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Creamy Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Spinach
This creamy chicken pasta with bacon and spinach is a rich 30-minute dinner loaded with juicy chicken, crispy bacon, fresh spinach, and penne in a silky Parmesan tomato cream sauce. Perfect for busy weeknights or feeding a crowd.
Servings: 4 servings
servings
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.
Nutrition Facts
Creamy Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Spinach
Amount per Serving
Calories
1059
% Daily Value*
Fat
67
g
103
%
Saturated Fat
33
g
206
%
Trans Fat
1
g
Cholesterol
241
mg
80
%
Sodium
1027
mg
45
%
Potassium
1164
mg
33
%
Carbohydrates
64
g
21
%
Fiber
5
g
21
%
Sugar
6
g
7
%
Protein
50
g
100
%
Vitamin A
4656
IU
93
%
Vitamin C
26
mg
32
%
Calcium
422
mg
42
%
Iron
3
mg
17
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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