Cheesy Pasta Bake

A dish that gets its character from butter and flour.

Serves 4 · Bacon

contains glutencontains dairycontains meat

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Ingredients

Units: US Metric

Scale: ½× – 4× with Plus →

Make it lactose-friendly

50g Butter → plant butter, ghee (mostly lactose-free), or olive oil
200ml Milk → lactose-free milk, oat milk, or almond milk
400g Cheddar Cheese → lactose-free or aged hard cheese (naturally lower lactose)

Swaps are suggestions, not medical advice. Check labels if lactose is a serious issue for you.

Grate the cheese.
Chop up the bacon into roughly 2cm x 2cm squares.
Start cooking the pasta.
Start melting the butter in another saucepan.
Once melted, add flour and mix until the mixture forms a paste that does not stick to the sides. The quantity of flour required may vary.
Now start adding the milk slowly, while mixing, as to avoid lumps.
Heat on low heat while stirring until the sauce becomes thick. If unsure, taste the sauce, and if you cannot taste the flour, it is ready for the next step.
Add 80% of the cheese and stir until melted in.
Drain the pasta and add to baking dish.
Add the sauce and mix in.
If using bacon, fry it up and mix into the dish, making sure to include any fat that comes out of the bacon for extra flavour.
Use the rest of the cheese to cover the top.
Bake at gas mark 6 for about 30 minutes.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)