Creamy Chicken Pasta with Green Beans and Bacon in Garlic Parmesan Sauce combines your favorite comfort food ingredients in the most delicious way! This quick and easy restaurant-quality chicken dinner takes only 30 minutes and might become a new family favorite weeknight meal!
Creamy chicken pasta with green beans and bacon
Who knew that green beans and pasta go so well together?! If you're looking for a delicious recipe to use up the green beans, you'll love this 30-minute budget-friendly weeknight dinner! This creamy chicken pasta uses a winning combo of ingredients: green beans, bacon, skinless boneless chicken thighs (or breasts), bow-tie pasta (farfalle), garlic, cream, and Parmesan cheese. Juicy and tender chicken (seared with olive oil, smoked paprika, and Italian seasoning) is smothered in a luscious cream sauce. This comforting and cozy 30-minute green bean pasta dish is a perfect comfort food to make during the year's colder months. For more chicken pasta recipe inspiration, don't miss this family-favorite Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce or a delicious Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken and Mozzarella.
Why you'll love this recipe
- 30-minute easy and budget-friendly chicken dinner. Your grocery list will not be long or expensive for this recipe. You'll need skinless boneless chicken thighs or breasts (or leftover cooked chicken!), bacon, green beans, garlic, heavy cream, Parmesan, and spices. From there, the chicken pasta is ready in 30 minutes. Easy on the budget, quick to throw everything together. Perfect for those busy weeknights!
- A delicious way to eat green beans. Green beans are not just a side dish. Try them in this creamy green bean pasta, and it might become your new favorite way to eat them!
- Great recipe for using up leftovers! Do you have leftover cooked chicken (or rotisserie chicken) sitting in the fridge? Cooked (or uncooked) green beans that you don't know what to do with? Bacon? Clean out your fridge by making this creamy chicken pasta. Impress your family and friends with this comforting and cozy meal!
The Ingredients
- Chicken. I used skinless boneless chicken thighs. They are super easy and forgiving to cook. You can also use skinless, boneless chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins.
- Pasta. I like to use small-shaped pasta as it is perfect for creamy sauces. Use bow-tie pasta, fusilli, rotini, penne, or shell pasta.
- Green beans in this pasta recipe are sliced, briefly boiled in a pot of hot water, drained, and quickly rinsed with cold water. This helps them to retain their shape and not fall apart. It also keeps them slightly crunchy and prevents them from getting mushy.
- Bacon. Use chopped, cooked bacon. It's easy to cook the bacon on a foil-lined baking sheet in the oven at 350 F for about 20 or 30 minutes. Drain all grease from the bacon using paper towels.
- Garlic always adds amazing flavor to any chicken dinner. I used 4 cloves of freshly minced garlic.
- Parmesan cheese. I used a block of Parmesan that I shredded myself. Make sure to bring the cheese to room temperature. It will make it easier to melt it in the creamy sauce.
- Cream. Heavy cream combined with garlic and melty parmesan cheese creates the most amazing creamy and garlicky pasta sauce that a whole family will love!
- Seasonings I used for this chicken pasta with green beans and bacon include smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
How to make creamy chicken pasta
This is just an overview of the recipe. For a complete list of ingredients and detailed recipe instructions, scroll down to the recipe card!
- Cook pasta and green beans. Start by cooking pasta in a pot of boiling water. Add green beans during the last 3 minutes of boiling pasta. Drain and rinse green beans and pasta under running cold water. Drain again.
- Cook the chicken (seasoned with smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, and salt) in 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat in a large, high-sided skillet. Cook it for about 5 minutes per side, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove it to a plate and slice it thinly.
- Make the creamy sauce. In the same, now empty, skillet, cook minced garlic with another tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat until the garlic is cooked but not burnt, about 3 minutes. Add heavy cream and bring to a quick boil. Reduce to a simmer, add room-temperature Parmesan cheese to the cream, and cook, stirring, until the cheese melts.
- Assembly. Add cooked and drained pasta, cooked green beans, chopped cooked bacon, and thinly sliced cooked chicken to the garlic parmesan sauce. Stir everything together. Season with more salt and pepper and smoked paprika, if desired.
Can you use half-and-half instead of heavy cream?
Yes, you can. In this case, you might have to add more cheese to thicken the sauce.
Can you use leftover cooked chicken?
