Easy Cheese Sauce with Thyme and Bacon
A classic cheese sauce loaded with crispy bacon and fresh thyme, tossed through pasta.
Ingredients
- Pasta of your choice, 600g fresh or 480g dried
- 340g streaky bacon (or your preferred bacon)
- 6 tbsp butter, divided
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 480ml whole milk
- 300g cheese (200g cheddar and 100g Parmesan), grated
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve
Instructions
- Fry the bacon in 1 tbsp of the melted butter over a medium-high heat until crisp. Set aside on paper towels, then roughly chop once cool so you have a mix of crumbs and bigger pieces.
- Melt the remaining butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the flour and whisk into a paste for a minute to cook out the flour.
- Turn the heat down and gradually whisk in the milk, making sure to incorporate the flour paste from the bottom and sides of the pan. Add a little more milk if it looks too thick.
- Continue to cook, whisking, until it begins to simmer, then turn the heat to low and add the cheese in three lots, whisking each in before adding the next.
- Add the black pepper and most of the bacon (reserve a little for the top).
- Stir in the cooked pasta and let it bubble gently in the sauce for a minute. Add a splash of pasta water if you need to loosen it.
- Serve topped with the remaining bacon and thyme.