Spicy Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Peas - easy weeknight dinner recipe that uses basic ingredients, found in any kitchen. If you want to make something new and delicious with bacon, chicken, and peas - try this pasta recipe! You won't be disappointed!
The spicy creamy sauce is made with garlic, tomato sauce, cream, mozzarella cheese, basil, and crushed red pepper flakes. I use short pasta - penne, because the sauce coats each piece of short pasta, so you get more creamy goodness with each bite.
Making this spicy chicken pasta is easy! Here is how you cook it:
STEP 1. COOK CHICKEN.
Use skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Slice them up, season them generously with salt, dried basil, and red pepper flakes and cook in olive oil in a large skillet.
STEP 2. COOK PASTA AND PEAS.
In the mean time cook the pasta and the peas in a separate pan.
STEP 3. MAKE THE CREAM SAUCE
In the same pan where you cooked chicken, make the cream sauce. Here is how you do it. Cook minced garlic with red pepper flakes in olive oil, then add tomato sauce, dried basil and bring to boil. Then add shredded Mozzarella cheese and stir until it melts. Finally, while the sauce simmers, add heavy cream and stir to combine.
STEP 4. COMBINE EVERYTHING
Then, you just combine everything together: add cooked and rinsed pasta, cooked peas, cooked chicken, and cooked bacon to the pan with the sauce and mix to combine.
Spicy Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Peas
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast skinless and boneless, halved horizontally
- salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 oz penne pasta (use gluten free pasta for gluten free version)
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 15 oz tomato sauce , from the can (I used Hunt's)
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese , shredded
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 8 slices bacon , cooked, drained of fat, chopped
Instructions
How to cook chicken:
- Cut chicken breast horizontally in half, to make it thinner. Season both chicken breast halves generously with salt and also with ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon dry basil - on both sides.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on high-medium heat in a large skillet. Add seasoned chicken breast halves and cook on one side for about 3-4 minutes on high-medium heat. Flip the chicken over to the other side and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, cover with the lid and let the chicken sit in the skillet off heat - it will continue cooking. After about 10-15 minutes, the chicken should be fully cooked and no longer pink in the center - remove the chicken from the skillet and slice into cubes. Set aside.
How to cook pasta and green peas
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Add peas to pasta during the last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain and rinse with cold water.
How to make creamy sauce:
- To the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 6 cloves of minced garlic, and ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes - cook on medium heat for 1 minutes until garlic is fragrant. Add tomato sauce, ½ teaspoon dry basil, stir and bring to boil - immediately reduce to simmer and simmer for 10 minutes, covered. Add shredded mozzarella cheese to the sauce and stir to melt until cheese is completely melted and the sauce thickens - 30 seconds. With heat on simmer, add ½ cup heavy cream and stir to combine.
Final assembly:
- Add cooked and rinsed pasta, peas, cooked sliced chicken, and half of chopped cooked bacon to the sauce. Mix to combine. If you cooked pasta in salted water, if you seasoned chicken generously with salt and used canned tomato sauce - there is really no need to add salt at this point as everything should be just perfect. Nevertheless, taste your final pasta and add salt if necessary. Top with the remaining half of chopped bacon
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.
Would love to make this today but don't have the cream. Not easy to get to store these days. Any way to get around using it? Coulld you make a bechamel and use that instead?? I have milk and flour.
Hi! I have to try This Spicy Chicken Pasta and enjoy its yummy taste. This pasta is really so delicious.
Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe.
You are very welcome!
This recipe is so easy and tastes so good! Love it!
Happy to hear that! 🙂
Do I have too use a skillet???
You don't have to use a skillet. But using a large deep skillet makes it a little bit easier to cook this dish. You can use a large pan. Or use a large cast iron skillet.
Was delicious!! Used half/half instead of heavy cream because I had that. My hubby wishes it was Spicer but I think it was just right! Will be making again
Thank you! So glad you and your husband enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
I made this tonight but omitted the chili, for my 6 yr old, and used asparagus instead of peas, because it's what I had on hand. It turned out great and was a hit with everyone. Thank you!
You're very welcome! Asparagus is a delicious substitution for peas!
Did you intend to have red pepper flakes and olive oil in the recipe two times?
If you read the whole thing it actually does call for both in two different portions of the recipe. The first is for the chicken and the second is for the sauce
That's correct - you use red pepper flakes and olive oil first for the chicken, then you use more red pepper flakes and more olive oil to make the sauce.
Hi Julia, what a beautiful dish, love all the colors and flavor you have packed in here. My family will love this.