I stole this recipe for Chicken Penne with Bacon & Spinach in Creamy Tomato Sauce from Whatsinthepan.com who stole it from juliasalbum.com. This pasta dish has a tasty combination of chicken, bacon, spinach, tomatoes, garlic and a Parmesan cream sauce. Seasoned chicken is cooked with garlic in a skillet, and then sliced thickly and set aside. The sauce starts with fresh tomatoes and spinach. Half and half is added to the pan with Parmesan cheese and cooked until the cheese is melted. Sliced chicken is added to the sauce with cooked pasta and bacon. The finished pasta dish is full of flavor! You don’t need a whole package of bacon for this recipe, which leaves you with plenty of leftover bacon to use however you like.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange 6 bacon strips and cook 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer cooked bacon to paper towel lined platter. Chop into 1 inch slices.
Combine 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes and 1 tsp salt for a seasoning mixture for the chicken.
Rub 1 lb chicken pieces with seasoning mixture and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet. Add chicken and cook each side on medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
Cook until the chicken is nicely browned. Add in 4 minced garlic cloves for the last minutes of cooking and cook 1-2 minutes until browned and fragrant. Remove chicken from pan, slice it in thick strips.
Return only half back to the skillet, set other half aside. Make sure there is no liquid in the skillet. Add 5 medium chopped tomatoes to the remaining chicken and cook for 3 minutes on high until tomatoes release their juices. Next add 10 oz fresh spinach in 4 batches until each batch wilts.
Add 1 cup half and half to the pan and bring mixture to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and slowly add 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese until the cheese melts and makes the sauce creamy. Remove from heat.
Once the cheese is melted, add 8 oz cooked penne pasta and bacon.
Stir until pasta is fully coated. Season with more salt if necessary. Next add the reserved chicken.
Serve with Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
Chicken Penne with Bacon & Spinach in Creamy Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thicker pieces
- 6 bacon strips
- 5 medium tomatoes chopped into cubes
- 10 oz package fresh spinach
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded (more for garnish)
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 8 oz penne pasta
Seasoning mixture
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
Bacon
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Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange bacon strips and cook 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer cooked bacon to paper towel lined platter. Chop into 1 inch slices.
Chicken
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Rub chicken with seasoning mixture and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet. Add chicken and cook each side on medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until nicely browned. Add in garlic for the last minutes of cooking and cook 1-2 minutes until browned and fragrant. Remove chicken from pan, slice it in thick strips and return only half back to the skillet, set other half aside. Make sure there is no liquid in the skillet.
Tomatoes and spinach
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Add chopped tomatoes to the remaining chicken and cook for 3 minutes on high until tomatoes release their juices. Next add the fresh spinach in 4 batches until each batch wilts.
Cheesy sauce
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Once the spinach is wilted, add the half and half to the pan and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and slowly add grated Parmesan cheese until the cheese melts and makes the sauce creamy. Remove from heat.
Pasta
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Cook according to instructions. Drain the pastas, but do not rinse. Add the pasta and bacon and stir until fully coated. Season with more salt if necessary. Next add the reserved chicken. Cover with a lid to keep warm. Serve with Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
Recipe Notes
I used ziti pasta instead.