Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce - an Italian-inspired dish with lots of vegetables! Sliced chicken breast and bacon are tossed with veggies and penne pasta in a delicious, creamy, homemade Alfredo sauce made with Parmesan cheese.
Craving an easy-to-make comfort food that a whole family will love? Then, make this chicken and bacon pasta! Cream sauce absorbs the wonderful flavors from the ingredients in the recipe, and with every single bite, you get all the goodness and all the flavors! This is one of the best chicken pasta recipes you'll ever try!
Cooking Tips:
- Use thinly-sliced skinless, boneless chicken breasts or chicken tenderloin meat. Either cut of meat will work.
- Use shredded Parmesan cheese. Do not use grated Parmesan cheese, use the shredded kind. What I usually do is buy a block of Parmesan cheese and shred it myself. Freshly shredding the cheese results in the best sauce texture. You can, however, use store-bought pre-shredded Parmesan cheese. Just do not use the grated kind.
- You can use cooked spinach, frozen spinach, or fresh spinach. All will work.
- Make this chicken pasta gluten-free. All you need to do is use gluten-free brown-rice penne pasta instead of regular penne. You can also use gluten-free quinoa pasta or lentil pasta.
What is half-and-half?
- You can use either heavy cream or half-and-half in this recipe.
- Half-and-half is the US milk product that combines ½ whole milk + ½ heavy cream or whipping cream to form a lighter cream (unlike heavy cream).
- Substitute ½ cup of milk + ½ cup of heavy cream for 1 cup of half-and-half.
- 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).
How to cook pasta al dente
- To cook pasta al dente (which literally means "to the tooth" or firm to bite), cook pasta about 2 minutes less than indicated on the package instructions.
Do you rinse pasta?
- If using gluten-free pasta, rinse it with cold water after cooking to prevent it from getting mushy.
- If using regular, wheat pasta, do not rinse it with cold water. Rinsing pasta with cold water removes the starch which helps absorb the sauce.
How to store and reheat leftover chicken pasta:
- You can store this chicken pasta refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheat the pasta gently on the stovetop on medium-low heat, without simmering.
- Or microwave for 1 minute, checking for doneness every 30 seconds. Make sure the sauce does not overheat and separate.
- Keep in mind that reheating the cream sauce on high heat will cause the cream to separate.
- I do not recommend freezing this dish. If you freeze it, the creamy sauce might not have the same texture when you reheat it. It might separate.
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 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!
Deliciously creamy homemade alfredo sauce perfectly combines all the flavors in this chicken and bacon pasta: garlic, spinach, tomatoes, and lots of spices! So tasty, you might want to double the recipe!
How to make chicken pasta
1) In a large skillet, on high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until hot. Add skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or tenderloins) and cook on one side on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes.
2) While the chicken cooks sprinkle the uncooked sides of the chicken with paprika and Italian seasoning.
3) Flip the chicken over, and cook on the other side for 3 minutes on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low-medium, flip the chicken over again and cook, covered, for several more minutes until no longer pink in the center. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep the chicken warm.
4) To the same pan (but without chicken), add heavy cream and bring to boil. Add shredded Parmesan cheese. Reduce to simmer (low-medium heat) and stir, while simmering, until the cheese melts and the sauce is creamy, for about 1 or 3 minutes.
5) To the same pan with the creamy sauce, add chopped tomatoes, spinach, garlic, crushed red pepper. Stir in the sauce on medium heat just until the spinach starts to wilt and sinks into the sauce. Add ⅓ of the cooked chicken (sliced into small strips) and half the bacon (already cooked and drained of fat). Mix everything.
6) In the meantime, bring a large pan of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain.
7) Add cooked pasta to the skillet with the sauce.
8) When ready to serve, top the pasta with the remaining half of bacon (already cooked and drained of fat) and the remaining ⅔ of the cooked chicken (sliced into thin strips).
9) Sprinkle the pasta with finely shredded Parmesan cheese.
What to serve with the chicken pasta:
A salad, of course! I would serve a very simple and basic salad (that you don't even need a recipe for) with greens, such as simple spinach salad with parmesan and pine nuts or arugula salad with balsamic dressing.
If you want a more sophisticated salad, I would serve this chicken pasta with a delicious cranberry spinach salad with cashews and goat cheese. I also highly recommend this amazing arugula salad with apples, cranberries, and pecans or tomato cucumber avocado salad with basil pesto.
Other Chicken Pasta Recipes:
I love making chicken pasta recipes with a variety of ingredients, such as vegetables, bacon, or cream-based sauces. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken and Mozzarella
- Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes
- Chicken Zucchini Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Parmesan Cheese
Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb chicken (skinless, boneless chicken breasts or tenderloins)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (thyme, oregano, basil - combined)
- salt to taste
- 1.5 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 5 tomatoes (medium, chopped in large cubes)
- 3 cups fresh spinach or 1 cup cooked spinach
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes crushed
- 6 bacon strips cooked, drained off fat, and chopped
- 10 oz penne pasta (for gluten-free version, use gluten-free brown-rice penne)
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded, for serving
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet, on medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook on one side on medium-high heat for 4 minutes. While it cooks, sprinkle the uncooked sides of the chicken with paprika, Italian seasoning, and salt. Flip the chicken over, and cook on the other side for 3 more minutes on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low-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 heavy cream and bring to boil. Only after the heavy cream starts boiling, add shredded Parmesan cheese. Immediately reduce to simmer (low-medium heat) and stir, while simmering, until the cheese melts and the sauce is creamy, for about 1 or 3 minutes.