This is a perfect recipe to use up leftover chicken you might have in your fridge! Just make sure to generously season the leftover cooked chicken with the spices (smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, salt), and brown it briefly in olive oil to freshen it up! Cooked rotisserie chicken works especially well.
How to store and reheat leftover chicken pasta
- Refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheat on the stovetop over medium heat, constantly stirring. Add extra liquid (cream, half-and-half, or milk) to thin out the sauce.
Other green bean recipes to try
- Green Beans with Pine Nuts and Parmesan Cheese
- Garlic and Bacon Green Beans Sautéed in Olive Oil and Butter
- Garlic Green Beans with Olive Oil and Parmesan
- Thanksgiving Green Beans with Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries
- Thanksgiving Roasted Vegetables (Green Beans and Butternut Squash) with Bacon and Pumpkin Seeds
Other chicken pasta recipes you might enjoy
- Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Pine Nuts
- Chicken Spaghetti with Burrata Cheese, Cherry Tomatoes, and Lemon Butter Garlic Sauce
- Tomato Spinach Chicken Spaghetti
- Creamy Chicken Broccoli Pasta with Bacon
- Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce
- Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken and Mozzarella
Creamy Chicken Pasta with Green Beans and Bacon
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta
- 8 oz green beans
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 lb chicken thighs skinless, boneless
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 6 slices bacon cooked and chopped
Instructions
- Note: Take parmesan cheese out of the fridge and shred it. It should be at room temperature when you add it to the cream sauce, so that's why it's the first step - to allow the cheese to reach room temperature.
Cook pasta and green beans
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook al dente. Add green beans during the last 3 minutes of boiling pasta.
- Drain and rinse green beans and pasta under running cold water. Drain again.
Cook chicken
- While you wait for the pot of water to boil and while the pasta is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat in a large, high-sided skillet.
- Season the chicken with smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, and salt.
- Cook the chicken on medium heat for 5 minutes, without moving it. This allows the chicken to sear.
- Flip the chicken thighs over, reduce heat to low-medium, and cook for about 5 more minutes or longer until it's cooked through. Remove cooked chicken to a plate and slice it thinly.
Make creamy sauce
- To the same, now empty, skillet, add another tablespoon of olive oil and minced garlic. Cook on medium heat or low-medium heat, stirring, until the garlic is cooked but not burnt, about 3 minutes.
- Add heavy cream and bring to a quick boil. Reduce to simmer (visible boil on the lowest heat setting). Scatter shredded Parmesan cheese across the whole surface of the cream in the skillet (don't just dump the cheese all in one spot). Keep stirring while the sauce simmers until the cheese melted.
Assembly
- Add cooked and drained pasta, cooked green beans, half of the chopped cooked bacon, and half of the thinly sliced cooked chicken. Stir everything together. Season with more salt and pepper and smoked paprika, if desired.
- Top with the remaining half of sliced cooked chicken and chopped cooked bacon when serving.
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.
what can I use to make a "sauce" in lieu of half and half or heavy cream? Anything like using pasta water??
Hi Laura! Here are some lower-fat alternatives:
1) To replace 1 cup of heavy cream, whisk 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into 1 cup of milk. Cornstarch thickens without adding flavor.
2) Use evaporated milk (NOT condensed milk 🙂 ).
Of course, I did not have all the ingredients, but what I made was yummy to me. No green beans so I used broccoli. Chicken breasts X 2 instead of thighs, and half & half instead of heavy cream. I used a lot of the half & half and a whole container of the parm! Can never have enough cheese! Next time, I want triple the sauce! Not saying this was dry, but there was no runny soupy mess on my plate like I expected and wanted. Will for sure make again, hopefully with the right ingredients, and more sauce!
Denis, I love your version with broccoli - so delicious! Thank you for sharing! ❤️❤️
I have this recipe and found it delicious. Very easy to make. I used frozen green beans.
Janice, thank you for your review and the 5-star rating! Good to know the recipe worked well with frozen green beans!
Is it possible to substitute half and half for the heavy cream?
Stephi, yes, you can use half-and-half instead of heavy cream here. Enjoy! 🙂
Can you use chicken breasts and how long would you cook them. How about using canned green beans?
Pam, yes, you can use skinless boneless chicken breasts without making any changes to the recipe. Canned green beans (drained really well) should work, too!
Love your web site. I printed 3 recipes, including this one. Thank you!!
Jean, I am glad you're finding my recipes practical! Thank you for this positive comment! 🙂