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    Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Tomatoes

    By Julia | Updated: Mar 22, 2018 | Published: May 20, 2016 | 23 Comments

    32.7K shares
    • Facebook631
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    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!

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    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!

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    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.

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    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.

    cooking chicken in the skillet

    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 tomatoes, spinach, artichokes to the chicken in the skillet

    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:

    add cream to the skillet to make cream sauce

    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.

    cook vegetables in cream in the skillet until spinach wilts

    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.

    add Asiago cheese to the cream and the vegetables in the skillet

    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.

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    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!

    4.80 from 30 votes

    Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Tomatoes

    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!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save RecipeSaved!
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 40 minutes mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories per serving 847 kcal
    Author: Julia

    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
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    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

    What is HALF AND HALF ?  To make 1 cup of half and half combine ½ cup milk and ½ cup heavy creamy (or heavy whipping cream)

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    Spinach and Artichoke Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Tomatoes
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    847
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    52
    g
    80
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    18
    g
    113
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    124
    mg
    41
    %
    Sodium
     
    1271
    mg
    55
    %
    Potassium
     
    720
    mg
    21
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    57
    g
    19
    %
    Fiber
     
    5
    g
    21
    %
    Sugar
     
    4
    g
    4
    %
    Protein
     
    34
    g
    68
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    4380
    IU
    88
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    38.7
    mg
    47
    %
    Calcium
     
    460
    mg
    46
    %
    Iron
     
    3.4
    mg
    19
    %
    * 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.

    « Creamy Asiago Cheese Tortellini
    One-Pan Chicken Thighs with Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Rice »
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Debbie C

      November 25, 2024 at 5:48 pm

      Today was my second time making this. It's a flavorful dish and husband approved! I did not add the bacon and used a can of diced tomatoes since the roma tomatoes at the store looked awful. Next time I think I will use half the amount of pasta.

      Reply
      • Julia

        December 02, 2024 at 9:18 pm

        So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Debbie! Thank you for your 5-star review! ❤️

        Reply
    2. coldcollardgreens

      March 11, 2023 at 5:19 pm

      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!

      Reply
      • Julia

        March 18, 2023 at 5:56 pm

        Thank you so much for this wonderful comment and 5-star review! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Phyllis

      May 26, 2022 at 5:19 pm

      Julia, I need to make this ahead of time. Can I turn it into a casserole?

      Reply
      • Julia

        August 22, 2022 at 9:48 pm

        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.

        Reply
    4. Doreen Rubin

      February 25, 2022 at 6:20 pm

      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

      Reply
      • Julia

        March 22, 2022 at 1:33 am

        Doreen, I am glad your husband and son enjoyed this recipe! 🙂 Sun-dried tomatoes would be delicious here!

        Reply
    5. ilana

      January 25, 2021 at 2:02 pm

      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?

      Reply
    6. Claudia

      September 11, 2020 at 11:34 am

      Can your cream sauce recipes be made in advance and then reheated in a slow oven?

      Reply
    7. Mrs P

      July 15, 2020 at 10:40 am

      Does this freeze well?

      Reply
    8. Marie

      April 04, 2019 at 12:57 am

      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!

      Reply
      • Julia

        June 03, 2019 at 5:57 pm

        I am so happy you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a kind comment!

        Reply
    9. Janet

      June 30, 2018 at 7:37 am

      Any recommended adjustments if we did not add bacon?

      Reply
      • Julia

        July 01, 2018 at 3:57 pm

        No, no special adjustments. Just skip the bacon if you don't want to use it and follow the recipe as is.

        Reply
    10. MaryG

      March 27, 2018 at 2:57 pm

      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!

      Reply
      • Ginger

        June 30, 2018 at 9:15 pm

        Calm down

        Reply
    11. Sharon White

      December 07, 2017 at 10:36 pm

      I am definitely going to try this recipe--it looks so delicious and mouthwatering! also loved the detailed instructions. Thanks.

      Reply
    12. Sandy

      July 13, 2016 at 7:13 pm

      Trying one of the pasta dishes now, looks absolutely delicious!

      Reply
      • Julia

        July 15, 2016 at 11:48 am

        Enjoy!

        Reply
    13. Sandy

      July 09, 2016 at 1:22 am

      This looks delicious! I will definitely try this recipe

      Reply
      • Julia

        July 10, 2016 at 3:18 pm

        It tastes as good as it looks! 🙂

        Reply
    14. Maria

      May 23, 2016 at 10:36 am

      The spinach looks so good and delicious, thanks for sharing with us these pictures and detailed recipe.

      Reply

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    Julia is the author of JuliasAlbum.com (a food blog focused on easy dinner recipes, pasta dishes, salads made with seasonal ingredients). In this photo, Julia is pictured wearing a yellow sweater against an Autumn background.

    Hi, I'm Julia!

    I am a full-time food blogger living in beautiful Colorado. I focus primarily on savory recipes (protein-based & fiber-rich main dishes, pasta, salads) using fresh & seasonal ingredients. A food blogger since 2012, I help home cooks create well-balanced and visually appealing dinners (many of which are 30-minute ONE-PAN meals). Find out more about me and my cooking philosophy. 

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