One Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta

Here is a hit for all ages!  Whether you’re a sophisticated grown up or a crazy toddler, who doesn’t love a juicy bacon cheeseburger?!  …However, those fat burgers can be a bit hard for little hands to handle and the meal doesn’t spread quite as far for a large family.   So here’s the trick, put it into a casserole form and you have a winner!

As odd as it many seem to some, this really does replicate the exact taste of one of them delux burgers!  Plus, like I said, this recipe makes PLENTY.  So if you’re feeding a hungry crowd or trying to stretch your dollar, this is a fantastic family-friendly meal!

The Starting Lineup

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 6 strips bacon
• 1 lb rotini pasta
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 15oz cans of crushed tomatoes
• 1 8oz can of tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 3 Tbsp mustard (classic yellow or dijon)
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 tomato, diced
•  1/2 large red onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup green onion, sliced
• 1/3 cup dill pickles, chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste
• EVOO 

We’ll start this pasta dish by first prepping our veggies!  The red onion & pickles will be incorporated into the pasta, where the green onion & tomatoes will be used for garnish.

 In a large skillet (remember this will ALL fit into one pot) add in your bacon slices and cook till crisp.  Set aside on a paper towel lined plate and drain almost all the bacon grease out.

Next add in a tbsp of EVOO along with the red onion & hamburger meat, cook all the way through while adding salt & pepper to taste and the Worcestershire sauce.  Drain the grease from the beef.

    Once the excess grease has been removed from the beef, add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, ketchup, mustard, chicken broth & pasta noodles.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes (stir once or twice).

  
  

After the 20’ish minutes have passed, your pasta will be perfectly tender.  Here is when you’ll fold in the chopped dill pickles and your cooked (crumbled) bacon *assuming you didn’t eat it all by now. 

Top this with all of the shredded cheddar and recover the skillet for about 5 more minutes, till the cheese has melted. 

Once the cheddar cheese is nice and gooey, top with the diced tomato and green onion because it is done!!  Enjoy!