Creamy White Wine Chicken and Bacon Pasta

Creamy chicken and bacon pasta, a true bowl of comfort food goodness, featuring chicken thighs & crispy bacon in a white wine & cream sauce.

Taking a shade over half an hour, this indulgent dish is a perfect midweek meal and it would be rude not to finish that bottle of wine!

Comforting Creamy Pasta

When it comes to pasta I am the type of chap that immediately thinks of ragu. I have loads on my site ranging from venison ragu to a delicious vegan red lentil ragu with loads of stops in between.

This recipe is a rare foray into the joy that is an unctuously creamy and indulgent pasta. If you want other examples you should definitely try my creamy steak pasta with a Diane sauce, my creamy lemon chicken pasta or my wonderful chicken and mushroom tagliatelle.

As the name suggests my creamy chicken and bacon pasta recipe is rich and indulgent and may not be the diet dish that you are looking for!

That clingy thick sauce is a combination of white wine, double cream, and parmesan cheese… oh yeah and some parsley. It’s green, it’s good for you right?

Cooking the bacon separately from the sauce means that this pasta recipe has a wonderful contrast in texture. I take a similar approach with my chicken and bacon risotto.

Cooking the chicken in the bacon fat means that you still get a big whack of bacon flavour from the sauce!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to use wine?

No, you could substitute the wine in this recipe for chicken stock, it changes the flavour but it is still delicious.

What sort of wine should I use?

The first thing to do is to ensure that you are using a dry white wine, then knock yourself out.

Chardonnay will emphasize the richness of the dish and as far as I am concerned, it is the nicest wine to drink with this recipe.

Sauvignon blanc adds a nice “tartness” to the dish which is a great contrast with the creamy sauce. Chenin Blanc and Pinot Gris are also nice options.

What is streaky bacon?

A question commonly asked by my American readers, so this is for you guys. Streaky bacon is what you guys call bacon, it is cut from the belly and has a high-fat content.

In the UK we also have back bacon, which is what you guys call Canadian bacon I make the distinction here because the fat content is important.

Serving Suggestions

The clingy sauce in this creamy chicken and bacon pasta begs for long pasta with a wider profile than spaghetti, I use linguine.

But there are plenty of other pasta shapes that work well.

Pappardelle like I use in my prawn and pea pasta recipe is great, as are both tagliatelle and fettuccini. You could also get away with farfalle and fusilli, but they would not be my favourite for this sauce.

You could even use giant pasta shells, the same sort that I use in my stuffed pasta shells are perfect. Plenty of surface area to grab that sauce and nooks and crannies for the chunks of chicken and crispy bacon to hide.

As for side dishes I’d usually cook up some garlic bread to clean the plate of the creamy sauce.

Equipment Used

I only name-check brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Hob/Stovetop.
• Grill (broiler).
• 25cm or 10″ frying pan or skillet.
• 20cm or 8″ saucepan.
• Chopping board.
• Kitchen knife.
• Weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.
• Kitchen tongs, stirring and serving spoons.
• Kitchen paper.

Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta Step-by-Step Photos

1. Heat your grill to high and cook the bacon until crispy set aside to cool, keeping the bacon fat for cooking the chicken. Do this whilst you are preparing the rest of the ingredients, but be careful not to burn the chicken.
   
2. Heat a frying pan over medium-low heat, add the bacon fat, shallots and garlic to cook for 2-3 minutes, do not brown.
   
3. Turn the heat to medium, add the chicken pieces, season with salt and cook for 5 minutes.
   
4. Pour in the white wine, add the parsley and thyme, and reduce the wine by half.
   
5. Cook the pasta until al dente, reserve some of the cooking water.
   
6. Reduce the heat under the chicken to low when the pasta is almost cooked add the cream and parmesan cheese and cook to thicken for 2 minutes.
   
7. Crumble through the bacon reserving a little for a garnish.
   
8. Add the pasta to the chicken sauce and stir to coat, adding a little of the pasta water if needed. Serve immediately with the reserved bacon and some chopped parsley as garnish.