This Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta is one for all those days when nothing but a creamy pasta will do. It’s unapologetically indulgent, and loaded with all the essential food groups – cream, parmesan, chicken and BACON. Very little prep, on the table in 20 minutes!
Luxuriously rich Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta
I’ve been crowned the Queen of Creamy-Without-Cream*, but today I’m dethroning myself temporarily just so I can share this Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta with you without an inkling of guilt.
We’ve made it to the end of the year, and the month of December is about indulgences. I’ve been very sensible in the past and shared real Alfredo recipes, made the real proper Italian way. That recipe uses just 1/2 cup of cream for 250g / 0.5 lb of pasta.
This recipe uses 3/4 cup of cream for 180g / 6 oz of pasta. I was very honest with you right from the outset….this is indulgent!
* I have been known in the past for self proclaimed titles (such as Roast Queen). However, on this particular occasion, it was in fact the editor of Super Food Ideas magazine who pointed out my fetish for creamy-without-cream. I feel that provides some level of authority for this title!
I actually photographed and filmed the recipe video about a month ago. I’ve been waiting for the right time to share it. I feel like making it to the end of the year, relatively unscathed, warrants some form of celebration.
After all, it is the month for excessive food indulgences, right? The month where even when we’re absolutely determined to eat healthy, there are treats at every turn enticing us. Office occasions, food gifts, gatherings with families and friends.
This is just one more enticement to add to that list. 😈
All that creamy sauce. All. That. CREAMY. SAUCE!!!
I do feel a bit guilty sharing such an indulgent treat with you. So I promise you, I have a big healthy fix coming up soon. Maybe even this Wednesday!
In the meantime, just think back to all you have achieved in 2016. Even if you didn’t make a dent in your list, ignore the fails and focus on the successes. Give yourself a pat on the back, a praise.
Then treat yourself to THIS Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta! 😉 – Nagi xx
More ways to get your creamy pasta fix!
Baked Mac and Cheese – and try the Shrimp version!
Browse all pasta recipes
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Watch and weep that you can’t reach through the screen…
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Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta
Ingredients
- 6 oz / 180 g fettuccine or other pasta
- 5 -7 oz / 150 – 200 g bacon , chopped
- 6 oz / 180 g chicken breast , cut in half horizontally
- 1 tbsp (30 g) butter
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 small onion , finely chopped (brown, white or yellow)
- 3/4 cup (185ml) heavy cream / thickened cream
- 3/4 cup (185ml) pasta cooking water (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup FRESH grated parmesan (or 1/4 cup store bought grated) (Note 2)
To Serve
- Fresh parsley
- Parmesan
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook for time per packet MINUS 2 minutes (finishes cooking in Sauce).
- SCOOP OUT a mugful of pasta cooking water, then drain.
- Meanwhile, cook bacon until golden, drain on paper towels.
- Season chicken on both sides, cook in bacon fat, 2 minutes each side.
- Wipe pan – optional, to keep sauce pretty and white, and for a buttery clean tasting sauce rather than very bacony (Note 3).
- Over medium heat, melt butter. Add garlic and onion, cook for 3 – 4 minutes until onion is light golden and soft.
- Add cream, about 3/4 cup pasta water and parmesan. Stir, then simmer for 2 minutes until it reduces slightly – you don’t need to be exact here. Season with salt & pepper.
- Add pasta and toss gently in the sauce for about 1 1/2 minutes. The sauce will thicken and coat the pasta, do this step until you get the sauce consistency you want. If your sauce gets too thick, add a splash of pasta water.
- Toss through bacon and chicken.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parmesan and parsley!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Just making sure we don’t forget he’s down there on the floor…..
This sounds wonderful, can’t wait to try it.
I’m only going to use 4 oz of pasta as that is the recommended amount for two servings. I’ll cut back on the cream and pasta water to 1/2 cup each to keep the ratios right. The cheese can then be reduced too along with all other ingredients. This should reduce the calorie count a bit and you’ll still have a nice serving of what I think will be a delicious dinner.
I hope you enjoy it Pat! N xx
Hi Nagi, I just cooked this today for lunch, and my son said it’s The Best spaghetti I’ve EVER cooked! The only thing I added was mushrooms which I cooked separately in butter, then folded it into the pasta. Yes! I like rich dishes, don’t want to cancel out any cream or butter!
WOO HOO! So glad to hear that Bernie, thanks so much for letting me know! PS Your son has great taste 😉 N x
Excellent, Nagi! My wife loved it! Made it with turkey, and half shredded Romano and half parmesan. And low-sodium bacon, too.
Thanks Steve! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it, thank you for letting me know! N xx
Another home run. Simple to do yet delicious. Next time I’ll try it with beef.
Hi Luis! SO GLAD to hear you enjoyed it, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Thanks Luis! So glad you enjoyed it, thanks for letting me know! N x
delicoiyus of course
Thanks Tania! And DO NOT change your book name!
DOZER,can not even!Such a personality.Must have learned by example!I can vouch for that.Even a crayfish we had years ago was hilarious!Who knew?Do they have that capacity?!So pasta?YEEESSS!CREAMY?YEEESS!Would NOT have any other way!BACON?!YES YES !!Thanks,CHICA!?HUGS!
