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Do you have food phases? I know I do! I’ve been so obsessed with pasta lately after I haven’t made much of it in months I feel! If you’re a pasta lover and was hoping for some pasta recipes, well, this is your lucky time! I’ve recently shared my Lasagna alla Bolognese and Vegetarian 4-Cheese Lasagna if you’re up for a hearty treat!
This was all intentional! I recently made the biggest batch of Ragu alla Bolognese. Psst - it’s super freezer-friendly! In fact, I recommend that you make a ton of it to freeze for later! Having some Bolognese sauce on hand can come in so handy to give you an indulgent meal when you barely have time! Bonus recipe here: Make the best leftover Bolognese pasta!
- Throw container of sauce out of the freezer
- Boil water
- Cook pasta as per directions
- Reserve pasta water
- Drain pasta
- Add the pasta back in the pot with some sauce, and add the reserved water if you need to thin the sauce out
- Grate Parmesan cheese and mix
- Serve on a plate, dust more Parmesan and fresh basil, and there! Meal in minutes!
This can come in so handy on a busy weeknight or even if you just want to treat yourself for lunch! Hope you enjoyed this little bonus! For more details on how to cook, freeze, and reheat your Bolognese sauce, I recommend you check out the full recipe! But if you’ve been following me on Instagram and checking out my stories (which I highly recommend that you do so that you’re part of the behind the scenes glimpses and my kitchen experiments! It’s lots of fun!), then you’ll see I’ve been totally having fun making quick pasta dishes with my Bolognese sauce, in the method I’ve described.
While this is very easy and satisfying, what if you wanted to take your Bolognese pasta to the next level? Stove-top pasta is great, but I have to let you guys in on something - I really do love casseroles! I don’t know why, but watching a pasta bake in the oven, taking it out, having a great smell is just so much more special to me! A stove-top mac and cheese - or any stove-top pasta - sure is nice and creamy, but you’ll notice that all of my mac and cheese recipes on this blog are actually baked! I just love a golden brown cheesy layer and crust! Casseroles are just so much fun to dig into as well, especially if you’ve got a personal-sized one!
That’s what we’ll do here in this Bacon & Bolognese Macaroni Bake. I actually have a Baked Cheeseburger Mac & Cheese that features ground beef, lots of tomatoes, and cheddar cheese. It’s like the ultimate cheeseburger in a macaroni! It’s so good! While thinking of this dish, I was worried that this would become almost identical to that dish. Although a Bolognese sauce certainly does not taste like an American meat sauce, I still didn’t want the underlying elements to be too similar!
I had loads of bacon in the freezer. Let me tell you, this bacon is going to be a game changer! The flavors of the crispy bacon combined with the essence of the Bolognese and the cheeses in here. My oh my! This combo was deadly! I’ll be chopping off with some chives for some freshness and there you have it!
Are you ready for this? I wish this could be my dinner right now! It was so epic, and I hope you enjoy this leftover makeover recipe! Let me know in the comments if I should do more of these!
What pasta should I use for this bolognese Macaroni bake?▼
While “macaroni” is in the title of this Bacon & Bolognese Macaroni Bake, I’m actually not using macaroni. The first reason is that I didn’t have any on hand. The second reason is that I actually had a fun shape called Chiocciole. These are essentially very fat textured elbow macaronis!
I was really happy to use this shape here! If you’ve checked out the Bolognese sauce recipe, traditionally a Bolognese is served with thick-shaped pastas, such as linguine or tagliatelle, or in lasagnas. You want a thick pasta so that the sauce can coat it properly your pasta. There’s actually no such thing as “spaghetti Bolognese” - it’s something that Americans came up with:)
Using chiocciole really was the perfect choice here! The sauce coated the pasta perfectly, and that thick pasta really added some body! If you don’t have it - which I don’t blame you because I’ve only seen it in the store by one brand! - then are are some other pasta shapes that I think will do the job just fine!
- Macaroni
- Ziti
- Rigatoni
- Fusilli
- Maccheroni (straight tubes)
- Wheels (these would be so much fun!)
Essentially, any large tube-shaped pasta will be good for this Bolognese pasta bake! Use what you have and get creative if you want!
Tools Needed
Ingredients in Bacon & Bolognese Macaroni Bake
We’ll go over what we’ll need for this Bacon & Bolognese Macaroni Bake. Most of the ingredients for this dish are actually in the Bolognese sauce. While this is a recipe intended for leftover sauce, if you want to make your Ragu alla Bolognese fresh for this pasta, then by all means go for it! I’ll give you all the instructions for how to make the sauce if you’re making it fresh right now. Otherwise, if you’re defrosting your Bolognese sauce or taking it out from the fridge, then you can jump straight to the macaroni part of the recipe!
By the way - this is a RECIPE FOR ONE! Yup, personal casserole time! I know sometimes it’s frustrating when you’re cooking for yourself and recipes serve 8-10! Yikes! If you are going to make this for a family - which there’s no reason why not to! - then you can easily scale the ingredient quantities. For all measurements and the full instructions, make sure you scroll down to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD!
