Cowboy Burger Mac and Cheese
The cowboy burger is my favorite type of burger to get at a classic late night diner, so I decided to turn those flavors into a mac and cheese! You know the type of burger – It has onion rings on it, with bacon and bbq sauce. Now I will say, I am not a “bacon always makes a burger better” guy. Bacon is only sometimes good on a burger in my opinion. With this combination of flavors though, the bacon is needed!
The inspiration for this recipe
I was looking through my archives because I have been cleaning up some older recipes, and I came across this post for bacon and blue cheese mac and cheese. This was also inspired by a type of cheeseburger. It’s called a black and blue burger and was on a lot of menus in the early 2000’s. Back then I had assumed I would be turning more burgers into mac and cheese flavor profiles, but I never ended up doing it again. Until now!
Cook the meat
This is a very easy recipe. Everything goes into the pan, then it all goes into a baking dish and into the oven. Start with the bacon and cook it until it is crispy. Add in the beef and onions and cook until everything is fully cooked and lightly browned.
Start the roux for the mac and cheese sauce
Add flour to the meats. There will be enough oil in the pan from the meats to form the roux with the flour. In fact, there might be too much oil. If it looks super greasy like the meat is swimming in oil, scoop out a bit of the oil. The meat should be coated in grease but not taking a bath in it. After you cook the roux for 3 minutes, add in the milk.
Form the cowboy burger mac and cheese.
Bring the sauce to a boil and you will see it thicken up a bit. Add in the pasta and stir to combine. Then remove it from the heat and stir in the cheese. I used pepperjack and cheddar for this. Save about 1/4 of the cheese to put right into the baking dish.
When the cowboy burger mac and cheese is cooled down a bit stir in some bbq sauce and pickles. If you do this too soon the cheese sauce will break!
Bake the cowboy burger mac and cheese
Pour half of the mac and cheese into a baking dish, add most of the remaining cheese, then add the rest of the pasta. Top with the last of the cheese and crispy onion straws.
Bake at 425 for 20 minutes until bubbly and crispy!
Serve the cowboy burger mac and cheese
Wait about 10 minutes for this to cool before scooping and serving! Serve with some more pickles and crispy onions on the side!
Twists on this recipe
The cowboy burger mac and cheese will probably break a bit in the oven. That is because we are working with acidic pickles and bbq sauce mixed into a dairy based cheese sauce. Because there are so many ingredients in here you probably won’t notice, but if you are a mac and cheese purist, you can keep the pickles and bbq sauce out and serve them on the side. Personally I like the flavor they bring when mixed in.
For more great twists on mac and cheese check out my spanakopita mac and cheese, pork belly mac and cheese, or this breakfast mac and cheese!
Cowboy Burger Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon chopped
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 a small onion diced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk
- 8 ounces cavatappi pasta
- 8 ounces pepperjack grated, from a block
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese grated, from a block
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/2 cup chopped pickles
- 1 cup crispy onion straws
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season heavily with salt
- Bring a large pan to medium heat and add in the bacon. Cook 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until fully cooked and crispy.
- Add in the beef and onions and cook another 5 minutes, breaking up the beef.
- You want a nice coating of oil in the pan, but if it is swimming in oil, use a spoon to scoop out some of the oil.
- Stir in the flour and cook, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes, making sure there is no visible flour remaining.
- This is a good time to drop the pasta into the boiling water.
- Add the milk to the pan with all the meat and stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer and watch it thicken slightly. Remove from heat.
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid just before you strain it. Add the pasta right to the sauce and stir to combine.
- Add in 3/4 of the cheeses and stir to combine.
- If it seems too thick, add a little of the pasta cooking liquid to thin it a bit.
- Preheat oven to 425
- Pour half the pasta into a baking dish. Add most of the rest of the cheese.
- Pour the remaining pasta mixture into the pan and add the rest of the cheese. Top with the crispy onions.
- Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes until bubbling on the sides and crispy on top.
Hi Dan,
It looks like a great recipe… I am sure to give it a try.
One question… I do not fully understand the sequence of the step. I would make cheese sauce first after creating the roux, and then add the meat and the pasta.
Would that make sense?
Thanks! Really love what you are doing here!
Thanks! I have been putting my pasta in before adding the cheese lately. I like doing it in that order better. I also think it makes it easier and less likely to break.
Fair enough… I will give it a try… always prepared to try something new :-).
Thanks a lot!!!!!