Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Tomatoes in Asiago Cream Sauce - yummy pasta with lots of veggies! If you love artichokes - this is the recipe for you!
The vegetables are smothered in such a delicious Asiago cream sauce (and crumbled bacon) that even non-veggie lovers will love this spinach and artichoke chicken pasta!
Asiago cheese and bacon provide a ton of flavor to this chicken pasta. Make sure to season your sauce with enough salt (I recommend ¼ teaspoon of regular salt in this recipe) and a small amount of crushed red pepper flakes.
Here is how easy it is to make this Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Tomatoes.
Start by cooking sliced chicken, sprinkled with paprika and Italian seasoning, on medium heat in 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet for 4-5 minutes on both sides until the chicken is completely cooked through. I used thinly sliced boneless and skinless chicken thighs - they are very flavorful! Remove the chicken from the pan.
To the same pan (but without chicken), add fresh uncooked baby spinach, chopped tomatoes, artichoke hearts from the can (drained REALLY WELL and roughly chopped), ⅓ of the cooked chicken, crushed red pepper flakes, minced garlic, and half the bacon (already cooked and drained of fat). Mix everything.
Add half and half and bring to boil. Because spinach has so much volume before it wilts, this is what your pan will look like with all the half and half and the vegetables before they wilt:
Reduce the heat to simmer, and keep stirring until spinach starts to wilt (don't let it wilt too much and overcook). Now you're finally seeing the cream sauce and not just the spinach as in the previous picture.
As spinach starts to wilt and reduces considerably in volume, add grated Asiago cheese, and keep stirring on medium simmer until the cheese melts and makes the sauce creamy, only about 1 minute (at most 2 minutes). Then, immediately remove from heat. Season the Asiago cheese cream sauce with salt - I use ¼ teaspoon of regular salt and that's usually perfect. You might want to use more salt if needed.
In the mean time bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta, rinse with cold water and drain again. Add pasta to the skillet with the Asiago cheese cream sauce and the vegetables, stir to coat well, and reheat. To serve, add the remaining half of bacon (cooked and drained of fat) and the remaining ⅔ of sliced chicken (warmed) on top of pasta either right in the skillet or in the serving plates.
Top with grated Asiago cheese and serve this Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Tomatoes in Asiago Cream Sauce to your family and friends and yourself!
Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ pound chicken thighs , boneless, skinless, sliced
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (thyme, oregano, basil - combined)
- 3 oz baby spinach fresh, uncooked
- 4 Roma tomatoes chopped in large cubes
- 15 oz artichoke hearts , from the can, drained REALLY WELL, and chopped (not too fine)
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (maximum ½ teaspoon)
- 5 garlic cloves , minced
- 6 bacon strips , COOKED, DRAINED OF FAT, AND CHOPPED
- 1 ⅓ cups half and half
- ⅔ cup Asiago cheese , shredded
- ¼ teaspoon salt or more
- 8 oz penne pasta (for gluten-free version, use gluten-free brown-rice penne)
- ⅓ cup Asiago cheese , shredded, for serving
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil until hot on medium heat. Add sliced chicken (I used thinly sliced boneless and skinless chicken thighs - they are very flavorful!), and cook sliced chicken on one side on medium heat for 1 minute. While it cooks, sprinkle the uncooked sides of the chicken with paprika and Italian seasoning. Flip the chicken over, and cook on the other side for 2-4 more minutes on medium heat, until the chicken is completely cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan.
- To the same pan (but without chicken), add fresh uncooked baby spinach, chopped tomatoes, artichoke hearts (drained really well and roughly chopped), ⅓ of the cooked chicken, crushed red pepper flakes, minced garlic, and half the bacon (already cooked and drained of fat). Mix everything.
- Add half and half and bring to boil. Immediately reduce to simmer, and keep stirring until spinach starts to wilt (don't let it wilt too much and overcook). As spinach starts to wilt and reduces considerably in volume, add grated Asiago cheese, and keep stirring on medium simmer until the cheese melts and makes the sauce creamy, only about 1 minute (at most 2 minutes). Then, immediately remove from heat. Season the sauce with salt - I use ¼ teaspoon of regular salt and that's usually perfect. You might want to use more salt if needed.
- In the mean time bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta, rinse with cold water and drain again.
- Add pasta to the skillet with the sauce, stir to coat well, and reheat. To serve, add the remaining half of bacon (cooked and drained of fat) and the remaining ⅔ of sliced chicken (warmed) on top of pasta either right in the skillet or in the serving plates. Top with grated Asiago cheese.
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.
This was delicious. I would normally expect to use chicken breast in this type of recipe, but the thighs seasoned and browned as they were, genius! We did make it with linguine instead of penne because my husband has an odd penne aversion lol. Very very tasty and we will make again. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for this wonderful comment and 5-star review! 🙂
Julia, I need to make this ahead of time. Can I turn it into a casserole?
Phyllis, I've never tried it as a casserole, but my first thought is you will probably have to reduce the amount of half-and-half as the casserole can get too watery. Again, I never tried it as a casserole, so I am not 100% sure.
We had this tonight!! Husband and son approved!! I only added a cup of half and half, the sauce was creamy and delicious, I think next time instead of Roma tomatoes, I would use sun dried.. but definitely a keeper, thank you
Doreen, I am glad your husband and son enjoyed this recipe! 🙂 Sun-dried tomatoes would be delicious here!
We made this for dinner tonight... It turned out decently, but there was far too much sauce for the pasta, and the texture was a bit liquidy. We removed a lot of half-and-half before adding the Asiago and it still felt a bit soupy/watery rather than developing that craveable creamy texture. Perhaps we didn't boil/simmer the sauce for long enough? Any ideas?
Can your cream sauce recipes be made in advance and then reheated in a slow oven?
Does this freeze well?
I made this and oh man was it delicious! I used orecchiette pasta because I had it on hand and I used half smoked Gouda cheese. Highly recommend!
I am so happy you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a kind comment!
Any recommended adjustments if we did not add bacon?
No, no special adjustments. Just skip the bacon if you don't want to use it and follow the recipe as is.
Why do people reply with “sounds delicious”, why not make it and then tell if it is delicious. “looks delicous, sounds delicious’, doesn’t help me. I already know that!
Calm down
I am definitely going to try this recipe--it looks so delicious and mouthwatering! also loved the detailed instructions. Thanks.
Trying one of the pasta dishes now, looks absolutely delicious!
Enjoy!
This looks delicious! I will definitely try this recipe
It tastes as good as it looks! 🙂
The spinach looks so good and delicious, thanks for sharing with us these pictures and detailed recipe.