Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Cheesy Bacon Alfredo Shells
Creamy Alfredo sauce is a good match for pasta shells, which catch little pockets of cheese sauce inside. Bacon adds a salty crunch to the soft pasta. Stir it through or leave it on top and enjoy a generous bowl while it's hot.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 9 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Pork
- Cuisine
- Italian
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
A few quick notes
1. Have drained shells ready
Cook shells according to their package, drain and set aside before combining with the completed cheese sauce.
2. Whisk milk in slowly
After flour clumps with melted butter, slowly whisk in the dairy and work out lumps as you go.
3. Melt cheese before pasta
Stir the cheese into the seasoned sauce until melted before adding the cooked shells to the pan.
Get to know the ingredients
Medium pasta shells
Use the medium shells listed, cooked separately before they're stirred into the Alfredo sauce.
Dairy choice
Half and half or milk are both listed for whisking into the butter-flour mixture until smooth.
Cooked chopped bacon
Have bacon cooked and chopped before the last mixing stage, ready to stir in or sprinkle on top.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 3 steps completeMake room for Cheesy Bacon Alfredo Shells
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Choose bacon through or over
Stir bacon into the sauced pasta or scatter over the top, then serve the shells immediately.
A little more help as you go
A meatless option is given
You can leave out bacon for the vegetarian variation of the creamy cheese pasta.
Season sauce before the cheese
Stir garlic powder, salt and pepper into the smooth milk mixture before melting in the cheese.
A few questions you might have
Can I use an Italian cheese blend?
Shredded Parmesan or an Italian blend are both listed for melting into the Alfredo sauce before the pasta joins it.
Does the bacon need cooking in the sauce pan?
The bacon is listed already cooked and chopped, added only after pasta has been mixed into the sauce.
What should the flour mixture look like first?
Stir flour into melted butter until it clumps, then begin slowly whisking in milk or half and half.
Is fresh garlic used here?
Garlic powder is stirred into the sauce with salt and pepper; no fresh garlic preparation is listed.
Does this need baking after combining?
The directions finish by stirring in pasta and bacon, then serving immediately without an oven stage.
Any more cooking tips?
Leave out the bacon to make this a vegetarian meal.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: lecremedelacrumb.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.