One Pot Pepperoni Pizza Mac & Cheese with Bacon

One of our go-to meals! A quick, easy meal that the kids will love, and only 7 ingredients and one pot!

This is my first example of a pasta dish you can make using the guide I gave you last week. Obviously, I had to start with something cheesy!

Here is the breakdown of my ingredients I used for this pasta according to the One Pot Pasta Guide:

Pasta:

• I used 4 cups or 323g whole grain Rotini (almost a full box) — I love to add extra fiber and protein in our meals where I can and whole wheat pasta is a great way to do this!

Liquids:

• I used a combination of milk and chicken broth, which I often do when I’m making creamy pastas. I just like how the chicken broth smooths out the sauce. I find if you use all milk the sauce can become too thick and is not as good if you’re reheating it. Adding chicken broth also bumps up the flavor while cutting down on calories (save those for the cheese and pepperoni!)
• If you want to see the difference between using more milk and less broth, check out yesterday’s One Pot Green Chile Mac & Cheese! It is much creamier, but I find it doesn’t reheat as well so you just have to pick which way you like it.

Meats:

• I used pizza pepperoni from the deli and cooked, crumbled bacon — both of these were already cooked so I didn’t cook any meat in the pot beforehand (though starting with raw meat is really simple as I mentioned in the guide).

Veggies:

• I didn’t add any vegetables this time, but these would be great additions: sauteed mushrooms, diced bell peppers or some chopped spinach.

Cheese:

• I used about half mozzarella and half cheddar, but you could use any combination you like! I actually prefer using full fat cheese for pretty much everything, but I guess I bought light cheese in a weak moment at the grocery store so I used about half light cheddar. I like full fat cheese because it melts so much better!

*Note: I actually prefer a thinner sauce on my macaroni and cheese — if you like it thicker, replace some of the broth with milk or cream, or add more cheese.

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One Pot Pepperoni Pizza Mac & Cheese with Bacon

written by Ashley Fehr

5 from 1 vote

One of our go-to meals! A quick, easy meal that the kids will love, and only 7 ingredients and one pot!

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Cuisine American

Course Main Course

Servings 6 servings

Calories 419cal

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 cups whole wheat Rotini or other short pasta 323 grams
• ▢ 2 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 2 cups milk
• ▢ 1 cup diced pepperoni
• ▢ 3 slices cooked crumbled bacon
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 2 cups shredded cheese
• ▢ 1 cup pizza sauce
• ▢ basil for garnish if desired

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• In a large pot, combine Rotini, broth, milk, pepperoni, bacon and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and reduce heat to medium.
• Cook, uncovered, stirring regularly, for 10-15 minutes until liquid is absorbed and pasta is cooked (if liquid is absorbed before pasta is cooked, add another ½ cup broth and continue cooking).
• Stir in cheese and pizza sauce and stir until cheese is melted. Serve.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 419cal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 1332mg | Potassium: 466mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 560IU | Vitamin C: 2.9mg | Calcium: 315mg | Iron: 3.3mg

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