This Creamy Bacon Pasta recipe has an indulgent tomato cream sauce with garlic, Parmesan cheese, simple seasonings, and crispy bacon! Your family will love this restaurant-quality dinner with a side of Garlic Bread with Cheese.
Bacon Pasta
I can’t wait for you to smell this creamy bacon sauce. It’s got the perfect balance of garlic, Parmesan, fresh tomatoes, cream, seasonings, and of course… bacon.
You can use any kind of pasta with this recipe. I love using bowtie pasta (farfalle), medium shells, regular or thin spaghetti, and even penne.
Let’s get to it! Here’s what you need to know:
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Cook the bacon over low and slow heat until crispy. Remove and reserve 1 TBS drippings.
Add minced garlic and add splashes of chicken broth to the pan. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the pan while the garlic cooks for 1-2 minutes.
Once the bottom and sides of the pan are clean, add remaining chicken broth, cream, tomato paste, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.
Add cherry tomatoes and stir in room temperature cream cheese. Let it bubble gently, partially covered, while you boil the pasta. Reduce heat to low and gradually stir in Parmesan cheese.
Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. The sauce will thicken upon standing and the pasta will continue to absorb it. Garnish with crumbled bacon and fresh parsley.
Pro Tips
- Any kind of pasta can be used in this recipe. My favorites include bowtie (farfalle), medium shells, and thin or regular spaghetti.
- Diced/drained tomatoes can be used instead of cherry tomatoes. I like the flavor and texture from the softened cherry tomatoes but a firmer and more uniform texture from diced tomatoes may be preferred.
- The cream cheese must be at room temperature in order to melt well into the sauce.
- Be sure to grate Parmesan cheese from a block instead of using packaged grated cheese as it will melt much smoother and creamier.
- If you substitute half and half instead of heavy cream, heat it in the microwave for 30-40 seconds before adding it into the sauce to ensure that it doesn’t curdle.
- You can’t taste the mustard powder, it enhances the other flavors in the recipe.
- If you love extra saucy pasta, use slightly less than 1/2 lb.
Storage
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)– Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- Stainless Steel Skillet– This is the one I used for this recipe.
- Kitchen Tongs– Easiest way to handle and flip the bacon.
- Silicone Spatula
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Tried This Recipe?
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Bacon Pasta
Ingredients
Seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne, optional
Pasta
- 5 slices bacon
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 pinch Red pepper Flakes
- 2 Tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 8 oz spaghetti
- Fresh Parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- Cook the bacon slowly over low heat until crispy on each side. Remove and set aside on a paper towel lined plate. Reserve 1 tablespoon bacon drippings. Remove any black flecks from pan, but leave the brown remnants on the bottom as this will add great flavor to the sauce.
- Add reserved bacon drippings to the pan along with the garlic over medium heat.
- Add a splash of chicken broth and use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the pan. Continue to add small splashes of broth while the garlic cooks for 1-2 minutes.
- Once the bottom and sides of the pan are clean, you’ll be left with a brown liquid full of flavor. Add any remaining chicken broth along with the tomato paste, seasonings, and heavy cream. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the cherry tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and room temperature cream cheese. Stir to combine the cream cheese into the sauce. Cover partially and let it bubble slightly while you begin boiling salted pasta water. The tomatoes will eventually split.
- Taste the sauce and season with a pinch of salt if desired.
- Cook pasta 1 minute less than instructed on package. Once the pasta is nearly finished, reduce heat on the sauce to low. Gradually sprinkle on freshly grated Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. If the base is too hot when you do this, the dairy will separate and you’ll have a grainy consistency so be sure to let the heat reduce to low.
- Use kitchen tongs to add the pasta to the sauce and toss to combine until desired sauce/pasta ratio is obtained. Allow it to cook for 1 minute more to allow the sauce to thicken further and for the pasta to absorb it.
- The sauce will continue to thicken further upon standing. Garnish with chopped bacon and fresh parsley and serve with Garlic Bread with Cheese.
