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.
Laura McCormick
This looks delicious and going to try it this weekend.
Mavis
This is a delicious meal, will definitely be a favourite. I used chickpea pasta instead. I also add 1/4 cup white wine. And Just winged the recipe for my liking added mushrooms, smoked paprika, garlic and onion granules. I got easily 7 meals out of this dish
Julia
Mavis, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂 Love the chickpea pasta - what a great choice! Love your other variations, too.
Yolanda Skaaf-Willits
I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong. I followed the recipe as written but the sauce was liquid...like soup. Also, my spinach (fresh) was clumpy. I was able to rescue the dish by adding corn starch and more cheese at the end but, if I knew I'd need to do that, I would have preferred to add it in the beginning instead of the end. Nevertheless my family enjoyed it very much.
Jorgia
This recipe is lovely! I added a few more things and it’s one of my favourites. I’m a private chef and applause anyone that can make a tasty dish for crowd pleasers. I recently went to a high end prestigious hotel restaurant and ordered a similar pasta dish. Honestly I was so disappointed I didn’t eat it. Love love love this recipe and thank you.
Cheers
Julia
Jorgia, your comment made my day! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing such positive and uplifting feedback! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Haley
10/10 flavour... would suggest using all cream instead of half and half — none the less, DELICIOUS
Julia
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Using cream always makes the cream sauce better - so I agree with you! 🙂
Denise A Zadina
Made this tonight. Very tasty, but next time I'll cut the amount of half and half. It was a bit too watery for my taste. I may also use canned tomatoes as winter tomatoes aren't great.
Julia
Hi Denise! Glad you tried this recipe and liked it! If the sauce is too watery, you can bring it to a boiling point, reduce to a low simmer and cook the sauce, constantly stirring until the cheese melts. Or, you can use heavy cream, for thicker sauce.
Deborah Monroe
The tomatoes I just bought are awful. Mushy and tasteless. Can I use canned tomatoes? How many cans
Kaye
I used fresh spinach instead of frozen. If using frozen I would recommend draining it as much as possible by pushing it down on a sive so all the water will be removed. I also removed the seeds and pulp from the fresh tomatoes to remove as much water as possible and it came out perfect
Donna
Loved it with Italian bread
Julia
This pasta is meant to be served with Italian bread - what a lovely combination!
Jillian
Hello is is 1028 kcal per serving or is is that many calories divided by the number of servings you make from the dish? Thank you!
Julia
Hi Jillian! It's 1028 calories per 1 serving. There are 4 servings in this recipe.
Kelly
Even my picky eaters loved it!
Sue B
OMG !!
This dish is amazing. Sorry didn’t take any pictures I wanted to eat !
But if you get all your ingredients ready a head of time and have it ready as you read the perfect step by step recipe it’s a piece of cake. Family loved it
Cindy Douglas
I have tried so many failed internet recipes that turned out bland. This is NOT one of them. This dish has SO much flavor, it was a big hit. The only thing I did different was double the garlic, added 2 frozen basil cubes and tripled the chicken. I recommend much more chicken. But all in all this is a delicious keeper! It has earned it's keep. YUM YUM
Amanda
The instructions for this recipe are horribly written. Thankfully after reading through it a couple times I was able to execute it in a way that actually makes sense, and with a better end product. It’s a good recipe but needs help.
Paula O'Callaghan
Firm favourite in our house,since I made it first time. 5 * all the way
Carol
Made this recipe and it was awsum.I would suggest that everyone try it.
Carol
Made this recipe and it was awsum.I would suggest that everyone try it.
Meredith
Made this recipe into a pasta bake with some mozzarella on top and it was delicious!