Bacon is one of the most versatile – and game-changing – ingredients around, with its salty, meaty flavour adding a savoury note to so many dishes. The evocative smell of rashers cooking is also sheer heaven, so satisfy your cravings with our collection of warming soups, winning breakfasts, tasty pastas and comforting stews.
Here's a twist on that Deep South favourite, shrimp and grits. Creamy polenta, enriched with butter and cheese, is topped with fresh prawns, bacon and spring onions with a good kick of garlic. The bacon adds saltiness and crunch to the sweetness of the prawns. Although the recipe uses standard polenta, you can reduce the cooking time by using the quick-cook variety.
Get the recipe for cheesy polenta with prawns and bacon here
Celeriac is rather an odd-looking vegetable, but its nutty taste with a gentle hint of celery, makes it a star of the vegetable world. It works perfectly in this creamy soup, combined with Brussels sprouts and topped with pieces of fried, crisp streaky bacon. You could substitute any green cabbage for the sprouts. It's a simple, hearty soup which freezes very well.
Chicken pieces, smoked bacon and button mushrooms in a creamy herb and mustard sauce make a truly tasty pie filling. You can use shop-bought puff or shortcrust pastry, which makes it a pretty simple pie to put together. Prepare the whole thing in advance too – it will keep overnight in the fridge. When cooking with bacon, taste for seasoning before adding salt as it may be salty enough.
Let's face it – who can resist a cheese toastie, fried until crisp and crunchy on the outside, with melting cheese oozing out. This recipe is definitely carb central, as the sandwich is stuffed with cooked sliced potatoes, cheese, streaky bacon and pickled jalapeños. The trick is to put a heavy pan on top of the sandwich while it's frying, to press the filling together and ensure crisp, evenly cooked bread.
Wrapping a piece of meaty white fish, such as cod or monkfish, in smoked streaky bacon keeps the fish moist and tender, and prevents it drying out. It also adds a welcome saltiness and crunchy texture. This is a very easy supper for two to rustle up. Once the fish and bacon are browned and in the oven, the vegetables and cubed potato are cooked until tender. A sprig of rosemary in each parcel adds notes of fragrant citrus and pine.
Get the recipe for bacon-wrapped cod with peas and leeks here
Take mac 'n' cheese to the next level with this indulgent recipe. It uses chopped pancetta, but just use unsmoked bacon lardons for the same flavour and texture. The decadent white cheese sauce is enriched with double cream and crème fraîche. Best of all, the macaroni is pre-cooked, so it just takes 40 minutes to get it on the table.
This rich, creamy chowder is a meal in itself, served with crusty bread or crackers. To shuck the clams, the easiest and quickest method is to put them into a large saucepan, and add a splash of dry white wine or water. Bring to the boil then cover, take off the heat and leave for a few minutes until the clams have opened. The contrast of the fat, juicy clams with crisp, salty bacon is a winner.
A classic quiche is always a great dish for lunch or dinner, simply served with a green salad. The bacon adds a salty, meaty note to the creamy egg filling. To bake the pastry blind, line the case with foil, add baking beans, then bake until the pastry is still pale but cooked. Remove the quiche from the oven when it still has a slight wobble, as the filling will set further on cooling. Our recipe gives instructions for making pastry from scratch but you can use shop-bought shortcrust if you prefer.
A tasty carbonara is one of the easiest pasta dishes to prepare, and there's a good chance you'll have all the ingredients to hand – eggs, spaghetti, bacon (guanciale is traditional but you can use bacon) and Parmesan or pecorino. The silky sauce is a combination of the egg yolks, cheese and a little of the cooking water, which adds starch and causes the sauce to stick to the pasta. Bacon adds a salty, savoury note.
Get the recipe for spaghetti carbonara here
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This very British pie has a rich, savoury filling with beef, mushrooms, bacon, beef stock and ale. You want quite a hoppy craft ale for it, such as an IPA. The filling needs slow cooking, but it will keep in the fridge for up to three days and freezes very well. All that's left is to cover it with some shop-bought puff pastry and bake until golden and bubbling. Serve with potatoes and seasonal vegetables.
Just imagine that waft of home-baked bread, served warm from the oven with a slab of butter! This is a straightforward loaf, but the wow factor comes from its filling of smoked bacon and grated cheese. The recipe makes four small loaves, so serve one warm then cool and freeze the others for another day. Allow the loaf to thaw for an hour, then flash in a hot oven for five minutes to heat through.
Here's a hearty soup, perfect for a chilly day. It's packed with protein from the bacon and lentils, with plenty of vegetables too. The pasta used is orzo, a small pasta shape which resembles a grain of rice. If you can't find it, try orecchiette or small pasta shells instead. We highly recommend serving it topped with some grated mature Cheddar.
Take eggy bread, or pain perdu, to the next level with this twist using crumpets. The egg mixture contains crisp bacon and Parmesan, so it's nice and salty, but you do need to be generous with freshly-ground black pepper to liven up the mixture. When you cook the dipped, egg-soaked crumpets, ensure the heat is high enough to give a crisp and crunchy exterior, without burning.
Add another easy pasta bake to your midweek menu with mushrooms and bacon, cooked with fusilli in a creamy cheese sauce and topped with extra grated cheese. You can use any pasta shapes you have in the cupboard, but if using spaghetti or tagliatelle, cut the pasta in half before cooking to make eating easier. It's all ready in just 25 minutes.
