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
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.
I am a celiac, so finding absolutely delicious recipes my whole family will enjoy, can sometimes be challenge. This one, however, fit the bill. It was GONE! I used gf pasta obviously and used fire roasted diced tomatoes and it added just a fit of oomph!!! Absolutely fabulous!!
Meagan, I am so flattered by your comment! So glad everyone in your family enjoyed this pasta! Fire-roasted diced tomatoes sound delicious here!
I think when I try to make this I want to try Roma tomatoes, the small salad tomatoes. Good idea?
Erica, yes, you can use roma tomatoes. You can also use cherry or grape tomatoes (each sliced in half). Enjoy! I hope you love it and report back how it came out!
It looks better than it tastes but then I had to double it. Expensive to make. And it takes some time to make. If I made it again I would use 1/3-1/2 the meat, cut breasts into cubes and brown then well. Add nothing to the top but bacon bits and parm.
Shannon, that's really good and helpful feedback - thank you!
I really l liked this and first time I made it pretty much as directed. However, the second time I used evaporated skim milk instead of cream and thickened it with a roux made of 2 tablespoons butter and two tablespoons of flour. Once it was cooking I added the garlic to the roux, then the evaporated skim milk to create the sauce. Added two tablespoons of tomato paste to boost the tomato flavour, and finished with two tablespoons of heavy cream. I did the chicken in a Foodie Ninja grill I had--no oil just tossed with it the paprika and the Italian seasoning and tossed it in as the dish finished. It was very nice and creamy and so flavorful I didn't miss all the heavy cream
Sara, I just love-love your changes! Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed and helpful comment. It would be so helpful to others who might want to try similar changes.
New to this site. This recipe was excellent.I really enjoyed the flavour and think the left overs will be even better tomorrow.Will be making this one again.
Linda, I am so flattered by your comment. Glad you liked this pasta, and thank you for the 5-star rating! 🙂
Mine is a question. If you want to make more of the sauce can you just double it? Also can you add mushrooms and if so at what point do you add them? I’ve never been a cook but I’m giving it a whirl on more recipes that’s out there. Looking forward to hubbys response on this one ❤️
Debbie, you can safely double the amount of sauce. I would add thinly sliced mushrooms at the same time that you add tomatoes and spinach. I hope you give this recipe a try and love it! 🙂
This was soon yummy! The whole family loves it and now they want it weekly. It's so easy to make and easy to add stuff like mushrooms. Thank you
I am so flattered by your comment - thank you so much for sharing your feedback! And, yes, this is a great recipe for adding mushrooms!
Fantastic recipe and super easy to prepare! I want to prepare this for Father’s Day - if I want to double the servings, do I just double everything?
Kaylee, yes, you can safely double the recipe!
And, use a bigger cooking pan or 2 cooking pans.
I try many different Pinterest recipes and this one is definitely one of my new favorites. Easy to make and doesn’t take too much time. I substituted a red pepper for the tomato and omitted the bacon but it was seriously yummy and will definitely be making again.
Stephanie, I am so flattered by your comment! Love that you used red pepper - so delicious! And, thank you for the 5-star rating! 🙂
Yummy yummy yummy! Turned out REAL good. This recipe made me look like a master chef. I'll make this for my family as a treat as the parmesan, cream, chicken & bacon quite expensive for us.
Your comment really made my day! I appreciate your positive feedback and the 5-star review! 🙂