This Creamy Chicken and Garlic Pasta is just the right amount of special featuring bacon, spinach, and seasoned chicken in a delicious garlicky cream sauce.
What could be better than a pasta dish with baby spinach, sweet caramelized onions, and crispy bacon?
This pasta recipe has all of that- plus a savory garlic cream sauce. It feels special, but it's all one dish. While it takes some time, nothing is too difficult or requires any special cooking skills. It feels fancy, though!
For this recipe, you can work ahead and this helps save a lot of time in the kitchen the night of. Personally, I made the bacon and chicken ahead of time. Tailor this to how long you want to be spending in the kitchen. There are several steps that you can do ahead of time, like frying up the bacon, marinating the chicken, caramelizing the onions, even cooking the pasta.
Ingredients
- Chicken: I used boneless skinless chicken breasts, but chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins would also work.
- Olive Oil: This is used to help coat the chicken pieces in their seasoning as well as brown the meat.
- Spices: A blend of paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt to season the chicken pieces.
- Butter: Butter is used to as the base of the garlic cream sauce.
- Onion: I used regular yellow onion, but for a mellower onion flavor you can sub in shallot.
- Garlic: Lots of it. Feel free to measure with your heart if you want to add even more.
- Fresh spinach: It may look like a lot, but when it wilts it goes down significantly.
- Heavy cream: This helps make a rich, thick sauce.
- Pasta Water: Pasta water is important ingredient so don't forgot to reserve some before draining your pasta. The starch helps to thicken and emulsify the sauce.
- Bacon: This adds a delicious saltiness to the dish. Tip: If you have bacon for breakfast- save a few pieces for later use.
- Pasta: You can use your favorite shape of pasta. You could even use homemade pasta using this easy homemade pasta recipe.
- Parmesan Cheese: Fresh grated is best if you can, it melts better.
How to Make Creamy Chicken and Garlic Pasta
Step 1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and place into a mixing bowl. Add onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and 1 tbsp. olive oil. Mix well.
Step 2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
Step 3. Heat remaining 1 tbsp. of olive oil in large deep skillet over medium heat. Place chicken pieces in skillet and brown until cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.
While chicken is cooking, in a large pot, cook your pasta according to the packaging instructions. Be sure to reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
Step 4. Remove chicken to a plate to the side. Reduce heat to medium and to the same pan, melt butter. At diced onions and cook for 5 minutes until they soften and start to brown.
Step 5. Stir in minced garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
Step 6. Add pasta water and deglaze pan, scraping up any browned bits as they have lots of flavor.
Step 7. To the pan, add heavy cream and freshly grated parmesan cheese and whisk to create a sauce.
Step 8. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes to thicken.
Step 9. Add cooked bacon pieces and chopped spinach.
Step 10. Stir and cook until spinach is wilted, about a minute.
Step 11. Add cooked pasta.
Step 12. Add chicken pieces and give it a final stir to coat everything in the creamy sauce.
Variations
I love the way this creamy chicken pasta comes together, but there are some great ways to switch up the recipe as well!
- Make it vegetarian. Although alfredo with bacon is hard to argue with, this recipe can easily be made vegetarian! Simply remove the chicken and bacon and you are set. There are so many other good flavors (cream, spinach, caramelized onions) that it will definitely stand up as a delicious pasta dish!
- Add in different veggies. I LOVE alfredo with peas. Zucchini or broccoli would also be lovely!
- Use rotisserie chicken. Want to make things even more easy on yourself? Shred up ½ of a rotisserie chicken to use.
- Substitute cream cheese. Did you know that truly traditional alfredo sauce doesn't have heavy cream? It is just butter and cheese. Although that is delicious as well, I wanted this creamy chicken alfredo to be extra creamy-- hence the heavy cream. A lot of people like to use cream cheese in their sauce-- I would give it a try! Start with 4 oz., and go from there to see if you need the full block.
Storage
Keep this chicken bacon spinach alfredo pasta in the fridge for a few days after making. It reheats well in the microwave for some delicious leftovers.
You can freeze it, but a lot of the sauce will be absorbed when you reheat it from frozen-- so it is better fresh.
More Date Night Pasta Dishes
This Chicken Spinach Alfredo Pasta with Bacon is perfect for date night
Looking for other delicious pasta recipes to make at home? Try one of the following.
- Gigi Hadid Pasta (Spicy Vodka Sauce Pasta) You're not going to want to miss this dish that went crazy on Tik Tok!
- Fettuccine Alfredo with Steak
- Olive Garden Steak Gorgonzola Copycat
- Orecchiette with Mini Meatballs The first recipe I ever posted, and still one of my very favorites!
- Spicy Chicken Pasta Use red pepper flakes and hot sauce to cater this to your preferred heat level!
Did you enjoy this Creamy Chicken and Garlic Pasta Recipe? I would love for you to let me know by leaving a comment and star rating. I can't wait to hear from you!
Creamy Chicken and Garlic Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp. olive oil divided
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. butter divided
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups fresh spinach roughly chopped
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 4 strips bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 lb. pasta any shape
- 1 cup pasta water reserved from cooked pasta
- 1 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
Instructions
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and place into a mixing bowl. Add onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and 1 tbsp. olive oil. Mix well. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
- In a large, deep skillet, heat remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil on medium-high heat.
- Place chicken pieces in skillet and brown until cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.
- While chicken is cooking, in a large pot, cook your pasta according to the packaging instructions. Be sure to reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
- Remove chicken to a plate to the side. Reduce heat to medium and to the same pan, melt butter. At diced onions and cook for 5 minutes until they soften and start to brown.
- Stir in minced garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
- Add pasta water and deglaze pan, scraping up any browned bits as they have lots of flavor.
- To the pan, add heavy cream and freshly grated parmesan cheese and whisk to create a sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Add cooked bacon pieces and chopped spinach.
- Stir and cook until spinach is wilted, about a minute.
- Add cooked pasta and chicken pieces and give it a final stir to coat everything in the creamy sauce.
TRINITY F GORZ
Love Date night safe nights! Always love new menu ideas!
Sarah
It's the way to go right now!