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Creamy 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.
Family Dinner Win: Creamy Chicken & Bacon Pasta
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! Serve it with my apple spinach salad, easy garlic bread, or homemade garlic butter dinner rolls. Also, don't miss my other family-favorites like chicken feta pasta, creamy chicken orzo with tomatoes and spinach, chicken burrata pasta, and sun-dried tomato chicken pasta.
Ingredient Notes
- 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, chickpea or lentil pasta.
How to Make Chicken Bacon Pasta (Step-by-Step Photos)
- Cook pasta: Bring a large pan of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain.
- Cook the chicken: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add chicken and cook on one side for 4 minutes over medium-high, sprinkling paprika and Italian seasoning on top. Flip and cook for 3 minutes on medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low-medium, flip again, cover, and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
- Make the creamy sauce + add veggies: In the same pan, add heavy cream and bring to a boil. Stir in Parmesan, reduce to low-medium, and simmer until the cheese melts and the sauce is creamy, about 1-3 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, spinach, garlic, and crushed red pepper; cook on medium just until the spinach wilts. Add sliced chicken and half the cooked bacon, then mix everything together.
- Add cooked pasta to the sauce: Top with the remaining bacon and thinly sliced chicken, then sprinkle with Parmesan before serving.
What is Half-and-Half and Its Substitutions
- 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).
What to Serve with Chicken Bacon Pasta
I love serving Chicken Bacon Pasta with crusty garlic bread, homemade garlic butter dinner rolls, crusty rye bread, or bread machine loaves to soak up all that delicious Parmesan sauce. Since the pasta is already hearty, I usually pair it with a simple salad like one of these:
Other Chicken & Bacon Pasta Recipes
Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce
Chicken pasta recipes can get boring. Not this Italian-inspired recipe! You'll fall in love with the flavors in this Chicken Pasta with Bacon, Spinach, and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce. Easy weeknight dinner that the whole family will love! Sliced chicken breast and bacon are tossed with veggies and penne pasta in a delicious, creamy, homemade alfredo sauce made with Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- 10 oz penne pasta (for gluten-free version, use gluten-free brown-rice penne)
- 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
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded, for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta, and cook according to instructions (usually 10 to 15 minutes). Drain the pasta. Proceed with the recipe while the pasta is cooking.
- 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.
- 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
- Cream: You can use either heavy cream or half-and-half.
- Lower-fat alternatives to cream: To replace 1 cup of heavy cream, whisk 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into 1 cup of milk. Cornstarch thickens without adding flavor. Or, use evaporated milk (NOT condensed milk).
- How to cook pasta al dente? Cook the pasta about 2 minutes less than indicated on the package instructions. "Al dente" literally means "to the tooth" or firm to bite.
- Do you rinse pasta? 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.
- If using gluten-free pasta, rinse it with cold water after cooking to prevent it from getting mushy.
Storage & Reheating Tips
- Fridge: You can store the leftover chicken bacon pasta refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheat: 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information
Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce
Amount per Serving
Calories
1149
% Daily Value*
Fat
77
g
118
%
Saturated Fat
35
g
219
%
Trans Fat
0.2
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
9
g
Monounsaturated Fat
28
g
Cholesterol
225
mg
75
%
Sodium
755
mg
33
%
Potassium
1071
mg
31
%
Carbohydrates
65
g
22
%
Fiber
5
g
21
%
Sugar
9
g
10
%
Protein
48
g
96
%
Vitamin A
5361
IU
107
%
Vitamin C
31
mg
38
%
Calcium
438
mg
44
%
Iron
4
mg
22
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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.
Hello,
Thank you for sharing your recipe! My dish turned out delicious!
I didn’t have regular tomatoes but had dried tomatoes which made a tasty substitute. I love the seasoning you picked for the chicken. I baked it in the air fryer after seasoning and it was nice and juicy.
I’m not one of those that cares too much about fat so I used extra heavy cream, cheese and added some buttermilk. The sauce kept evaporating, would adding flour lessen the evaporation or not make much difference do you think?
I loved this dish and would make it again!