Get the recipe for creamy mushroom and bacon pasta bake here
Crunchy blanched broccoli and crisp, smoked bacon make a great combination for an easy salad. You can mix and match the topping as you like, using a mustardy vinaigrette as in our recipe, or a Caesar-style dressing. Add tomatoes or rocket leaves and some toasted seeds. Our recipe also calls for quails' eggs, although small hens' eggs are easier to peel. Serve with Parmesan shavings for a filling main course salad.
Cassoulet is a hearty bean stew from southwest France. It's a warming, filling dish, made all in one pan. Begin the day before serving, soaking cannellini or haricot beans overnight, adding double the volume of water to beans. Chunky pork sausages are combined with the beans, smoked bacon lardons, tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs and spices, and slow-cooked for three hours. To finish, the dish is topped with fresh breadcrumbs.
Just imagine the gorgeous combination of fluffy sweet potato, melted cheese, crisp smoked bacon, smoky paprika, sour cream and chives – pretty unbeatable, frankly! The sweet potatoes are cooked on the barbecue in this recipe, but if the weather is grim, they work just as well baked in a hot oven.
A simple and tasty midweek meal which the kids will just love. Bacon really lifts pasta, adding a salty, savoury note. There's a simple sauce to rustle up, with sautéed onion, peas and bacon, cooked in a little stock. It's tossed with the pasta and scattered with grated Parmesan or Cheddar. Add fresh mint or basil to serve.
We won't deny this classic French dish of beef in red wine takes time to make, but it's pretty much hands-off time, while the beef marinates and is slow-cooked on the hob. The result is meltingly tender meat in a glossy, rich sauce. Once the beef is cooked, add crispy bacon, button mushrooms and small onions to finish the dish. It's perfect served with buttery mashed potato.
Bacon, cream cheese and grated Cheddar all rolled up in soft pastry, makes a moreish snack with drinks or for a lunch box. There's a homemade dough to make, but you can whizz it up in the food processor to save time. Use smoked or unsmoked bacon, according to your preference. You could even use the same filling for a sheet of ready-rolled shortcrust pastry too.
This Italian-Thai fusion dish really explodes with flavour. The classic Italian combination of pasta, eggs and bacon is joined with Asian-style seasonings, such as soy sauce, soya bean paste and chilli. It's a taste sensation of sweet, salty, umami and heat, all ready to serve in just 20 minutes.
Sometimes cauliflower cheese can be a little bland, so try this jazzed-up version to tempt kids into eating more vegetables! The white sauce is really cheesy and creamy, pepped up with a little mustard. Add cherry tomatoes, crisp smoky bacon and more cheese, and grill until golden and bubbling. You could add some frozen peas too, to up the veg content.
Get the recipe for cauliflower cheese with crispy bacon here
A comforting soup which is as nutritious as it is warming. This recipe uses dried haricot or cannellini beans, which need to be soaked overnight. But if you're in a rush, use drained and rinsed canned beans instead. The combination of beans, tomatoes, bacon and kale is filling, but we suggest serving with crusty bread for dunking. You could top it with grated Cheddar too.
For a special weekend brunch, try these tasty corn cakes. The batter contains ricotta and polenta which gives a crunchier texture. The bacon is cooked and crumbled into the pancake batter for a lovely, salty taste. These are great topped with a poached egg and served with extra crispy bacon on the side.
Bacon jam is sweet, sour, salty and spicy, and makes a great addition to a cheese toastie, or served with pancakes, eggs and hash browns. You can buy it ready-made in jars, but it's easy to make your own in around 30 minutes and it will keep for up to two weeks in a sterilised jar in the fridge. Try our recipe which pairs it with avocado and smoked maple bacon in a sourdough sandwich.
Many vegetarians and vegans will confess that if there's one thing they miss, it's bacon! But you can make a vegan version quite easily, which will give you that salty, umami hit. Use sheets of rice wrappers and brush with a mixture of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and smoked paprika, and bake until crisp. Try it in our recipe for vegan burgers.
Get the recipe for vegan burgers with plant-based 'bacon' here
You can't fail to please with this easy potato bake, with the winning combination of bacon, cheese and onion. It would make a perfect side to roast chicken or serve on its own with a green salad. If you love cheese, increase the quantity and add extra grated cheese to the first and second layers of onions and bacon for a really indulgent dish.
Wrapping bacon around chicken pieces keeps the meat moist and adds a wonderfully salty, umami taste. Our recipe uses chicken thighs, but you could use chicken breast fillets too. Once browned and crisp, the chicken is cooked with seasonal vegetables in chicken stock. This version calls for leeks and frozen peas, but use whichever green vegetables you have to hand. Fresh basil stirred through towards the end of cooking and scattered on top adds a taste of summer.
Get the recipe for bacon-wrapped chicken with vegetables here
Bacon baklava may sound a bit off the wall, but adding a salty, savoury taste to something very sweet always works. Just think about salted caramel and you get the picture. Baklava is intensely nutty, dripping in honey and uses filo pastry, which you should keep covered with a damp cloth as you work. Always cut the baklava when it's raw, as the pastry becomes too crisp to cut once baked.
Bursting with autumnal flavours, this soup would also work well with pumpkin when it comes into season. The hearty dish is topped with extra crispy bacon, toasted pumpkin seeds and fried sage, which, if you've never tried it, adds a crisp, peppery note. Sage is quite strong in flavour, so it only works in robustly-flavoured dishes like this one. The soup also freezes well and will keep in the fridge for up to three days.
Get the recipe for bacon and butternut squash soup here
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