Honestly, can we just take a moment and admire the beauty of this thing? 🤩 Since I first debuted this Breakfast Mac and Cheese with Baked Eggs back in 2016, I’ve seen many iterations show up on the internet. While it would be nice for some inspo credit 😅 I don’t blame people since it’s the PERFECT dish for your homemade brunch rotation! This recipe gives your standard mac and cheese the BEC (that’s Bacon Egg and Cheese) upgrade.
While most versions of breakfast mac and cheese I’ve seen throw a fried egg on top, I was inspired by shakshuka to instead cook the eggs directly in the mac and cheese so everything melds together into one wonderful masterpiece with runny yolks that you can spread right into your cheesy, bacon-y pasta. I also mixed in roasted grape tomatoes to pair with the bacon and add that perfect cut of acidity to balance out the richness of the dish. You could also try making this with a pesto-mozzarella cheese base or even with buffalo chicken instead.
I’ll admit, baking the eggs into your breakfast mac and cheese does take some extra effort, but the end result is so worth it! The whole process starts with crisping up the bacon and roasting the tomatoes in the oven, followed by cooking your pasta (I prefer cavatappi
Once you mix all those wonderful ingredients together and put it into your baking dish (or cast iron skillet
After giving the mac and cheese some time in the oven, take it out and use a spoon to make small wells, each of which you’ll fill with an egg white. Throw it back in the oven for a few minutes, and take it out again and add the egg yolks after your whites have begun to set. The reason for baking the egg whites and yolks separately is that egg whites take a while to bake in the oven, and if you cook your whites and yolks at the same time, you almost always end up with non-runny yolks (sadness). Of course, if runny yolks aren’t your thing, you can skip this process, but if pools of yellow-orange goodness cascading over cheesy macaroni are what you’re looking for, you’re gonna want to separate your yolks. This Breakfast Mac and Cheese with Baked Eggs is definitely a labor of love, but you get what you put in, am I right? Pin this image to save this recipe!
Breakfast Mac and Cheese with Baked Eggs
Ingredients
- 6 oz. grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp. dried basil or Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper
- 5-6 strips thick cut bacon
- 8 oz. of cavatappi or elbow macaroni (1/2 a standard box – double the rest of the recipe if using the entire box)
- 1 3/4 cups whole milk, heated
- 3 tbsp. butter, divided
- 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. ground mustard
- 1/2-1 tsp. cayenne
- 1 tsp. each salt & pepper, more to taste
- 12 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded from the block
- 2 oz. fresh grated Parmigiano
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Cut the tomatoes in half and toss with 1/2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp. dried basil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread in a roasting pan and bake for 20 min. Set aside.
- While tomatoes are roasting, line a baking tray with foil and lay a metal rack over the foil. Lay the strips of bacon across the rack and bake until bacon is golden-brown and crispy, about 20 min. (can bake at same time as tomatoes) Remove from oven and lay on a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess grease. Then chop the bacon into small pieces and set aside.
- Meanwhile, fill a pot of water about halfway and bring to a vigorous boil. Add salt to the water, then add the pasta and undercook pasta to 1 minute less than package cooking instructions for al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Prepare the bechamel sauce: Heat the milk until hot but not boiling, about 2 minutes in the microwave. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, then gradually whisk in 2 tbsp. flour, continuing to cook and whisking regularly until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually pour in the hot milk a little at a time, whisking constantly, until smooth. Bring to a boil and stir in the ground mustard, cayenne, salt and pepper, then lower heat and simmer for 2 minutes to finish your creamy bechamel sauce.
- Reserve 1/4 of the cheddar cheese. Add the remaining cheddar cheese and all of the Parmesan cheese to the bechamel sauce and stir until fully melted into a creamy cheese sauce. Taste and add salt and cayenne as desired.
- Add the cooked pasta back into the pot, then pour the cheese sauce and stir until pasta is fully coated. Reserve 1 strip worth of chopped bacon, then add the rest to the pot along with the roasted tomatoes and stir until just combined.
- Transfer mac and cheese to a cast iron skillet or baking pan. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.
- Melt remaining 1 tbsp. butter and toss panko breadcrumbs in butter to coat. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and reserved chopped bacon evenly on top of mac and cheese. Bake for 7 minutes.
- While mac and cheese is baking, separate your egg whites and egg yolks, keeping the egg yolks in a bowl filled with water.
- Briefly remove the mac and cheese from the oven and use a large spoon to make 4 wells in the mac and cheese. If you skipped separating your egg yolks, just add an entire egg into each well and bake for 13 minutes so your mac and cheese bakes for 20 total minutes. Otherwise, fill each well with an even amount of egg white. Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes until egg white are almost set. Remove from oven and use your hands to carefully add an egg yolk onto each well so the yolk sits on top of the egg white. Bake for an additional 3-5 minutes so crust is crispy, egg whites are set, and egg yolks are still runny.
- Remove from oven and let sit for 3-5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see the final product. Tag your photos on Instagram with #indulgentrecipes and @indulgenteats so I can see them!
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[…] inspired by Indulgent Eats […]
[…] I instead direct you to bake this in the oven so you don’t use the stovetop. Having made a number of other baked egg dishes, I’m very confident that baking this in the oven will yield successful results without a […]