This chicken penne with bacon and spinach has been my most-requested chicken pasta for a decade, and I revisited the sauce in August 2026 to keep it silky instead of thick. Crispy bacon, juicy seared chicken, and wilted spinach get tossed with penne in a garlicky tomato-cream sauce that clings to every noodle. One pan for the sauce, 30 minutes total, dinner is served!
This creamy chicken pasta with bacon and spinach started as a way to use up half a package of bacon and a container of spinach that was about to turn. Now it's the dinner I make when I want something that tastes like it took effort but actually took twenty minutes of active cooking. Seared chicken, crispy bacon, wilted spinach, and penne all end up in one Parmesan tomato cream sauce that clings to every ridge of pasta. If you love Creamy Chicken Pasta Recipes, this one is right up your alley.
Recipe Summary
- ⏱️ Total time: 30 minutes start to finish
- 🍽️ Equipment needed: One large skillet, no extra pots for the sauce
- 🥓 Bacon prep: Cooked crisp first and set aside so its rendered fat flavors the rest of the dish
- 🐔 Chicken prep: Seared in the bacon fat until golden, then sliced and returned later
- 🍅 Sauce base: Tomatoes, cream, and Parmesan simmered together until thickened and glossy
- 🥬 Spinach timing: Added at the end just to wilt, keeping its color and texture intact
- 🍝 Pasta pairing: Penne holds the chunky sauce well, catching bits of bacon and chicken in every bite
Why This Recipe Has Stayed in Rotation Since 2016
The sauce is a garlic tomato base loosened with a splash of pasta water, then finished with cream so it clings to the penne instead of pooling at the bottom of the pan. When I retested it in August 2026, I found that adding the cream a little later, off direct heat, gives an even silkier texture and keeps it from thickening too fast before the pasta goes in. Crispy bacon and seared chicken go in first, wilted spinach goes in last, and the whole dinner is on the table in about 30 minutes - no oven, one pan for the sauce, one pot for the pasta
If you like this kind of creamy pasta, I've also got a chicken pasta with white wine and Parmesan that's lighter and a touch more delicate than this one.
Ingredients for Chicken Bacon Pasta
Chicken: I use thin-cut chicken breast here specifically because it sears through in under 8 minutes total, which keeps this a genuine 30-minute dinner. Full-thickness breasts work too, just pound them to an even ½-inch first so they don't overcook on the outside before the center is done.
Bacon: Bacon adds smoky, salty depth and its rendered fat becomes the base for searing the chicken, so nothing extra needs to be added to the pan. If you love bacon and spinach together, this spinach and bacon stuffed chicken breast leans on the same pairing.
Pasta: I use penne because the ridges hold the sauce, but I've made this with rigatoni when that's what was in the pantry and it worked just as well - anything with texture on the surface will do the job; smooth pasta shapes like spaghetti tend to leave more sauce pooled at the bottom of the bowl.
Parmesan: Parmesan is what thickens this sauce naturally as it melts in, so use a block and grate it fresh rather than using the pre-shredded bag.
Tomatoes: Canned diced tomatoes, drained, work as well as fresh here and are what I use most weeks - fresh tomatoes need to be peeled and seeded first to avoid excess liquid thinning the sauce, which is extra effort this recipe doesn't need.
Spinach: Fresh spinach wilts down fast and adds body to the sauce without making it heavy. Frozen works too - just squeeze out the excess water first, since skipping that step is the most common reason this sauce turns watery instead of creamy.
Heavy Cream: Heavy cream is what gives this sauce its body and keeps it stable once it's simmering with the tomatoes; milk breaks in a tomato-based sauce because it doesn't have enough fat to stay emulsified against the acidity.
Seasonings: Salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, paprika, red pepper flakes.
You'll also need butter and olive oil.