Notes
- Any kind of pasta can be used in this recipe. My favorites include bowtie (farfalle), medium shells, and thin or regular spaghetti.
- If you love extra saucy pasta, use slightly less than 1/2 lb.
- Diced/drained tomatoes can be used instead of cherry tomatoes. I like the flavor and texture from the softened cherry tomatoes but a firmer and more uniform texture from diced tomatoes may be preferred.
- The cream cheese must be at room temperature in order to melt well into the sauce.
- Be sure to grate Parmesan cheese from a block instead of using packaged grated cheese as it will melt much smoother and creamier.
- If you substitute half and half instead of heavy cream, heat it in the microwave for 30-40 seconds before adding it into the sauce to ensure that it doesn’t curdle.
- The mustard powder may seem strange, but it enhances the other flavors in the recipe.
Awesome recipe thank you, it was a hit with the family 😊
You’re very welcome Eryne, I’m so happy this was a hit with the family! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💕
I made this tonight and it turned out amazing. Looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Yayyyy! That’s so great to hear Deborah. I know from experience this makes an amazing lunch, enjoy!💖
I found this bland and way too rich. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this at all. I used angel hair pasta which is maybe too thin for the heavy sauce. The recipe doesn’t call for salt in the sauce itself and after I added the pasta, it was impossible to add and stir in.
Hmmm!! Between the bacon itself and the combination of 6 seasonings, I’m surprised that you found it bland. The bacon adds plenty of salt to the recipe. I wouldn’t recommend angel hair at all, that definitely cannot withstand this sauce.
My 10 yr old grandson and I love this dish, the only addition I added was 1 1/2 tab of fish sauce. Note I own a Thai restaurant and fish sauce is a umami and enhances all the flavors.
Wow such great comments from a restaurant owner! Thanks so much Deirdre!💗
Oh wow. This is delicious. It’s almost like a delicious Italian tomato soup fell into your extra creamy Mac and cheese? It’s fantastic.
I paired this down to a one person dish since I’m the only one home tonight, and I didn’t have fresh tomatoes and wasn’t going to open a can for just a bit. I did have some sundried tomatoes in the fridge though, so instead I put some of them in and they worked great! I honestly wish I would have made enough for 2!
Hi Kat! I am so happy that you enjoyed this recipe!!! Thank you so much for leaving this great review, I really appreciate it!
We are not a tomato family what would you suggest to substitute? Can’t wait to make it. Thank you
Hi Cynthia! Can you give me more info about the issue with tomatoes? Is it the whole cherry tomatoes or just any type of tomato flavor?
no allergies just dont like tomatoes but love the flavor
I would either just skip the tomatoes, or add something else like a little spinach, or sauté mushrooms on the side and then add them in at the end 🙂 I also have a Bacon Ranch Pasta recipe that you might like, it doesn’t have tomatoes.
This was delicious and not hard at all to make. All members of my family loved it!!
I’m so happy to hear the whole family loved it Stacey! This one seems to pass the kid test, even my picky daughter likes it. My husband and I love it too, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💖
Hello. I didn’t have the chance to buy the Parmesan block. I have the packaged one. I wonder if that will still be okay to use? 😅
Hi Dannah! Yes, you’ll be okay to use that, the block just gives better results! ❤️
This recipe is just amazing.
What would you recommend drinking with it?
Hi Ruth, I’m not sure what kind of drink you have in mind, are you looking for a wine pairing suggestion?
I just made this for dinner. It was delicious! The whole family loved it. We’re big on bacon around here so next time, I’ll just fry the whole package. Maybe add a little chicken or shrimp as well. It wasn’t difficult at all because I’m a terrible cook. Fantastic meal!
I like your style April!🙌 We’re bacon eaters too, and chicken and shrimp would be amazing in this! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!❤️
Made this last night and it was delicious! We are saucy people so I double the recipe for the suace. Will definitely be making this often from now on since I have all the ingredients on hand most of the time. My husband loved it!!!! Thanks for sharing.
I am so happy that you enjoyed this recipe Jessica! I am very much a sauce person too, it’s the best! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie