These Macaroni Bites Are The Ultimate Christmas Crowd Pleasers
When the supermarkets start blasting the Christmas tunes on a continuous loop and all available surfaces are covered with tinsel, it can only mean one thing: party nibble season has arrived.
Christmas Eve and New Years Eve are the perfect nights to indulge in pigs and blankets, stuffing balls, and filo pastries – but it’s even better when it’s something homemade.
It might seem a bit of a hassle to make your own party food, especially on Christmas Eve when a million and one things are being prepped ahead of the big day, but I promise you that these macaroni bites are worth the fuss.
Still, if you want to avoid further chaos in the kitchen, you can always make them up to three months in advance and freeze them.
Even better; they’re also incredibly versatile – you can switch the cheddar for other hard cheeses, like gruyere, and you can use basil or parsley instead of chives.
But most importantly, they’re a long time favourite of my family and friends, and that’s always a sign of a good party pleaser – literally.
So, I challenge you to have a go at making your own party food this festive season and I hope you’ll agree it’s worth the extra effort:
Bacon and Chive Macaroni Bites
Ingredients
- Olive oil to drizzle
- 3 rashers of bacon
- 150 g mini macaroni shells [see notes]
- Handful of freshly chopped chives plus extra to serve [see notes]
- 50 g plain flour
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- salt and pepper to season
- parmesan grated, to garnish
For the Béchamel
- 50 g unsalted butter plus extra to grease
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 250 ml milk [see notes]
- ground nutmeg a pinch
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- 100 g cheddar grated [see notes]
Instructions
- Grease a 12-hole muffin tin with butter and preheat the oven to 160℃ fan.
- Pour a drizzle of olive oil into a large frying pan and place over a medium-high heat. Cook the bacon for about 5-10 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring onto a chopping board. Chop into small pieces and set aside for later.
- Bring a medium sized saucepan of salted water to the boil over a medium-high heat. Once it reaches a rolling boil, add the macaroni and cook for slightly less than the recommended cooking time – you want the macaroni to be al-dente, rather than fully cooked. Drain and set aside to cool while you make the béchamel sauce [see notes].
For the Béchamel
- Using the same saucepan you used to cook the macaroni, add the butter and melt over a medium-high heat. Add the flour and mix vigorously with a whisk for a minute or so. Keep whisking as you gradually add in the milk. Turn down the heat slightly if the bottom is beginning to catch or thicken too quickly.
- Keep whisking and cooking until a smooth, thickened sauce begins to form. Add in the ground nutmeg, garlic, and cheddar, and continue to whisk until melted and completely combined. Take off the heat and allow it to cool slightly.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the bacon, cooked macaroni, chives, flour, and béchamel sauce. At this stage, you can taste the mix and adjust the seasoning to preference.
- Once you’re happy with the taste, gradually fold in the beaten eggs until you have a mixture almost resembling pancake batter [see notes].
- Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin, distributing evenly. Top with some freshly grated parmesan before baking for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Turn the tray halfway through the cooking time to achieve an even bake.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before releasing from the tin and serving.
- They can be enjoyed warm or cold with other great party appetisers, like arancini.
Notes
Ingredients:
- Smaller macaroni shells are ideal here since they’ll fit better into the muffin tins than larger shells.
- Any milk fat content will do, it’s really just personal preference – I always use semi-skimmed for a happy medium.
- You can use a nice gruyere or comté in place of cheddar or some basil or parsley instead of chives – get creative!
- The macaroni should be al dente since it will be cooked a second time in the oven – we want to avoid soggy macaroni bites at all costs.
- Be careful when seasoning this dish since the bacon and cheese already contain a lot of salt.
- You also want to make sure the macaroni and béchamel sauce have cooled slightly before adding in the eggs as they might scramble with the heat.
- Freezing: After the macaroni bites have cooled, you can place them in the freezer – they’ll keep for up to 3 months.
I always love hearing from readers, so if you have any questions or would simply like to connect, fill out the form on my contact page or message me through my social media accounts:
