CHICKEN AND BACON PASTA WITH SPINACH AND TOMATOES IN GARLIC CREAM SAUCE

Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce – this is one of the best chicken pasta recipes you’ll try!  It’s an Italian-inspired recipe with lots of vegetables. Sliced chicken breast and bacon are tossed with veggies and penne pasta in a delicious, creamy, homemade alfredo sauce made with Parmesan cheese.

COOKING TIPS:

• Use thin chicken breasts or chicken tenderloin meat.  Either cut of meat will work.
• Use shredded Parmesan cheese. Do not use grated Parmesan cheese, use the shredded kind. What I usually do is buy a block of Parmesan cheese and shred it myself.  Freshly shredding the cheese results in the best sauce texture. You can, however, use store-bought pre-shredded Parmesan cheese.  Just do not use the grated kind.
• You can use cooked spinach, frozen spinach, or fresh spinach. All will work.
• Make this chicken pasta gluten free. All you need to do is use gluten-free brown-rice penne pasta instead of regular penne. You can also use gluten free quinoa pasta or lentil pasta.
• Substitute half and half with heavy cream + milk. If you don’t have half and half, use heavy cream and milk instead. 1 cup of half and half equals 1/2 cup heavy creamy + 1/2 cup milk.

Let’s be honest.  Chicken pasta recipes can get boring and repetitive.   Not in this recipe! Here, you sear the chicken (with spices), then mix it with vegetables, bacon, and coat it in garlic cream sauce. So good!   This chicken and bacon pasta recipe is so easy to make and uses such basic ingredients, that you can easily make it on a regular busy weeknight!

Deliciously creamy homemade alfredo sauce perfectly combines all the flavors in this chicken and bacon pasta: garlic, spinach, tomatoes, and lots of spices!  So tasty, you might want to double the recipe!

Okay lets try ...

Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce

Chicken pasta recipes can get boring.  Not this Italian-inspired recipe!  You'll fall in love with the flavors in this Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce.  Easy weeknight dinner that the whole family will love!  Sliced chicken breast and bacon are tossed with veggies and penne pasta in a delicious, creamy, homemade alfredo sauce made with Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb chicken (chicken breasts or tenderloins)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (thyme, oregano, basil - combined)
• 5 tomatoes (medium, chopped in large cubes)
• 1 cup spinach cooked
• 5 garlic cloves minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes , crushed
• 6 bacon strips , COOKED, DRAINED OF FAT, AND CHOPPED
• 1 1/3 cups half and half
• 1 1/3 cups Parmesan cheese , shredded
• 10 oz penne pasta (for gluten-free version, use gluten-free brown-rice penne)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese , shredded, for serving

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, on high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until hot. Add chicken and cook on one side on high 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 1 minute on high heat. Reduce heat to medium, flip chicken over again and cook, covered, for several minutes until no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from the pan and keep chicken warm.
2. To the same pan (but without chicken), add chopped tomatoes, spinach, garlic, crushed red pepper, 1/3 of the chicken (sliced into small strips) and half the bacon (already cooked and drained of fat). Mix everything.
3. Add half and half and bring to boil. Only after half and half starts boiling, add shredded Parmesan cheese - immediately reduce to simmer and stir, while simmering, until the cheese melts and makes the sauce creamy, only about 1 minute (at most 2 minutes). Then, immediately remove from heat. Season with more crushed red pepper and salt, if needed.
4. 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.
5. Add pasta to the skillet with the sauce. Add remaining half of bacon (cooked and drained of fat). Season with more salt if necessary. Slice the remaining 2/3 of chicken into thin strips. To serve, top the pasta with chicken strips and shredded Parmesan cheese.

Recipe Notes

WHAT IS HALF AND HALF? To make 1 cup of half and half, combine 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream).

Recipe Adapted : CHICKEN AND BACON PASTA WITH SPINACH AND TOMATOES IN GARLIC CREAM SAUCE @ juliasalbum

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