon Mac and Cheese Quesadilla — Thrillist Recipes
Drew Swantak