Chicken Bacon Ranch Mac n' Cheese

3h 30m
Serves 11
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Directions

  1. 1Cook down the sweet onions until they start to brown, then add in the diced jalapeños or fresno chilis and minced garlic.
  2. 2Pour over 450ml (16oz) of chicken bone broth and let it boil over high heat until completely reduced.
  3. 3To your slow cooker, add the diced chicken breast, turkey bacon, a packet of ranch seasoning, 30g (1.5 Tbsp) of hot honey, 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh dill, garlic powder, black pepper, and red chili flakes to taste.
  4. 4Pour over the cooked pepper and bone broth mixture.
  5. 5Cover the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or on LOW for 3-4 hours.
  6. 6Once cooked, use tongs to shred the chicken breast.
  7. 7Prepare the blended sauce by combining 800g of 2% cottage cheese, 160g of parmigiano reggiano, 420g of fat free milk, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, and salt & pepper to taste; blend until smooth.
  8. 8Pour the blended cheese sauce over the chicken mixture in the slow cooker and add in some chopped chives, then mix well.
  9. 9Add 672g of pasta, cooked to 50% (half the time shown on the box), to the slow cooker and mix it in with the sauce and chicken.
  10. 10Cover and cook on high for another 15-20 minutes to finish cooking the pasta and thicken the sauce.
  11. 11Add 10 slices of cooked center-cut bacon (baked at 400 degrees for 16 minutes or until desired crispiness) to the mac n' cheese and mix well.
  12. 12Garnish with additional chopped chives.

Ingredients

  • 3 sweet onions
  • 6 jalapeños or fresno chilis
  • 8 cloves minced garlic
  • 450 ml chicken bone broth
  • 896 g chicken breast
  • 6 slices turkey bacon
  • 1 packet ranch seasoning
  • 30 g hot honey
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill
  • garlic powder
  • black pepper
  • red chili flakes
  • 800 g 2% cottage cheese
  • 160 g parmigiano reggiano
  • 420 g fat free milk
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 672 g pasta
  • 10 slices centercut bacon
  • handful chopped chives

Equipment

slow cookerpantongsblender

Tips

  • For accurate serving sizes, weigh your empty slow cooker before starting. Once done, weigh again and subtract the 'before' weight to get the total recipe weight. Divide this by the number of servings (11) for the exact serving size weight.
  • Store everything frozen; no need to thaw. Just microwave with 2-3 tablespoons of milk or water, cover with a paper towel, microwave for 3-4 minutes, mix, then microwave another 1-2 minutes. Add more liquid to reconstitute the sauce/increase creaminess.
  • Blend the cottage cheese for 2-3 minutes to ensure it’s completely smooth; heating it slightly in the microwave can help.
  • Cook the pasta to 50% of the time shown on the box (half-cooked).