Much appreciation!
Sarah, thank you for your rave review! 🙂 I don't think adding flour would lessen the evaporation. Maybe use less cheese next time.
I love that you used sun-dried tomatoes - delish!
My teenage daughters loved this recipe and said that it tasted just like a restaurant. I used a combo of 1/2 and 1/2 with 2% milk to reduce the fat content. It was still rich and delicious.
Megan, I am so flattered with your review. And thank you for sharing that half-and-half combined with low-fat milk worked just fine!
The flavours are good here, but this was a very fattening treat for me, and I used about a quarter of the parmesan called for and a lighter cream. It was still super heavy. Also, don't understand why you would wait till the sauce is done to start the pasta? I had the pasta ready to go into the sauce as soon as it was ready. Again, nice flavours though. I used cherry tomatoes cut in half and cooked them down a good ten minutes.
Mark, thank you for this feedback! Yes, cooking pasta in advance of making the sauce is probably more efficient - I should update the recipe. Love that you used cherry tomatoes!
I have a family of picky eaters and they loved this dish!! They even went back for seconds!!
I am so glad this recipe was a success! ❤️
Looks delicious!! If not using fresh tomatoes, what size can of diced tomatoes should I use?
Odete, I would use a small can - about 14 oz. Enjoy!
Can you bake this dish please
Narelle
Narelle, yes, you can (I should really post the baked version of this recipe).
➡️ Preheat oven to 375 F.
➡️ Cook the chicken, cook the pasta and drain. Combine cooked chicken, cooked and drained pasta, cooked bacon, and veggies in a baking dish. Add spices (per recipe). Pour the cream. Top with shredded cheese.
➡️ Bake at 375 F in the preheated oven, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
➡️ Then, broil for 3-4 minutes, until nicely browned on top. Make sure not to burn the top of the pasta bake.
Can you vary the recipe so there isn't a day's worth of cholesterol and sat fat in a serving? Any way to make it more healthy??????
It looks fantastic but my jaw dropped when I saw the nutrition.
To reduce fat, I would use regular milk instead of cream and skip the cheese. In this case, make a roux with a small amount of olive oil and flour, and then gradually whisk in the milk while everything simmers (in the same way as you would make a Bechamel sauce). I would add more paprika, more garlic, and maybe a splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice (since there will be a flavor loss from omitting cheese).
When I cook with Parmesan it has been impossible to stir once cold. Any tips?
Betsy, do you mean that it's hard to reheat this after refrigerating? I think this dish would reheat better in an ovenproof dish in the preheated oven at 350 F - for about 10 or 15 minutes.
Are you using fresh tomatoes or can tomatoes?
Cordelia, I used fresh tomatoes. But you can use canned tomatoes, too. If using canned tomatoes, I would add everything from the can (including the juices) because that will just make more sauce without the necessity to add more cream.
Do you have to use bacon?
Cecy, you don't have to. Skip it and add "smoky" flavor by using smoked paprika to taste.
Will diffinitely make again so easy and so yummy !!
Toni, I am so glad you enjoyed this! 🙂
Looks fantastic! Can’t wait to make it. Thanks for sharing. 5 stars just from the photo presentation
Karen, I love your comment - it made me smile! 🙂 Thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂
Not generally fond of cream sauces, but this was really good. My family liked it, so it has been added to my "go to" recipe file.
So glad you've added this recipe to your rotation! 🙂 Thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂
Hi - I have not made the dish yet. Can you use canned cheery tomatoes and if so would you put in the everything from the can or drain the tomatoes first ? Thank-you, Melisss
Melissa, yes, you can use canned tomatoes. I would add everything from the can (including the juices) because that will just make more sauce without the necessity to add more cream.
I have made this soooo many times and it's a success every time! the only thing i do to the original recipe is double everything but the tomatoes and spinach, and add a block of cream cheese (makes the sauce thicker). THIS... STUFF... IS... AWESOME!!!
Melissa, thank you for such a positive and enthusiastic comment - I love it! 🙂 I bet using cream cheese makes the sauce really creamy, too!