How to Make Creamy Chicken Pasta with Bacon
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients, measurements & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1 - Cook the Bacon and Chicken
Dice the bacon and cook it in a single layer over medium heat until crisp, about 6-7 minutes - overcrowding the pan makes it steam instead of render, so cook in two batches if your pan is small. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Drain most of the fat, leaving a thin coating for the chicken. Pat the chicken dry, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and sear over medium-high heat for 4 minutes per side. Pull it at exactly 165°F and let it rest 3-5 minutes before slicing - residual heat keeps cooking the chicken for a minute or two after it's off the pan, so cutting in immediately releases juices you want to stay locked in. Dig deeper: How to Pan-Sear Chicken Breast.
Step 2 - Build the Tomato-Cream Sauce
In the same pan, melt the butter and cook the garlic for about a minute until fragrant, then add the diced tomatoes and cook until they release their juices, roughly 3 minutes. Stir in the spinach until wilted, then lower the heat before adding the cream - this is the step where timing actually matters. Adding cream to a pan that's still hot from searing chicken is the most common reason this sauce breaks or turns grainy, so let the pan cool slightly first, then bring the cream to a bare simmer and add the Parmesan gradually, stirring constantly until smooth. Freshly grated Parmesan melts into the sauce; pre-shredded won't, because the anti-caking coating keeps it from fully dissolving.
Step 3 - Combine Pasta, Sauce, and Spinach
Cook the penne in well-salted water. I recommend to cook pasta until al dente, then reserve about ½ cup of the starchy pasta water before draining - don't rinse the pasta. Return the sliced chicken and crispy bacon to the pan with the sauce, add the pasta, and toss until everything is coated, using splashes of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce as needed. The starch in that water is what helps the sauce cling to the ridges of the penne instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Finish with parsley and extra Parmesan and serve right away, since this sauce is at its silkiest the moment it comes off the heat.
Creamy Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Spinach
Ingredients
Main Ingredients:
- 6 bacon strips
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken (thick in size, such as chicken breasts)
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 4 small tomatoes (diced)
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (more, if desired)
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1.5 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded (more for garnish)
Pasta:
- 10 oz. penne pasta
- 2 tablespoons Parsley (chopped)
Instructions
Cook bacon
- Add bacon strips to the skillet and cook until crispy. Transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined platter that will absorb extra grease. Chop into 1 inch pieces
- Drain the bacon fat from the skillet and wipe the skillet with a paper towel.
Cook chicken
- Paper towel dry the chicken and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Then set aside.
- Heat olive oil in the same skillet.
- Add chicken breasts and cook on each side on medium high heat for about 4 minutes per side (for a total of 8 minutes) until nicely browned.
- If chicken is still pink in the center, reduce heat to medium and cook covered for several minutes until no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from pan and slice it.
Make sauce
- Add butter to the hot pan and once it melts, add chopped garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes on medium high until tomatoes release their juices. Add fresh spinach and cook until it wilts.
- Reduce the heat and season with paprika, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and salt. Mix.
- Next add heavy cream - you are still cooking on low heat. Once heavy cream is slightly simmering, slowly add Parmesan cheese. Once you add the cheese, stir on low simmer until smooth.
Cook pasta
- In the meantime bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta, but do not rinse.
Final assembly
- Add sliced chicken, bacon and pasta to the sauce in the pan.Once heated up, add chopped parsley. Stir until fully coated in sauce.Season with more salt if necessary.
- Serve with additional shredded Parmesan and red pepper flakes, if desired.
Video
Notes
- Grate your own Parmesan for this one. The pre-shredded stuff has anti-caking starch on it that makes cream sauces go slightly grainy instead of silky. It's a five-minute difference that actually shows up in the final texture.
- Bacon fat is doing more than flavor here - it's your emulsifier. If you drain the pan completely after cooking the bacon, the sauce won't bind the same way. Leave a thin film, even if it looks like more fat than you think you need.
- Cook the chicken in batches if your pan is crowded. Overlapping pieces steam instead of sear, and you lose the browned bits on the bottom of the pan that would otherwise flavor the sauce.