LOVE your enthusiasm Teri! I hear you! N xx
Nagi, OMG Doza is picture perfect !! Sorry he is better than pasta! Ho, Ho!!
BA HA HA!!! You crack me up Vera!
Love the look of this recipe and I plan to make it tomorrow night after work but I think I’ll add mushrooms as well. I always think of chicken pasta as needing mushrooms… and peas – oh my Lordie – now I’ll feel positively healthy!!
Oooh….YES to mushrooms! Does that cancel out the cream? ?
Mushrooms cancels out cheese, cream, and also the obligatory wine for the cook!
You can get reduced-sodium bacon. That will make it even healthier! 🙂
Good tip Steve, forgot about that! Thanks! N xx
Well I had an issue. I had NO BACON. But, I did have Chinese Sausage!!!!!
GREAT SUB!!!!
OMG, did I ever goof up, lol. I said this was 11 WW SmartPoints, and as soon as I posted that I saw my error (using the grams for a serving size for the calorie count). So I calculated it wrong, and it is actually 30 points. That’s okay, I still plan to make it. One good thing about Weight Watchers is that it IS flexible. I’m down 45 pounds and still going, so I do deserve this dish, and it won’t derail my progress.
You got me SO EXCITED when I read that! Ba ha ha!!!! OK, how about this – make it but only have half a serving?? That was how my brother did his diet. He refused to give up what he wanted to eat. But he forced himself to only eat HALF a serving. That was his diet. Eat anything, but only half!
I am a member of Weight Watchers, so I TRULY appreciate that you give the nutritional information! By the way, this recipe is only 11 WW SmartPoints, which is absolutely a reasonable amount for dinner (actually, since we get 30 per day, this is WELL WITHIN a dinner portion). I can’t wait to make this.
“All the essential food groups – cream, parmesan, chicken and BACON”. You’re cracking me up.
But true, no? 😉 N xx
100%.
I’m a firm believer that I’d rather have a little of indulgent food than have a lot of yucky tasting non-satisfying diet type food. The pasta looks incredible! I love your video. I noticed that the burner you use is gas, could you please share the brand? I’m working up the nerve to do a video.
Hiii Marisa! It’s such a cheap one from the Asian grocery store! Like this -> https://www.amazon.com/GS-3000-Portable-Stove-Carrying-Approved/dp/B00BS4RP7S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481103671&sr=8-1&keywords=portable+gas+stove N xx
In Step 5, where you write “Wipe pan – optional, to keep sauce pretty and white.” I realized you left out a step. By that I mean that my bacon-loving little brain jumped up and down and shouted “What about the bacon fat???”
So I mentally added “reserving one tablespoon bacon fat” to Step 5 and added “or the reserved bacon fat” after “melt butter” in the next step.
Nagi, I don’t know how you do it, but it’s so nice of you to trigger these little mental prompts for us. But I do believe I’ll make exactly as written the first time, because I think I might really enjoy the cleaner flavor the butter will provide. I’d better do it this month, though, because if I wait until January I’ll no doubt feel obliged to at least sub half and half or worse for the cream and that would just suck all the “indulgence” right out of it.
Hi Sandy! I know it feels like a crime to throw out the bacon fat but you’re right, it keeps the sauce nice and clean tasting by wiping the pan instead of using the bacon fat. I actually photographed and filmed this without wiping the pan and not using butter, but I really just felt the sauce tasted too bacony. Also it was brown instead of white. 🙂 I really should add these notes in the recipe because you make a good point! N x
Hi Nagi! This is a bowl of true comfort food! And the fact that it comes together so quickly is an added plus!
Would you be offended if I added some sun dried tomatoes? It is because of you that I always have a jar on hand! 🙂
I have a jar in the fridge I’m contemplating what to use it for RIGHT NOW!!! 🙂 Somehow it feels like you’re always reading my mind….eg that side of salmon I made…
At first I was shaking my head no… Too rich…
Then my head started nodding yes.. It wouldn’t stop until I looked in the fridge for cream, parm cheese and bacon, the freezer for chicken, the produce bin for onions and garlic and the pantry for pasta…
whooo… so glad my head stopped nodding…. Dinner tonight…. :O)
BA HA HA!! You crack me up Ross!!! See?? It’s meant to be…..
well…. it is just as good as I knew it would be… we must have small appetites as there is enough left over for another meal…(that’s a good thing)…of course I had to serve a green salad with the pasta… I consider the salad assuaged some of the guilt for the calorie count… ;o)
YESSSS!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Ross, I scrolled all the way up to see if you came back to let me know what you thought! N xx
Mmmmmmmmmm. Mmmmmmmm.
This is really all I have to say on this, Nagi.
I’d love to be able to say my favourite food is a big fat salad. But I’d be big fat lying, because really it’s this sort of thing.
Happy indulgent December!!!
What are you CRAVING???
Ohhh HELLO – that’s one good looking pasta dish! It’s actually morning here but I just watched your video and I could totally indulge in some of that creamy, cheesy pasta right now. Thanks for sharing! (And I love the Dozer pic… So recognizable!)
Cream + pasta + bacon + chicken = CAN’T GO WRONG! Right? 🙂 N x