Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce – this is one of the best chicken pasta recipes I ever made! Lots of vegetables, chicken and bacon – and all of that is mixed in a delicious, creamy, homemade alfredo sauce.
Deliciously creamy homemade alfredo sauce perfectly combines all the flavors in this chicken and bacon pasta: garlic, spinach, tomatoes, and lots of spices! This is so tasty, you might want to double the recipe!
I love making chicken pasta recipes with cream-based sauces. Cream sauce absorbs the wonderful flavors from all the ingredients in the recipe, and with every single bite you get all the goodness and all the flavors! This chicken and bacon pasta recipe is a true comfort food!
Let’s be honest. Chicken pasta recipes can get boring and repetitive. Not in this recipe! Here, you sear the chicken (with spices), then mix it with vegetables, bacon and then coat it in garlic cream sauce. So good! This chicken and bacon pasta recipe is so easy to make and uses such basic ingredients, that you can easily make it on a regular busy weeknight!
It’s a gluten free friendly recipe, and all you need to do to make it gluten free is use gluten-free brown-rice penne pasta instead of regular penne.
Here is how you make chicken and bacon pasta:
In a large skillet, on high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until hot. Add chicken and cook on one side on high heat for 1 minute. While it cooks, sprinkle the uncooked sides of the chicken with paprika and Italian seasoning. Flip the chicken over, and cook on the other side for 1 minute on high heat. Reduce heat to medium, flip chicken over again and cook, covered, for several minutes until no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from the pan and keep chicken warm.
To the same pan (but without chicken), add chopped tomatoes, spinach, garlic, crushed red pepper, 1/3 of the chicken (sliced into small strips) and half the bacon (it should be already cooked and drained of fat). Mix everything.
Add half and half and bring to boil. Only after half and half starts boiling, add grated Parmesan cheese:
Immediately reduce to simmer and stir, while simmering, until the cheese melts and makes the sauce creamy, only about 1 minute (at most 2 minutes). Then, immediately remove from heat. Season with more crushed red pepper and salt, if needed.
In the mean time, cook pasta according to package instructions. Add cooked pasta to the skillet with the sauce. Add remaining half of baon (already cooked and drained of fat). Season with more salt if necessary. Slice the remaining 2/3 of chicken into thin strips. To serve, top the pasta with chicken strips and grated Parmesan cheese. Your chicken and bacon pasta is ready!
IF YOU LIKED THIS CHICKEN AND BACON PASTA, YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY THESE CHICKEN PASTA RECIPES:
Mushroom Chicken Pasta with creamy Pesto sauce and sun-dried tomatoes
Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Tomatoes in Asiago Cream Sauce
Spicy Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Peas
Chicken Alfredo Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato and Mozzarella Sauce
Also, I am often asked the following question in the comments:
WHAT IS HALF AND HALF?
Half and half is the US milk product that combines half milk half heavy cream whipping cream to form a lighter cream (unlike heavy cream). You can easily make it yourself by combining half milk and half heavy or whipping cream. If you live in the UK, half and half would be the equivalent of single cream. Alternatively, you can mix half double cream and half regular milk (if you live in the UK).
To make 1 cup of half and half, combine 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream).
Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce
Let’s be honest. Chicken pasta recipes can get boring. Not in this recipe! You’ll fall in love with the flavors in this Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce and will be surprised how easy it is to make it!
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb chicken ((chicken breasts or tenderloins))
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning ((thyme, oregano, basil – combined))
- 5 tomatoes ((medium, chopped in large cubes))
- 1 cup spinach (cooked)
- 5 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (, crushed)
- 6 bacon strips (, COOKED, DRAINED OF FAT, AND CHOPPED)
- 1 1/3 cups half and half
- 1 1/3 cups Parmesan cheese (, shredded)
- 10 oz penne pasta ((for gluten-free version, use gluten-free brown-rice penne))
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (grated, for serving)
- In a large skillet, on high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until hot. Add chicken and cook on one side on high heat for 1 minute. While it cooks, sprinkle the uncooked sides of the chicken with paprika and Italian seasoning. Flip the chicken over, and cook on the other side for 1 minute on high heat. Reduce heat to medium, flip chicken over again and cook, covered, for several minutes until no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from the pan and keep chicken warm.
- To the same pan (but without chicken), add chopped tomatoes, spinach, garlic, crushed red pepper, 1/3 of the chicken (sliced into small strips) and half the bacon (already cooked and drained of fat). Mix everything.
- Add half and half and bring to boil. Only after half and half starts boiling, add grated Parmesan cheese – immediately reduce to simmer and stir, while simmering, until the cheese melts and makes the sauce creamy, only about 1 minute (at most 2 minutes). Then, immediately remove from heat. Season with more crushed red pepper and salt, if needed.
- In the mean time bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta, rinse with cold water and drain again.
- Add pasta to the skillet with the sauce. Add remaining half of bacon (cooked and drained of fat). Season with more salt if necessary. Slice the remaining 2/3 of chicken into thin strips. To serve, top the pasta with chicken strips and grated Parmesan cheese.
WHAT IS HALF AND HALF? To make 1 cup of half and half, combine 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream).
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