For the Bolognese Sauce
- Ground beef: I used extra lean ground beef here to keep the authenticity of the Bolognese. If you don’t eat beef, feel free to substitute with pork. If you’d like to add both proteins, then go for it and let me know in the comments what you think! I’ve read Bolognese variations that also use ground veal.
- Vegetables: The “sofritto” of Bolognese consists of onions, carrots, and celery. These are the core veggies of the Bolognese sauce. In my version, I’m also adding zucchini and eggplant to add a little more body.
- Tomatoes: A traditional Bolognese sauce only uses a minimal amount of tomatoes (1/2 what I’m using technically). I’m sorry, but I’m Anadi and I love my tomatoes! I’ll be using a combination of passata, which are strained tomatoes, and canned San Marzano tomatoes. The passata will help to create the base of the sauce, and I crushed the San Marzano tomatoes with my hands to add extra texture to the sauce. If you’re a tomato lover like I am, you’re going to love this version of Bolognese!
- Wine: Traditionally, a white wine is used. You can use red wine if that’s all you have, and this is used in a typical “ragu.” If you don’t want to cook with wine, you can use beef broth.
- Nutmeg: I love nutmeg, I add it to my Béchamel Sauce! Hazan’s recipe uses nutmeg, so I’ll be incorporating that into my Bolognese sauce. The nutmeg really makes the sauce aromatic, and a little definitely goes a long way!
- Milk: Adds a rich flavor depth to the sauce in addition to tenderizing the meat.
- Bay leaf: Optional, but it adds that extra something something.. you know? I love the flavor that comes from bay leaf!
- Salt & pepper: To taste.
For the Macaroni Bake
- Elbow macaroni or a similar shape
- Bacon
- Cheddar cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Chives
How to Make Bacon & Bolognese Macaroni Bake
As mentioned earlier, if you’ve got your leftover sauce ready to go, then feel free to skip to the Macaroni Bake section here!
For the Bolognese Sauce
- Finely chop the veggies and set them aside.
- Melt butter in a large pot and add onions, celery and carrots. Stir and cook until the veggies soften and turn sweet.
- Add eggplant and zucchini, stir and cook until the veggies start to soften and release some of their moisture.
- Add the meat and break any lumps with a wooden spoon while continuously stirring. Season with salt and pepper.
- Once the meat is no longer pink, add the milk. Bring the milk to a simmer, turn down the heat and cook until all the milk has simmered away.
- Add a fresh grating of nutmeg.
- Add the wine, bring to a simmer and cook until all the wine has simmered away.
- While the wine is simmering, transfer all the canned San Marzano tomatoes to a large bowl and lightly crush the whole tomatoes with your hands.
- Add the hand crushed tomatoes to the pot, along with the passata. Stir well, season with salt, add bay leaf and bring up to a simmer.
- Once the sauce reaches a simmer, lower the heat so that the sauce has the laziest of simmers and cook until the sauce reduced and thickened. The sauce is ready when you start seeing some grease along the sides of the pot and the tomatoes have sweetened. At this stage you can simmer it as fast as you want, however, the slower you go, the better the end product will be.
For the Macaroni Bake
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Bring water up to a rolling boil for your pasta and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until al dente.
- If you have fresh bolognese sauce on hand, mix the desired amount with the pasta and transfer the pasta to a casserole. For frozen bolognese sauce, let the sauce defrost naturally overnight, or mix the sauce with the pasta in a pot and simmer gently until the sauce has warmed through.
- Scatter the cubed cheddar cheese around the casserole, implant some of the cubes deep within the casserole.
- Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15-25 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.
- While the pasta is baking, add bacon strips to a cold pan and set the heat to medium. Cook until the bacon is golden brown and crispy while turning often.
- Once the bacon is cooked, pat any excess grease on a paper towel and chop into bits.
- After the casserole is ready, top with parmesan cheese, bacon bits and freshly chopped chives. Serve hot.
Tips for a Great Casserole
- Let the oven finish preheating to speed up the cooking process.
- Use a good quality casserole, a great casserole will keep your pasta warm until the last bite.
- Make sure to sharpen your knives before working with chives. To get the best looking chopped chives, use a sharp knife.
- Feel free to substitute the bacon with chorizo, turkey bacon or even ham.
- Any “macaroni-like” shape would be great for this bake, you want the sauce to go all over and inside that pasta.
More Baked Pasta Recipes
If you loved this Bacon & Bolognese Macaroni Bake with leftover Bolognese sauce, you’re going to love these other pasta casserole recipes!
If you liked this recipe please let me know in the comments. Tag your post on social media using #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!
Recipe by Anadi Misra
Hearty Bacon & Bolognese Macaroni Bake combines creamy, cheesy pasta with rich meat sauce and crispy bacon. The ultimate comfort food fusion that the whole family will love.
