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!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword chicken pasta, creamy chicken pasta, green bean pasta
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.