Cheesy Pasta Bake With Chicken And Bacon – a family favourite (and it makes great leftovers too!). 
Not a lot can beat a lovely cheesy pasta bake served up with a big side of salad (obviously that makes it healthy…….)
Cheesy Pasta Bake With Chicken And Bacon is one of those dinners that the kids can polish off in no time – regardless of how many veggies I sneak in there. Peppers, onions, tomatoes, spinach – it all gets thrown in.
Sometimes I’ll add courgette or kale. If I’m being extra sneaky I might add some finely chopped mushroom too (I’m the only mushroom lover in our house – but they all eat mushrooms if they can’t identify them hee hee hee!).
I like it cold for lunch the next day too – although you can heat it up in the microwave with a tablespoon of water – to stop it drying out.
I sometimes wonder if I could eat pasta every day of the week and not get bored of it.
Let’s see…
Monday: I’ll kick-off with the chicken and bacon pasta bake.
Tuesday: Cajun Chicken Pasta
Wednesday: One Pan Lasagne Soup
Thursday: One Pot Garlic Chicken Pasta
Friday: Crispy Fried Ravioli with Spicy Tomato Dip
Saturday: Pan Fried Salmon with Creamy Lemon Spaghetti
Sunday: One Pan Spaghetti and Meatballs
Oh yeah, that was easy – I didn’t even start on the pulled pork ragu or the or the penne arrabiata!!
Do you have a favourite pasta dish? I’d love some new ideas for my pasta addiction 🙂
I first made this recipe for DIYs.com
Equipment:
In order to make this super tasty Cheesy Pasta Bake with Chicken and Bacon you will need:
- A good Kitchen knife.
- Chopping Board.
- Measuring Jug
- Measuring Spoons
- Large Pan. For boiling the Pasta
- Colander
- Baking Dish. We use this glass Pirex one but you can use another oven proof dish that will hold the pasta bake ingredients.
- Grater. (If you choose to grate your own cheese)
- Fying Pan/Skillet
- Wooden or Silicon Coated Spoons. We have just bought these and love them.
The Cheesy Pasta Bake with Chicken and Bacon Recipe:
Cheesy Pasta Bake With Chicken And Bacon
Ingredients
- 400 g dried pasta shapes (I used rigatoni)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 large chicken breasts cut into bitesize chunks
- 1 large onion peeled and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper de-seeded and chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper de-seeded and chopped
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 800 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 120 ml double (heavy) cream
- 100 g fresh baby spinach
- 6 rashers cooked bacon chopped
- 100 g strong cheddar cheese grated
- 100 g mozzarella grated
- Small bunch parsley roughly torn
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190c/375f. Boil a large pan of water and cook the pasta for 1 minute less than recommended on the pack. Drain.
- Whilst the pasta is cooking, heat the oil on a medium heat, in a large frying pan. Add the chicken, and cook until just sealed - about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook for a further 3-4 minutes until the onion is softened. Add the chopped peppers, salt, pepper, garlic, tomato puree, oregano and thyme. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the tinned tomatoes and cream, bring to a gentle bubble, then add the pasta, spinach and cooked bacon. Stir everything together, then transfer to a large baking dish.
- Top with the cheddar and mozzarella, and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown.
- Take out of the oven and top with parsley before serving.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional Information
If you’ve tried my pasta bake recipe then please rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing your thoughts and add-ons to my recipes!
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Elfi says
August 1, 2019 at 9:37 amFantastic dish and so easy and quick to make. I made 40 of them in nearly no time and it is a real winner with my clients. I forgot to put in the baby spinach but added garlic chives. This will definitely not be the last time I made this dish.
Padraig says
July 15, 2019 at 6:10 pmJust made this cheesy pasta bake, had to alter quanties to suit 7, and all went well. Recipe was delightfully direct and clear. Wonderful result, everybody loved it, especially those who were dxpecting me cheat and use a jar. Just served it with a bit of tiger bread. Definitely will do this again.
Catie says
July 15, 2019 at 7:01 amJust made this for me and my partner. We both agree this is one of the best pasta bakes we have ever had (and I make A LOT of pasta!). Perfect richness and lots of flavour. Great for packing for lunch the next day. Will be making this again!
Nora says
July 1, 2019 at 4:35 pmDelicious pasta . Made this for a party at home and all kids loved it .
Helen Gaynor says
June 29, 2019 at 7:20 amLove this recipie. A hit with the family! Very economical for a family of six! Thank you. Helen
Liz says
May 19, 2019 at 7:04 pmExcellent meal! The recipe worked really well and the whole family enjoyed it! Will definitely being making it again. Thank you
Brenda Dolphin says
May 14, 2019 at 1:37 pmMy whole family LOVE this it is a wonderful recipe
Jade says
June 4, 2019 at 5:44 pmI absolutely love this. It’s by far the best pasta dish I’ve ever made! I’m somewhat of a novice in the kitchen (can barely make an omelette!) but this was really easy to follow, I was so pleased with it!
Question though…. Do you think you could substitute the double cream for fat free natural yoghurt? Ive recently started slimming world and the cream would be syn city! The rest of it would be fine so I’m thinking either remove the cream or use yoghurt as a substitute…
What do you think?
Chris Corbishley says
June 5, 2019 at 10:15 amHi Jade,
Sorry i dont think you will be able to replace the cream for natural yoghurt as the sauce will split. You could maybe try adding a bit of low fat cream cheese towards the end of the cooking process but i havent tried it so cant vouch for the results.
Thanks
Chris & Nicky
Kelly says
April 17, 2019 at 1:32 pmI just made this few less herbs as didn’t have in added a dash of chilli sauce – loved it it made lots and my baby loved it too
Oxford says
March 15, 2019 at 12:16 pmVery tasty/
Rachel W says
February 26, 2019 at 7:53 amAmazing! My 18month old ate every last bite. Will be adding to the family favourites.
Julie Brookes says
January 28, 2019 at 3:08 pmTried this recipe for the first time today we had some roast chicken left overs…..amazing .
Susan Galek says
January 7, 2019 at 6:25 pmFound this recipe last night chicken and bacon pasta bake Jan 2019 made it this evening 7th Jan absolutely beautiful, my family loved it, definitely cook regular from now on and so easy to do.
Catherine Hosford says
December 4, 2018 at 6:45 pmI think you should add a little honey or brown sugar in recipe to counteract acid in tinned tomatoes. Other than that it’s a lovely recipe and easy to do.
Anna says
October 28, 2018 at 8:03 amMorning,
Just wondering when you say to add some liquid when reheating what liquid would be best and how much roughly?
Thank you 😊
Nicky Corbishley says
October 28, 2018 at 4:01 pmHi Anna,
I’d add just a tablespoon of two of water or stock – just to loosen it up a little.
Yonette says
October 14, 2018 at 10:22 pmAdded lots more garlic, more tomato puree, more bacon and pepper sauce. It turned iut great.