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Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Parmesan

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!

Creamy chicken and bacon pasta served in a white bowl.

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!

Close up creamy chicken and bacon pasta.

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.

Overhead creamy chicken and bacon pasta served in a white bowl.

Serving Suggestions

The clingy sauce in this creamy chicken and bacon pasta begs for big pasta with lots of surface area.

Combine that with the big chunks of chicken then 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.

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.

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

Creamy chicken and bacon pasta with crispy bacon bits.

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.

  • Stovetop.
  • Grill (broiler).
  • 28cm or 11″ 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.
  • Kicthen paper.
Creamy chicken and bacon pasta with crispy bacon bits.
Yield: 2 Servings

Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

A delicious and indulgent creamy chicken and bacon pasta featuring crispy smoke bacon, succulent chicken thighs in a creamy parmesan cheese sauce.

Ingredients

  • 250g (8oz) Chicken Thighs
  • 8 Rashers Streak Bacon
  • 1 Shallot
  • 2 Cloves Garlic
  • 75ml (⅓ Cup) Dry White Wine
  • Salt to taste
  • 175g (6oz) Dried Pasta
  • 125ml (½ Cup) Double Cream
  • 20g (½ Cup) Fresh Parsley
  • 25g (¼ Cup) Grated Parmesan Cheese
  • 5 Sprigs Fresh Thyme

Instructions

  1. Heat a grill or broiler to high and cook the bacon until crispy which should take around 10-12 minutes.
  2. Peel and dice the shallot as finely as you can.
  3. Peel and slice the garlic as thinly as you can.
  4. Cut the chicken thighs into strips around 5mm (¼") thick and 50mm (2") long.
  5. When the bacon is cooked set aside on some kitchen towel and transfer the rendered bacon fat to a frying pan 28cm or 11". You need around 2 tablespoons, if you do not have enough make it up with butter.
  6. Heat the bacon fat over a low heat and add the shallots and garlic and cook without colouring for 5 minutes.
  7. Turn up the heat to medium, add the chicken and season with a generous pinch of salt then cook for another 5 minutes.
  8. Bring a 20cm or 8" saucepan of generously salted water (see note) to the boil and cook the pasta as per instructions.
  9. Finely chop the parsley.
  10. Pick the leaves from the thyme.
  11. Pour the white wine into the pan with the chicken, add the parsley and thyme, then reduce the wine by half.
  12. Crumble the now-cooled and crispy bacon.
  13. Reduce the heat to low and stir through the cream.
  14. Simmer on low until the pasta is cooked.
  15. Crumble through most of the bacon reserving a little for garnish.
  16. Drain the pasta reserving a little of the cooking water then add to the sauce, stir to coat, adding as much pasta water to complete the sauce, this should be around 75ml (⅓ Cup).

Notes

As a rule of thumb, I use a 1½ teaspoons of water in a pan this size.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1025Total Fat: 67gSaturated Fat: 29gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 34gCholesterol: 305mgSodium: 1827mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 62g

Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

Did you make this recipe?

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