- If the sauce breaks: pull the pan off the heat immediately, add a splash of warm (not cold) pasta water, and stir in slow circles rather than whisking hard. Whisking fast can actually push it further apart instead of bringing it back together.
- Spinach releases water as it wilts - if your sauce looks thinner than expected right after adding it, give it a minute before adjusting. It usually tightens back up on its own as the liquid cooks off.
- This one doesn't freeze well. Cream sauces separate on thawing no matter how carefully you reheat them. If you want a freezer-friendly version, hold the cream and Parmesan back and stir them in fresh after thawing the base.
- Reheating leftovers: low heat, lid on, splash of cream or reserved pasta water stirred in halfway through. Skip the microwave if you can - it heats unevenly and tends to make the sauce split at the edges of the bowl before the center's even warm.
Troubleshooting: Fixing a Broken or Thin Sauce
Sauce looks broken or grainy. This happens when cream hits a pan still hot from searing the chicken and bacon - the fat separates from the dairy proteins before they can emulsify. Pull the pan off the heat, add a splash of cold reserved pasta water, and whisk vigorously; the starch helps re-bind the fat and liquid. Dig deeper: How to Fix a Broken Cream Sauce.
Sauce is too thin. The tomatoes released more liquid than the cream and Parmesan can thicken on their own. Simmer uncovered for 2-3 minutes to reduce it, or stir in an extra tablespoon of freshly grated Parmesan off heat - the starch in real Parmesan thickens the sauce as it melts, which pre-shredded Parmesan can't do because of its anti-caking coating.
Sauce is too thick or gluey. This happens when the sauce sits too long over heat after the Parmesan goes in, or when it's reheated without added liquid. Loosen it with reserved pasta water, a tablespoon at a time - the starch keeps it silky instead of watering down the flavor.
Sauce separates after reheating leftovers. Cream-and-tomato sauces are more prone to this than pure cream sauces, because the acidity in the tomatoes destabilizes the fat further once the sauce cools and re-melts. Reheat gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat with a splash of water or milk, stirring constantly - the microwave's uneven heat causes the separation by overheating parts of the sauce while others stay cold.
Ways to change it up
- Lighter version: swap heavy cream for half-and-half. Skip regular milk - it's too thin and breaks easily in a tomato-based sauce.
- Different bacon: turkey bacon works if you want something leaner, or use pancetta or diced smoked sausage for a different kind of smoke.
- Vegetarian: drop the chicken and bacon, and sauté 8 oz cremini mushrooms with ½ cup roasted red peppers instead.
- Spicier: double the red pepper flakes, or finish with a drizzle of Calabrian chili oil.
- Deeper tomato flavor: replace the diced tomatoes with chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil.
If you're into easy chicken pasta, Chicken Lazone and Creamy Garlic Lemon Pasta are two more I reach for often.
Reader-Tested Twist: Sausage, Tomato Basil & Evaporated Milk
A reader tried this and I love where they took it. One of you had leftover tomato basil sauce in the fridge and used it in place of the crushed tomatoes here - smart move, since that sauce is already seasoned with garlic and basil, so it does double duty as your tomato base and your herb hit in one step.
They also skipped heavy cream entirely and thickened evaporated milk with a bit of flour instead. If you try this swap, whisk the flour into the cold evaporated milk before it hits the hot pan - adding it directly to a simmering sauce is the fastest way to end up with lumps.
Then they swapped the chicken and bacon for Italian sausage and doubled down on spinach - this might be the easier one-pan version of this dish for a weeknight, since the sausage renders its own fat right in the pan. The sausage renders its own fat right in the pan (so you can skip the extra olive oil for browning), and its fennel and garlic seasoning does a lot of the flavor-building work that the bacon was handling in my original version. Here's Italian Sausage Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto for you to try as well.
