Chicken Bacon Pasta

This Chicken Bacon Pasta is rich and comforting and the perfect dinner to take to a friend. It has chicken that is slow cooked before it’s added to a pasta with a creamy sauce, bacon, and peas.

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I am always looking for meal ideas to take to neighbors or friends, and this Chicken Bacon Pasta checks all of the boxes for me! For more ideas, try this Taco Casserole, Penne Pasta Bake Recipe, or this Ranch Chicken and Potatoes with Cheese.

Back when I had my first baby, my family was wonderful in bringing me and my husband meals. We ate very well the week or two following the birth of our little girl! Everything was just wonderful. So recently, when a neighbor had a baby and I had volunteered to bring a meal, a pasta dish that my sister brought immediately popped into my head.

I called her up to get the recipe, and she told me that she had come across a recipe that she liked even more than the one she had brought me. If it was better, I knew it would be good, so I got that recipe.

This was so good that I ended up making it for another neighbor that had just had a baby only a few weeks after the first. And lucky for me, the recipe makes so much that I had enough to take to the other family as well as enough for my family – for several meals!!

Ingredients

Chicken: I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You could also use thighs. If you use thighs, they will cook a little bit longer, but should still be up to temperature by the 4 hour mark. You can also use cooked, shredded chicken in this recipe to make it easy for a weeknight.

Marinade: I love the Lawry’s Mesquite Marinade for the chicken. It has been a little bit harder to find lately, so I’ll sub in something else when I can’t find it. You really can use any marinade that you like.

Pasta: I have always liked penne with this recipe, but any short cut pasta will work.

Bacon: I like to chop my bacon and cook it, but you can always cook the bacon and then chop it. You can also cook it in the oven, but I like to use some of the bacon drippings to make the sauce.

Butter: This is a buttery sauce – but I have not tried cutting the amount back, so I don’t know how it would turn out if you did.

Garlic: Fresh garlic is best!

Half and Half & Cream: The original recipe I printed here used all heavy cream, but I have started to use part half and half and part heavy cream and it works out great. If you do want to make it extra rich and delicious, you can use all heavy cream.

Pepper: The original recipe also called for 1 1/2 tablespoons of pepper. And I’ve made it that way many times and have loved the spice from the pepper. But using 1 1/2 tablespoons of freshly cracked pepper is very different from using 1 1/2 tablespoons of ground pepper. So I have reprinted it as 1/2 to 1 tablespoon so you can use as much as you like.

Parmesan: I like to use freshly grated Parmesan.

Peas: Frozen peas work perfectly here. If you don’t have them, (or don’t like them), you can leave them out.

How to Make Chicken Bacon Pasta

1: Combine the chicken and the marinade in a slow cooker and cook until the chicken is done, about 3-4 hours on low.

2: Remove the chicken and dice it. You can discard any marinade left in the slow cooker.

3: Dice and cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.

4: Add the butter to the skillet, and once melted, add the garlic and cook.

5: Whisk in the half and half, cream, pepper, and parmesan.

6: Let it cook until everything is combined and slightly thickened.

7: Cook and drain the pasta. Return it to the pan.

8: Add in your cooked chicken.

9: Then add the bacon.

10: Pour in the peas.

11: Then pour in your sauce.

12: Mix it all together, then pour into 2 9×13-inch pans. Sprinkle some extra parmesan on top, if desired. If eating right away, bake until the cheese is melted and everything is warmed through, about 15 minutes.

Freezing Instructions

Since this makes so much, it’s great to freeze the second dish of pasta (unless you are taking it to a friend!)

I like to put it in a disposable aluminum pan. Let the pasta cool completely. Wrap tightly with foil, and label. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To serve, remove from the freezer and let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Bake it at 350ºF, still covered, for 10-15 minutes. Remove the foil and let it cook for another 5 minutes, or until it is heated through.

What to Serve with Chicken Bacon Pasta

This pasta recipe goes with pretty much everything, but here are a few of my favorites.

• A green salad
• Antipasto Salad
• Roasted Asparagus
• Satueed Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes
• Herbed Tomato Salad
• Breadsticks
• French Bread

More Pasta Recipes

Sausage and Peppers Pasta
Easy Alfredo Sauce
Chicken Pesto Pasta
Creamy Mac and Cheese
Crock Pot Chicken Alfredo
Tuna Casserole
Chicken Stuffed Shells

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