This pasta with cheese sauce and crispy bacon is a great, student-friendly mid-week dinner recipe! For a vegetarian version, obviously just leave out the bacon!
A great recipe for a quick yet delicious dinner that is ready in under 15 minutes! The cheese sauce is so quick to make, in fact it can be made in the time the pasta takes to cook!
Pasta with Cheese Sauce – A Student Staple!
Obviously, pasta is an absolute student staple! I love pasta and cheese, but to be honest, I am not a great fan of just adding grated cheese to pasta and make the student-classic of Mac´n´Cheese. I much prefer using the grated cheese to make a lovely cheese sauce. Not a lot more effort and totally worth it!
Haha, and whilst we are talking about unpopular opinions, I also don´t really like macaroni pasta… I don´t know what it is, it is still pasta after all, just a different shape… But there are just soooo many better pasta shapes out there! Farfalle (the bows) are definitely my favourite!
How do you make Cheese Sauce?
Making this pasta with cheese sauce is super easy! The cheese sauce is made by first making a simple Béchamel or white sauce, and then adding the grated cheese to that! It couldn´t be easier! Every student should know how to make a basic white sauce as it is so versatile and essential for making great meals (for example this Easy Student Lasagne or Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Lasagne). If you don´t know how to make it, check out this cooking basics post for a step-by-step picture guide on how to make it!
Double-up and have dinner for two nights in a row! #MealPrep
It´s a bit more difficult to make a single serving of the cheese sauce. So, I´d recommend making double the sauce (i.e. use 20g each of butter and flour). Then you can reserve half of the sauce to have again for lunch or dinner the next day. Just keep it in a Tupperware in the fridge overnight. I´d recommend making the pasta fresh the next day, and you can use some of the pasta cooking water to loosen up the reserved cheese sauce whilst reheating in the microwave.
More Student Cooking Recipes
Try some of my other student cooking recipes, for quick, easy and healthy student meals!
- Penne Tricolore
- Vegan Mixed Bean Chilli
- Easy Student Lasagne Recipe
- Creamy Hummus Linguine
- Spaghetti, Pesto and Feta Cheese
- Curried Cauliflower Pilaf
- Chicken, Avocado and Red Pepper Wraps
- Quick, Easy and Healthy Wrap Pizza
- Mixed Vegetable Rice Stir-Fry
Pasta with Cheese Sauce and Crispy Bacon | Student Cooking Recipe
Recipe
Ingredients (serves 1, although I´d recommend doubling the amount of sauce and reserving half for the next day):
- 75g pasta
- 10g butter
- 10g flour
- 100-150ml milk
- 70g cheese (I´d recommend mature cheddar or red Leicester), grated
- Ground nutmeg, salt and pepper, to season
- 1 rasher of bacon, cut into small pieces (optional)
Method:
- Bring a saucepan filled with water to the boil. Once boiling, salt the water and cook the pasta as per packet instructions. Once cooked, drain the pasta but reserve some of the cooking water (if the pasta is ready before you get a chance to add some of the cooking water to the sauce).
- Whilst the pasta is cooking, make the sauce. In a separate pot, gently melt the butter. Once melted, add the flour to form a paste (known as a roux). Cook out for a minute or two to get rid of the flour taste.
- Gradually start adding the milk, a little at a time, stirring well between each addition to ensure the milk is fully incorporated and there are no lumps.
- Once all the milk has been added, bring the sauce to a gently boil and it should start to thicken. Add about half of the grated cheese, stir until melted into the sauce. Then repeat with the remaining cheese.
- Add a little of the (reserved) pasta cooking water to the sauce. This will thin out and “stretch” the sauce a little but, whilst at the same time serving as a bit of seasoning. Taste, and then season the sauce with some more pepper or salt as needed. I also like to season my cheese sauce with some ground nutmeg.
- Whilst you are waiting for the pasta and cheese sauce to cook, fry the chopped bacon in a frying pan until crispy.
- Once ready, serve the pasta alongside the cheese sauce and sprinkle over the crispy bacon! Enjoy!
