CREAMY BACON PASTA RECIPE _ Pasta Cheese Sauce Recipe _ How To Make Cheesy Fettuccini Pasta

Yeah , ok .

To get started with this pasta dish , I am going to start off by cooking 12 ounces of thick cut chopped bacon .

So here I have a pan preheating and I am just going to add my bacon right into the pan and I'm just going to start sauteing it and breaking it apart .

Basically , what I want to do is cook this at a medium to medium high heat , not necessarily high because I don't want to burn it or sear it .

I want to actually render out a lot of that bacon fat .

So once my bacon is broken apart and starts to saute , eventually it will crisp up .

But I do want to render some bacon fat .

Now , depending on how high you have your heat that will determine the cook time .

But I'm using again the medium heat and this is going to go through stages .

It'll look like this where it's broken apart and it looks still raw .

It , it's not crispy or golden brown , but keep going .

And eventually you will have this crispy bacon pieces .

Ok .

So I'm turning off the heat and now I'm going to remove this from my pan and I am going to place all of my bacon pieces on a plate lined with paper towels and this will help soak up any residual grease from the bacon and it will help maintain its texture while it sits until I need it .

Once I'm done removing all of my bacon , I am going to save all of that rendered bacon fat .

I'm actually going to be using two tablespoons of this when I start my cheese sauce , but saved or rendered bacon fat goes well in other recipes , once I've removed all of the bacon grease , I am going to wipe out any debris left from the bacon because I don't want that to burn when I start sauteing things .

Ok .

So at this point , my pan is wiped clean and I'm going to start preheating it again .

And now I'm going to add two tablespoons of that rendered bacon fat .

Now , if you are not going to use bacon in this recipe or you just wanna opt not to use bacon because you don't eat it or you don't have it , you don't have to use two tablespoons of bacon grease to start your cheese sauce .

You can definitely use the oil oil of your choice or sometimes I like to use butter when I'm not adding bacon to this , I'll use two tablespoons of butter .

So those are options for those that do not want to use bacon in this recipe because it really is a delicious cheese sauce .

So now I'm adding three tablespoons of finely minced onion and that goes right into my preheated bacon grease .

I'm going to give that a mix and now I'm going to add two chopped cloves of garlic .

Now , if you don't have fresh garlic or onion or you just don't like it , you could also opt to use granulated onion and garlic powder .

Probably a half teaspoon of onion powder and a quarter teaspoon of garlic or change the ratios to your preference .

So now that this is sauteing , I am just going to give it a mix .

And again , I'm not working with a high heat .

I'm working with a medium heat and I'm going to add just a pinch of salt .

This will help sweat out the onion and garlic and just kind of help the saute along .

By the way , I am not adding any extra salt in this recipe because with the bacon and the two cheeses that I will be using , I find that that is enough salt in this recipe .

And I'm also going to salt .

Well , my pasta water when I boil the pasta , but definitely certainly you want to salt and season this to your preference because when you are cooking for yourself , trust me .

I know all too well when I make a recipe and I wanna add a little bit of this and that because it's what I like .

So by all means definitely salt and season this cheese sauce to your preference .

Ok .

So this has sauteed for several minutes .

It already has a little bit of golden brown color on it .

So now I am going to add the dairy of my choice and for those of you that follow me know that I like to use evaporated milk in my cheese sauces .

So I'm going to be adding three cans of evaporated milk in total .

That will be around 36 ounces .

Now , if you do not have evaporated milk readily available to you , you could also use , use heavy cream or you can do a mixture of heavy cream and whole milk .

But I do not suggest just using whole milk because I find that whole milk will not thicken and be too watery when it's all said and done .

So just be mindful of that .

If you are going to use something other than evaporated milk , make sure you use something like half and half or for those of you that cannot find half and half , it's basically half heavy cream , half whole milk .

So I'm just going to give everything a stir and I'm going to bring this to a gentle simmer again .

I'm working with a medium heat and I want this to heat through before I start adding my cheese .

Now , before I add my cheese , I'm going to add some freshly grated nutmeg .