My take: if you're out of cream, out of chicken, or just working from what's in your fridge, this version proves the formula is flexible - tomato base + creamy dairy + salty protein + greens is really the whole architecture of this recipe. Swap any one piece and it still holds together. Try it and let me know how the sausage version compares to the original in the comments.
Creamy Chicken Pasta is one of the most versatile dinners you can make - check out The Complete Guide to Pasta Recipes for all the variations.
Common questions
Thin-cut chicken breast is what I use most in this recipe because it sears in under 8 minutes total and stays juicy at that thickness. Rotisserie chicken is the shortcut a few readers have mentioned using successfully in the comments - it cuts the active cooking time down since you skip the searing step entirely.
Usually the heat was too high when the Parmesan or cream went in. Pull the pan off the heat, add a splash of warm pasta water, and stir in a circular motion until it comes back together.
Cream sauces don't freeze cleanly - they tend to separate on thawing. If freezing is the plan, hold off on the cream and Parmesan until you reheat.
Yes - one reader in the comments left off the bacon and chicken entirely and swapped in Italian sausage instead, which worked because the sausage renders its own fat in the pan the same way the bacon does. If you're skipping bacon without a substitute, a teaspoon of smoked paprika added to the sauce gets you most of that smoky depth back
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheating on the stovetop over medium-low with a few tablespoons of water or reserved pasta water works better than the microwave here - the microwave's uneven heat is what breaks this particular sauce, since the cream-to-tomato ratio is thinner than a straight Alfredo.
Swap the penne for a chickpea or brown rice pasta - I've used both in this exact sauce, and chickpea pasta held its shape better through the full simmer time than brown rice penne, which softened faster than regular pasta once tossed with the sauce.
Rounding out the meal
I usually serve this with an Olive Garden-style salad, a loaf of Dutch Oven Bread, or steamed broccoli on the side. A glass of Pinot Grigio pairs well if you're serving this for a dinner that's a little more than a Tuesday.
More Easy Creamy Chicken Pasta Recipes
- Creamy Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Louisiana Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Lemon Garlic Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta
This Creamy Chicken Pasta recipe was originally published Aug 14, 2017. It was updated and republished 10/15/25.
Dave says
Very flavorful. Easy and quick.
Laureen says
Looks good
Wendy G says
This was really, really good. Made as directed with the author’s suggestion of swapping fresh diced tomatoes for drained diced tomatoes. Definitely keeping this in our dinner rotation!
Ann says
I make all lot. My family loves it. And its great the next day maybe even better.
Laurie Courter says
Very good! The only changes I made were after cooking the bacon, I drained all but a T of the grease and sauteed the tomatoes with chopped mushrooms. I also added twice as much spinach. I used 2 breasts from a rotisserie chicken and added some of the thigh meat as well. This is a well seasoned dish.
Olya Shepard says
So happy it worked with the rotisserie chicken! I'm glad you liked it!
Tammy says
Can this recipe be frozen and reheated?
Olya says
Yes, you can freeze it, but cook pasta al dente so that it's still sort of firm when you freeze it. Otherwise, it will be mushy.
Lola says
It was so good but it’s really hard to not finish everything at once. Thank you for low fat alternatives!
Rose says
It’s not unhealthy unless you eat like this all the time! Because you have a fat issue that’s on you not the recipe!
Nicole says
Do you think it’s fattening?? Ok then just don’t make it then. Or maybe make it as written and then eat it on your cheat day if you r counting fat. I think this was spectacular!! Try it.
Marsharena Lee says
This dish is phenomenal! I wouldn't change anything about it, well maybe add way more spinach. But this recipe is great just the way it is!
Olya says
Thank you for your kind words!
Sophie says
I used this recipe as inspiration. Had a bit of tomato basil sauce leftover so used it instead of tomatoes. Don't use cream so thickened an equivalent amount of evaporated milk with a bit of flour. Omitted bacon and chicken and served it with an Italian sausage and spinach. Very tasty. Thank you for the inspiration.
Olya Shepard says
Very very good inspiration result!