- To the same pan with the creamy sauce, add chopped tomatoes, fresh spinach, garlic, crushed red pepper. Stir in the sauce on medium heat just until the spinach starts to wilt and sinks into the sauce. Add ⅓ of the cooked chicken (sliced into small strips) and half the bacon (already cooked and drained of fat). Mix everything. Remove from heat.
- In the meantime bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta, and cook according to instructions (usually 10 to 15 minutes). Drain the pasta.
- Add cooked pasta to the skillet with the sauce and reheat on low heat. When ready to serve, top the pasta with the remaining half of bacon (cooked, drained of fat, chopped, gently reheated) and the remaining ⅔ of the cooked chicken (sliced into small strips, gently reheated). This is done for presentation purposes.
- When serving, top the pasta with ½ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Ava Geiger
We decided to make this tonight but our cream never thickened 🙁 We thought we did everything right... any suggestions?
Julia Blom
This is one of our all time favorites. I add some extra tomatoes to make it a more rosa cream sauce. It’s just as good the next day, if there are any leftovers.
Brenda
Awesome recipe! I make it all the time. But please tell me how to stop the cream from curdling when I add it. It does not stay smooth looking 🙁 I do use canned tomatoes and I have tried warming the cream first but it still curdles.
Thanks!
Julia
Thank you, Brenda! So sorry to hear the cream curdles. What kind of cream do you use? Heavy cream?
Iram
Hi! This recipe looks absolutely amazing! I wanted to make this tonight, but I was just wondering if it could be made without the bacon? Thanks!
Julia
You can definitely make this without bacon! There are so many flavors in this dish that even if you remove the bacon, the recipe will still have lots of flavor!
Anne
My family loves this - every time - we use heaps of fresh spinach - add chilli flakes - gradually 🙂 and lots of cracked black pepper. We do keep the sauce separate so it can be used on different pasta over the next few days - we also use light sour cream with a bit of milk as our 1/2 and 1/2
Julia
Thank you, Anne! So glad your family has been enjoying this recipe. What a great idea to keep the sauce separate from pasta - it does help keep the texture of both the sauce and the pasta intact. Thanks for sharing that using light sour cream with a bit of milk works as a base for this cream sauce!
Larry
Hi Julia...I'm an Truck driver and avid cooker and am always searching for something different for the family after a long day on the road. Everything came out to a tee except when I added the cheese. It clumped up after I added it. I made sure the 1/2 & 1/2 was boiling before I added the cheese. However all things being equal. It still tasted amazing and the family loved it. Oh I did have to add a little flour and water at the end as I found the sauce to be a little watery. I think it might of been the frozen spinach. Next time I'll def use fresh spinach. Keep up the fresh new ideas. Your a god send when I'm searching for something to make
And I left my creativity on The New Jersey Turnpike...lol
Julia
Larry, thank you for such a kind comment! I am glad you enjoyed this recipe even though the cheese clumped up. I think what might have happened is that your pan and the sauce was not hot enough. If clumping occurs, increase the heat from simmer to boil for a quick period of time and keep stirring at all times. Then reduce the heat to medium simmer (not the lowest setting of simmer) and keep stirring the cheese in the sauce until the cheese completely melts.
Carla
If I use heavy cream in place of half and half do I have to adjust the amount? More? Less?
Julia
Use slightly smaller amount of heavy cream, it's also likely that your sauce will get too thick, in which case thin it out by gradually adding cooked pasta water (or milk) while the sauce simmers, constantly stirring.
Alicia
This recipe is great with shrimp!
Julia
Yes, I agree!
Jereme’
Hi, is this the calorie count and macros per serving?
Julia
Yes, the calories are per 1 serving. There are 4 servings in total.
Stephanie
I love how this recipe tastes, it tastes amazing. But, I really suck at cooking, I think I might have simmered the parm for too long and all the cheese stuck to the chicken and kinda clumped up. While the recipe didn't come out looking too great for me because I'm not the greatest cook, it still tastes amazing!!
Julia
Stephanie, I am glad you enjoyed the recipe! The cheese could have clumped up because the pan was not hot enough. I would increase the heat to bring the sauce to a quick boil and then reduce to medium simmer and keep stirring until the cheese starts melting.
Jessie
Hi, Recipe looks delicious!! Do you think coconut milk/cream would work as a dairy free option?
Thanks!
Julia
Yes, coconut milk will work!
Catherine
Can fresh spinach be used instead of cooked? Or are you meaning to hat the spinach will cook down and wilt when added with the tomatoes? Just curious... I'd rather start with fresh than cook already cooked spinach longer if I can.
Jessica
I use fresh spinach everytime I make this recipe. I’ve added the spinach to the 1/2 and 1/2 and wilted it down that way and I’ve also dropped it in the boiling pasta water for a minute and then scooped it out with a slotted spoon. Both worked just fine.
Julia
Thank you, Jessica, for your feedback! Yes, I've done that many times too - just used fresh spinach and added it to the sauce.
Julia
You can definitely add fresh spinach instead of cooked. Add fresh spinach right to the sauce and it will wilt pretty quickly.
Sheree
Can I use pepper jack cheese instead of parmesan?
Julia
Flavor-wise, Parmesan cheese is much better suited for this recipe than pepper jack cheese. I would stick with Parmesan.
Brad
Hi, Would this recipe work with spaghettini?
Julia
Yes, it will!
trina
hi just new too your site. from n.z. we are huge pasta lovers in my family and this sounds awesome too have after a day in the garden.
Julia
Enjoy this recipe! 🙂