Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta tastes like a restaurant meal with the price tag of a good cheap eat. Enjoy this chicken bacon pasta with a creamy sauce dotted with tomatoes and peas. It’s absolutely delicious!
Serve this easy pasta recipe with a Spinach Salad and Easy Garlic Bread Sticks for a great weeknight or company meal. Love Pasta? Be sure to try our Easy Pasta with Lemon next.
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Pasta recipes are some of my go-to good cheap eats. We’re now a 2-pound pasta family, so thankfully, I can easily buy it for $1/pound or less. By making my own homemade sauces, I’m able to serve my family a great restaurant-quality dinner — without the restaurant-quality bill.
This Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta dish, sauced with sherry and cream and dotted with tomatoes and peas, is a huge hit at our house. I guarantee you’ll love it, too!
Why Make This
It’s easy. You should be able to whip up this creamy pasta dish in less than 30 minutes, even less if you purchase pre-cooked bacon and chicken tenders.
It’s delicious. There’s no better combo than chicken, bacon, and cream — all great comfort ingredients that really bring the flavor.
It’s affordable. Pasta is an easy meal to stretch, and bacon and chicken go on sale often, making this an easy dish to fit in the budget. This is a great cheap meal for kids.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta:
spaghetti – I use spaghetti, but really you can use any shape of pasta you have on hand. Remember shopping your kitchen is a great way to save money!
bacon – You don’t need a lot of bacon for this recipe, just a few slices. Be sure to freeze bacon leftover so you can avoid food waste and enjoy it in another meal.
herbes de Provence – I make a homemade blend, but you can use a premade spice blend. If you prefer, go ahead and use Italian Seasoning or even Cajun Spice. Both are delicious subs for the provencal herb mix.
chicken tenders – These are easy to chop, making prep work just a little bit quicker. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rotisserie chicken or even leftover turkey or chicken from other recipes.
salt and black pepper – Be sure to taste and adjust the seasonings to suit your tastes.
dry sherry – This adds an extra layer of flavor to the cream sauce. You can substitute a dry white wine or chicken broth if that’s what you have.
heavy cream – Just a cup of cream makes a luscious sauce for this creamy chicken bacon pasta.
frozen green peas – Someone in the family doesn’t care for peas, so I’ve tested this with both peas and green beans. Both are super delicious, though the two legumes bring different flavors to the dish. If you like a touch of sweet, go with peas, if not, go with green beans. You can also substitute broccoli florets if that’s what you have. All three are delicious options.
Roma tomato – I like to use Romas because they are meatier than other tomatoes. Be sure to check out our tutorial for seeding and chopping tomatoes if you haven’t already.
grated Parmesan cheese – Use parm, asiago, or romano to add just the right amount of salty umami to Creamy Chicken Pasta.
Variation: For Chicken Bacon Ranch pasta, substitute dry ranch seasoning mix for the herbes de Provence.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta:
- In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse and drain the pasta water. Set the noodles aside.
- In a large nonstick skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper toweling.
- Season the chicken with the herbes de Provence and salt and pepper to taste and cook in the hot bacon fat turning occasionally. When just cooked through, remove to a plate and chop once cool enough to handle.
- Deglaze the pan by adding the sherry and stirring up any brown bits. Simmer for 2 minutes over low heat. Stir in the cream, chicken, and peas. Simmer gently until hot.
- Place the pasta in a large serving bowl and toss with the chicken and sauce. Add the bacon and tomatoes. Adjust the seasonings. Serve with parmesan cheese.
What to do with leftovers?
If there are any leftovers, they reheat well the next day. Perfect for packing in tomorrow’s lunch! Always package and refrigerate food promptly and consume it within 4 days.
FAQs
Milk is much thinner than cream, so it will result in a watery sauce. If you’d like to use milk, consider using canned evaporated milk (NOT sweetened condensed milk) which is milk that has had the water content reduced. Alternatively, make a white sauce instead.
Consider reserving a bit of the starchy pasta water to add back into the sauce. This combo of water, starch, and fat from the cream will help thicken your sauce.
If you already have cooked chicken, simply skip the cooking step. Add the sherry to the bacon drippings and continue with the recipe. You can even use turkey leftovers!
This makes a great Lunchtime Meal Prep to Help You Save Money!
More Great Pasta Dishes
Tell us what you think!
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Creamy Chicken Pasta with Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti
- 4 slices bacon chopped
- 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
- 1 lb chicken tenders
- ½ cup dry sherry
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 cup frozen green peas no need to thaw
- 1 roma tomato seeded and chopped
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 oz Parmesan cheese (shredded) (¼ cup)
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions. Rinse and drain. Set aside.1 lb spaghetti
- In a large nonstick skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper toweling.4 slices bacon
- Season the chicken with the herbes de Provence and salt and pepper to taste and cook in the hot drippings, turning occasionally. When just cooked through, remove to a plate and chop once cool enough to handle.1 teaspoon herbes de Provence, 1 lb chicken tenders
- Deglaze the pan by adding the sherry and stirring up any brown bits. Simmer for 2 minutes over low heat. Stir in the cream, chicken and peas. Simmer gently until hot.½ cup dry sherry, 1 cup whipping cream, 1 cup frozen green peas
- Place the pasta in a large serving bowl and toss with the chicken and sauce. Add the bacon and tomatoes. Adjust the seasonings. Serve with parmesan cheese.1 roma tomato, salt, black pepper, 1 oz Parmesan cheese (shredded)
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on November 3, 2015. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Marci Girl
I made this last night and it was fantastic. Another winner!
Jessica Fisher
So glad you liked it!
Jessica
Yum yum!! If my cold is gone, I will definitely be making this pasta this weekend. I am with Jennifer, can you give us some more info on the sherry please? Also can the sherry be substituted? Thanks
Jessica Fisher
I just use cooking sherry, found with the vinegars. You can substitute any white wine or chicken broth if you prefer.
Tastycook
I am working away at my own pantry challenge this month and have quite a bit of chicken I would like to use. There’s always pasta in the pàntry so I think this will be on our table soon.
Jessica Fisher
Good luck with your pantry challenge! Let me know if there’s any way I can help.
Jennifer
This sounds wonderful. What kind of sherry do you buy? I’ve never used it and have no idea what to expect.
Jessica Fisher
I just buy the cooking sherry in the vinegar aisle.
Michelle
Sounds amazing!