I like to add nutmeg to my cheese sauces , but this is optional .

You can opt not to do this .

But if you do have some whole nutmeg , just give it a couple of scrapes on your grater because it does pair well with the cheese sauce .

But again , it's optional .

Ok .

So at this point , my evaporated milk and other ingredients are combined well , and the milk is heated through .

So now I'm going to start adding my cheeses .

So today I am going to be using four ounces of grated Parmesan cheese .

I found a bag of this in my refrigerator .

I think my husband bought it because I normally have the frozen wedges that I keep .

But I didn't want this to go to waste .

So I'm going to add that right into my evaporated milk .

I'm also going to add grated mozzarella cheese .

This is a low moisture block of mozzarella cheese .

You can use fresh mozzarella cheese .

I bet that would be fantastic in this .

But this is again what I had , by the way , if you do use your own freshly grated cheeses , that works a lot better while this is melting .

I want to show you something I do to make this a spicy dish .

Sometimes I like to add one tablespoon of red pepper powder .

This is a Korean red pepper powder and this is just something I like to do when we feel like something spicy .

I also sometimes will add some cayenne pepper .

I actually like the Korean red pepper powder because it doesn't hit me in the back of my throat like cayenne does .

But for those of you that like spice , those are some options to add to this creamy pasta dish .

Ok .

So I am just mixing and stirring this on a medium heat to allow the cheese to melt and combine into the evaporated milk .

And once I get things going , I am actually going to lower this all the way to the low setting and I'm just going to let it simmer and sort of reduce slightly and just continue melting while I cook my pasta .

So I am going to be making £1 of fettuccini pasta .

You can use the pasta of your choice .

Just make sure you use £1 .

So I already have my water boiling here on the side .

So all I'm going to do is add three hefty pinches of salt .

If I had to guess this is probably around three tablespoons of salt and I'm using a coarse ground sea salt .

So after adding the salt , I'm just going to give it a good mix just to make sure the salt has dissolved in the water .

And then I'm going to add my pasta again , you can use this cheese sauce with virtually any pasta of your choice .

So now I'm going to add my fettuccini right into the water and I am using an eight quart stock pot for those of you that want to know how large my pot is and that seems to be a good size to cook a pound of pasta .

So I'm just going to give it a mix and make sure none of the noodles are sticking together .

And I'm just going to follow the instructions on the box .

10 minutes for Al Dente .

I'm going to take it to around 11 to 12 .

So my cheese sauce has been simmering this whole time and as you can see it is thick creamy and looks perfect .

It is ready for this pasta .

So I'm going to give it a couple of stirs .

By the way , this has just been gently simmering on low and you can already tell the cheese is melted and the sauce is creamy and it has thickened .

So I'm just going to add some freshly cracked black pepper , give that a mix and this cheese sauce is done again .

If you want a spicy version to this , you can definitely add , I think I said a tablespoon of that Korean pepper powder .

I actually meant one teaspoon , but definitely go for a tablespoon if you want it .

That spicy cayenne pepper is another choice .

You could also add some crushed red pepper flakes .

If you find your cheese sauce has thickened too much , just add some of that pasta water and mix it right back in until you get the consistency you prefer .

So right now I'm adding all of my fettuccini noodles and I am definitely going to add all the bacon , by the way , one dangerous thing about cooking bacon and leaving it on the side is that people pick and eat at it when you're not looking .

So I'm going to add the bacon right into my pot .

Give everything a mix and this pasta dish is served .

You can definitely serve it with your favorite side salad because this is a very rich and creamy pasta dish and I like to garnish it with parsley and things like that .

But again , you can definitely add the garnishes , seasonings and spices to your preference and taste .

Now , you'll notice as I'm stirring it , it might seem like the ratio of pasta to the sauce is uneven or unbalanced .

But I just want you to bear in mind as your pasta sets , it's going to absorb that sauce .

So this is why it looks overly saucy because eventually it will absorb it .

So , trust me , if you do feel apprehensive about the ratio of this , don't worry , it'll all work out .

I hope you give this recipe a try .

I hope you like it .

And thanks for watching .