Oven-baked
Rate this recipe ✦
10 min
Prep
25 min
Cook
35 min
Total
2
servings
hard
Level
Ingredients
Ingredients
Tap any quantity to scale
For the Bolognese Sauce
- (28 g) butter
- (50 g) celery(finely diced)Shop →
- (80 g) onions(finely diced)
- (65 g) carrots(finely diced)
- (41 g) eggplant(finely diced)
- (60 g) zucchini(finely diced)
- (450 g) ground beef
- (240 ml) milk
- (0 g) nutmegShop →
- (240 ml) white wine
- (600 ml) passataShop →
- San Marzano tomatoesShop →
- bay leafShop →
- salt(to taste)Shop →
- pepper(to taste)Shop →
For the macaroni
- (227 g) elbow macaroniShop →
- (480 ml) Bolognese Sauce , prepared · make your own
- bacon strips
- cheddar cheese(cut to 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch cubes, to taste)
- Parmesan cheese(finely grated, to taste)
- chives(finely chopped)
Instructions
For the Bolognese Sauce
- 1
Finely chop the veggies and set them aside.
Finely chop the veggies and set them aside.
- 2
Melt butter in a large pot and add onions, celery and carrots. Stir and cook until the veggies soften and turn sweet.
Melt butter in a large pot and add onions, celery and carrots. Stir and cook until the veggies soften and turn sweet.
- 3
Add eggplant and zucchini, stir and cook until the veggies start to soften and release some of their moisture.
Add eggplant and zucchini, stir and cook until the veggies start to soften and release some of their moisture.
- 4
Add the meat and break any lumps with a wooden spoon while continuously stirring. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the meat and break any lumps with a wooden spoon while continuously stirring. Season with salt and pepper.
- 5
Once the meat is no longer pink, add the milk. Bring the milk to a simmer, turn down the heat and cook until all the milk has simmered away.
Once the meat is no longer pink, add the milk. Bring the milk to a simmer, turn down the heat and cook until all the milk has simmered away.
- 6
Add a fresh grating of nutmeg.
Add a fresh grating of nutmeg.
- 7
Add the wine, bring to a simmer and cook until all the wine has simmered away.
Add the wine, bring to a simmer and cook until all the wine has simmered away.
- 8
While the wine is simmering, transfer all the canned San Marzano tomatoes to a large bowl and lightly crush the whole tomatoes with your hands.
While the wine is simmering, transfer all the canned San Marzano tomatoes to a large bowl and lightly crush the whole tomatoes with your hands.
- 9
Add the hand crushed tomatoes to the pot, along with the passata. Stir well, season with salt, add bay leaf and bring up to a simmer.
Add the hand crushed tomatoes to the pot, along with the passata. Stir well, season with salt, add bay leaf and bring up to a simmer.
- 10
Once the sauce reaches a simmer, lower the heat so that the sauce has the laziest of simmers and cook until the sauce has reduced and thickened. The sauce is ready when you start seeing some grease along the sides of the pot and the tomatoes have sweetened. At this stage you can simmer it as fast as you want, however, the slower you go, the better the end product will be.
Once the sauce reaches a simmer, lower the heat so that the sauce has the laziest of simmers and cook until the sauce has reduced and thickened. The sauce is ready when you start seeing some grease along the sides of the pot and the tomatoes have sweetened. At this stage you can simmer it as fast as you want, however, the slower you go, the better the end product will be.
For the macaroni
- 1
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
- 2
Bring water up to a rolling boil for your pasta and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until al dente.
Bring water up to a rolling boil for your pasta and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until al dente.
- 3
If you have fresh bolognese sauce on hand, mix the desired amount with the pasta and transfer the pasta to a casserole. For frozen bolognese sauce, let the sauce defrost naturally overnight, or mix the sauce with the pasta in a pot and simmer gently until the sauce has warmed through.
If you have fresh bolognese sauce on hand, mix the desired amount with the pasta and transfer the pasta to a casserole. For frozen bolognese sauce, let the sauce defrost naturally overnight, or mix the sauce with the pasta in a pot and simmer gently until the sauce has warmed through.
- 4
Scatter the cubed cheddar cheese around the casserole, implanting some of the cubes deep within the casserole.
Scatter the cubed cheddar cheese around the casserole, implanting some of the cubes deep within the casserole.
- 5
Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15-25 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.
Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15-25 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.
- 6
While the pasta is baking, add bacon strips to a cold pan and set the heat to medium. Cook until the bacon is golden brown and crispy while turning often.
While the pasta is baking, add bacon strips to a cold pan and set the heat to medium. Cook until the bacon is golden brown and crispy while turning often.
- 7
Once the bacon is cooked, pat any excess grease on a paper towel and chop into bits.
Once the bacon is cooked, pat any excess grease on a paper towel and chop into bits.
- 8
After the casserole is ready, top with parmesan cheese, bacon bits and freshly chopped chives. Serve hot.
After the casserole is ready, top with parmesan cheese, bacon bits and freshly chopped chives. Serve hot.
Did you make this recipe? Tag @cooking.with.anadi on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingwithanadi
Tested & written in Anadi’s kitchen
Recipe history
- April 16, 2026 — Reworked and refreshed for the 2026 relaunch — new photography, restructured and standardized ingredients & instructions.
Filed under
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