BACON MAC AND CHEESE SKILLET with CHICKEN

A delicious kicked up version of everyone's favorite. Bacon Mac and Cheese Skillet is made easy with rotisserie chicken & pre-shredded cheese. Easy fix, easy clean up!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 601kcal

Author Linda Warren

Ingredients

6 oz bacon, cooked & crumbled
4 Tablespoons butter
¼ cup cornstarch (for gluten-free or all-purpose flour)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 - 2-¼ cups chicken broth
2 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided (I used a shredded mix of mild & sharp cheddar)
1-2 Tablespoons sriracha (optional)
2 cups cooked shredded chicken (make it fast with rotisserie chicken)
4 cups cooked spiral macaroni (gluten-free if needed)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large cast iron skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan & set aside.
While bacon is cooking, cook noodles in large saucepan. Remove from pan, drain & set aside. (Keep bacon fat in pan.)
To same saucepan, add butter over medium heat until melted. Whisk cornstarch in until smooth. Add chicken broth slowly and continue whisking until smooth & thick. Season with salt & pepper.
Turn heat down and add 1-½ cups shredded cheese and stir until melted. Add sriracha if using. Remove from heat.
Toss noodles in cast iron skillet to coat with bacon fat. Add chicken and bacon to noodles and stir well. Pour sauce over all and mix well.
Sprinkle remaining 1 cup shredded cheese on top.
Pop into the oven for 30 minutes. If you like a nicely browned top, turn broiler on for last 5 minutes. Watch carefully as it can brown rather quickly. REMEMBER to remove skillet with pot holders (take it from me - it's just an automatic response to just reach in and grab the handle like you normally would on the stove - and believe me, I speak from experience!)

Nutrition