READY IN 1½ hrs

Broccoli Mac and Cheese with Bacon and Potato Nugget Topping

Read Reviews (11)

"I was feeling adventurous one day and wanted to try a non ooey and gooey kind of mac and cheese. This dish bakes up to be light and airy. Good way to add some veggies for the picky eaters in your family. You can also make it lower in fat by using skim milk and low fat cheeses. If you're feeling adventurous, there are many other things you could toss in here such as ham-diced and browned, left over sliced chicken, more potato nuggets or more bacon, spinach, or other veggies hanging out in the fridge that need to be used up." — Cookin' Care!

Directions

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the macaroni, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Crumble the bacon and set aside. Heat 1 teaspoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the broccoli and onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
Whisk together the eggs, the remaining 1 teaspoon of butter, and milk in a large bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and adobo seasoning. Stir in 1 cup of Cheddar cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, the broccoli mixture and half of the potato nuggets. Place macaroni into the baking dish and pour the cheese mixture over the pasta, mixing well. Top with the remaining 1 cup of Cheddar cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella, bacon, and potato nuggets. Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 25 mins
COOK 1 hr 5 mins
READY IN 1 hr 30 mins

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Oct 09, 2009

This turned out amazing! I did change it up a little bit and mixed all of the ingredients together in a big bowl before putting it in the casserole dish, and then topped it with more cheese and the rest of the tater tots. And I think next time I might thaw out the tater tots all the way because some of them weren't completely done, but it has SO much flavor both my husband and I loved it!

—AmberMichelle143

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Feb 22, 2010

The Casserole That Ate Manhatten! Just made this, and felt the need to warn others - this makes a TON, and will not fit into a 9 X 13 pan without very careful heaping. I think the problem is that there's way too much pasta. Next time, I would half the amount of pasta, and keep the seasonings the same; the overabundance of pasta weakens the flavor when made as directed, resulting in a casserole that is surprisingly bland, considering the ingredients. I couldn't taste the adobo at all, and grabbed the salt shaker after my first bite, which I never do. All that pasta made it the broccoli, tater, bacon bites hard to find, too. May try this again with suggested changes, but not sure. If I do, I'll post again.

—DesertDryad

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17 Ratings

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Dec 21, 2010

I used rotelle pasta, way more than 6 strips of bacon and no adobo seasoning. I added a few of my favorite spices and continued with the recipe as stated. It turned out really tasty! I did let the tater tots thaw a bit while i was making the pasta and bacon and still they were a bit cold after 35 minutes in the oven. I'd suggest mixing everything in a bowl before adding it to the pan and then topping with tots and cheese again. I added some fresh cut scallions to the top for a bit of texture and taste. This recipe made plenty of food for 6 people and there are still left overs!!

—Danielle

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Feb 15, 2011

The men liked it, me not so much.

—aznaroses

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Apr 27, 2012

Used rotini pasta. Added a lot more cheese and went for a more cheese/butter/roux. Melting the cheese with the butter and adding fat free half and half, adding the cheese and then working the veggies into it. Roasted my veggies with garlic, just a preference, but very good. We went for fat free cheese also. It's fun to make good food and morph it into something we like. Recipe as it stands is great, we just made it work for our new diet! thanks so much, this is awesome!

—Monette Corbeau D'Anjou

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Apr 30, 2012

This was wonderful. I made a couple of minor additions / changes but I don't think it really altered the recipe much. I forgot to buy the Adobo Seasoning so used Garlic / Herb etc, I added a layer of fresh spinach before the adding the last layer of cheese etc, and then because we're not huge Tater Tot fans, we used diced seasoned hashbrowns instead. My husband loved it and we decided we're going to try using Pepper Jack cheese the next time to give it a little more kick.

—Marjie

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Apr 27, 2012

Best Mac and Cheese EVER

—cija

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May 16, 2012

Not great. Couldn't taste adobo at all, even with half the amount of pasta. I substituted BBQ chicken because I didn't have bacon. Pre-cooked potatoes for about 10 minutes to make sure they were done and a little crispy. It was OK, but nothing to write home about, and it was definitely a lot of mess to clean up with preparation. Fortunately, I could clean while the meal was cooking, which was a bonus. Would work best for a side dish at a potluck instead of a main dish at home, especially with the fat content.

—Mamatoosi

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Nutrition

Calories
544 kcal
27%

Carbohydrates
53.8 g
17%

Cholesterol
142 mg
47%

Fat
23.5 g
36%

Fiber
3.4 g
13%

Protein
29.7 g
59%

Sodium
704 mg
28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Broccoli Mac and Cheese with Bacon and Potato Nugget Topping

Serving Size: 1/8 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 544
Calories from Fat: 211

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 23.5g 36 %
Saturated Fat 12.2g 61 %
Cholesterol 142mg 47 %
Sodium 704mg 28 %
Potassium 511mg 14 %
Total Carbohydrates 53.8g 17 %
Dietary Fiber 3.4g 13 %
Protein 29.7g 59 %
** Sugars 6.1g
Vitamin A 18 %
Vitamin C 57 %
Calcium 67 %
Iron 29 %
** Thiamin 70 %
** Niacin 86 %
** Vitamin B6 17 %
** Magnesium 23 %
** Folate 99 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.