The Sneaky Way To Get Bacon-Flavored Mac And Cheese Without Adding Meat

If there's anything better than macaroni and cheese, it's mac with a meat product like bacon. But if you're cooking for people who eat meat as well as those who don't, there's a clever way to satisfy both camps and serve up a bacon-flavored version of the dish without adding any meat at all: use smoked cheese.

Smoked cheese is one of the secret ingredients for making the best shepherd's pie, and it's dynamite in this popular pasta dish too. Because smoked cheeses go through a wood-fire smoking process just like meats, they take on some of the same flavor profiles, which they impart to a dish when added.

Any smoked cheese can be swapped in for its non-smoked counterpart to achieve that meaty essence. Smoked Gouda, cheddar, Havarti, and Gruyère are some that melt particularly well. You can use just smoked cheeses in your mac sauce — whether that's one variety or a mixture — or combine smoked and non-smoked cheeses. Experimentation will help you find the flavor that resonates best with you and your crew.

For the best results, make sure to use a high-quality wood-smoked cheese product, not one that's chemically imbued with smoke flavor or artificially made to look smoky with color additives. You should also grate the cheese yourself. Using pre-grated cheese is one of the common mistakes to avoid when making a creamy pasta sauce, as it contains anti-clumping additives designed to keep the shreds separate in their package, but these coatings also prevent the bits from melting together properly.

There are other ways to sneak in bacon-esque flavor without real meat — and if you want to employ these flavor hacks but need to make a vegan dish, we've got you covered there too. You can add smoke flavor to both dairy and nondairy mac and cheese by preparing your recipe as usual and then placing the finished dish in a smoker. Smoke it for 45 minutes to two hours, depending on the strength of smoky flavor you want. Keep in mind that the noodles absorb the smokiness pretty rapidly.

A smoky rub or seasoning blend typically used for meat can also be added to your dish, either in the sauce or as a crumb topping. Nutritional yeast, frequently used to achieve cheesy flavor in dairy-free mac and cheese, can be swapped for a barbecue-flavored variety to bring that smoky, meat-like flavor.

Liquid smoke is another option. The liquid smoke that Food Network star Alton Brown buys regularly, Lazy Kettle Brand Hickory Liquid Smoke, is both gluten-free and vegan-friendly. Just a small amount added to your sauce will lend that hickory-smoked bacon essence without a trace of actual meat. Remember that liquid smoke is highly concentrated, so a little goes a long way — it's best to add small amounts and taste as you go until you achieve the desired level of smokiness.