This creamy chicken and bacon pasta bake is loaded with baby spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, coated in a rich cheese sauce, and on the table in under 45 minutes. If you love a hearty oven bake, you'll also want to try my Easy Beef Lasagne or Chicken Fajita Casserole.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Creamy Chicken And Bacon Pasta Bake
🕒 Ready In: 40 minutes
👪 Serves: 8
🍝 Calories: 790kcal per serve
🥣 Main Ingredients: pasta, chicken thigh, bacon, cheese sauce
📖 Dietary Info: family-friendly, freezer-friendly
⭐ Why You'll Love It: A huge, budget-friendly bake that feeds a crowd and reheats perfectly.
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Loved this recipe and it fed a whole crowd. Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes.
- Gigi
Pick up some chicken thigh fillets on special and try this pasta bake favourite of mine, along with some other easy dinner ideas, such as a spicy Mexican Baked Salsa Chicken, a classic Chicken & Chorizo Risotto, or a rich Slow Cooker Butter Chicken.
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Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
- It makes a HUGE meal - perfect for feeding a crowd or a team of hungry kids. Serves 8 generously.
- Prepare ahead of time - assemble up to 24 hours ahead, refrigerate, then bake when you're ready.
- Ultimate flavour combo - pasta, chicken, cheese and bacon, a sure win with fussy eaters.
- Freezer-friendly - portion up leftovers for easy lunches or dinners ahead.
- Versatile - mix and match your favourite fillings, see Variations below.
Pasta Bake Ingredients
I prefer to use uncooked chicken thigh fillets for this bake, but you can also use leftover or cooked BBQ chicken to save on prep time.
- Pasta - spirals, rigatoni or penne. Choose a pasta the creamy sauce can coat well and get trapped within.
- Chicken - thigh or breast fillets, diced. Thigh fillets are juicier as they contain more fat, use breast if you're watching fat content.
- Bacon - streaky, diced and cooked until crispy.
- Cheddar cheese - freshly grated gives the best melt, pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that can make the sauce grainy.
Variations
- Extra veggies - add sliced mushrooms or red capsicum, lightly sautéed after browning the chicken.
- Swap the bacon - try pancetta, or fry sliced chorizo instead.
- Leek and mustard - lightly sauté sliced leeks and stir a little seeded mustard into the cheese sauce.
- Mediterranean twist - add chilli flakes to the Italian herbs and sliced green or black olives.
- Caramelised onion - stir through the cheese sauce with a little lemon zest for a subtle savoury lift.
How To Make Creamy Chicken And Bacon Pasta Bake
The ultimate mid-week dinner, sorted in under an hour.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredient quantities and full detailed method.
- Step 1: Cook the pasta. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan-forced. Cook the pasta until almost al dente (it'll finish cooking in the oven), drain and place into a large baking dish.
- Step 2: Cook the chicken and bacon. Brown the diced chicken with garlic and Italian herbs, then place on top of the pasta. Cook the bacon until crispy and sprinkle over, then add the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach.
- Step 3: Make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter, stir through flour and stock powder and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk, ½ a cup at a time, then stir through the cheese until smooth.
- Step 4: Assemble and bake. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and stir to combine, sprinkle with extra cheese and bake for 30 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Recipe Tips
- Top tip: use a VERY large baking dish, or split the mixture between two smaller ones.
- Add the milk gradually - only add the next ½ cup once the mixture is smooth, or the sauce may end up lumpy.
- Save time - use BBQ rotisserie chicken or leftover cooked chicken instead of browning fresh.
- Prep ahead - assemble up to a day in advance, refrigerate, then bake with an extra 10-15 minutes cooking time (cover with foil for the first 15 minutes so the top doesn't over-brown).
- Storage: refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
- Freezing: freeze whole or in individual portions for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before reheating.
- Reheat in a low oven until piping hot in the centre, or in the microwave for individual portions.
Creamy Chicken And Bacon Pasta Bake FAQs
Yes. Browning cooks the chicken through, seals in the juices so it stays moist and tender, and intensifies the flavour.
Choose a short pasta such as penne, rigatoni, spirals or shells. They have hollow middles or twists that capture the creamy cheese sauce well.
Yes. Assemble the dish a day in advance and refrigerate until ready to bake. Add an extra 10-15 minutes to the bake time since it's chilled, covering with foil for the first 15 minutes to stop the top over-browning.
Leftover pasta bake makes a great stuffing for halved capsicums, just fill, top with a little extra cheese and bake until the capsicum is tender. It's also delicious served cold as a pasta salad.
Yes. Divide into single-serve airtight containers before freezing for up to 3 months, this makes it easy to defrost just what you need for a quick lunch or dinner.
More Quick And Easy Dinner Recipes
If you're like me and love a hearty oven bake wafting away in the kitchen, check out these other family dinners:
Creamy Chicken And Bacon Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 450 g pasta dried, (spirals, penne or rigatoni)
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 600 g chicken thighs or breast, diced into 2.5cm (1 inch) pieces
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs parsley, thyme, rosemary etc
- 250 g streaky bacon
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
- 80 g baby spinach
For The Creamy Cheese Sauce
- 60 g (4 tbs) butter
- 5 tbs plain flour
- 2 teaspoon chicken stock powder
- 5 cups milk full cream is best, at room temperature
- 1 cup cheddar cheese grated
- salt and pepper to season
For Baking
- 2 cups cheese grated (mozzarella or cheddar)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius (fan-forced).
- Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling water until almost al dente (it's important to not completely cook the pasta as it will continue cooking in the oven). Drain and place into a very large baking dish (or divide between two baking dishes if using smaller sized).
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add the diced chicken, garlic and Italian herbs and cook until the chicken is browned all over and cooked through.Place the chicken on top of the cooked pasta.
- Cook the diced streaky bacon in the frying pan until crispy. Sprinkle over the top of the chicken and pasta.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes and baby spinach to the baking dish.
- To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a large frying pan (or saucepan) over medium heat. Stir through the flour and chicken stock powder and cook for 1 minute.
- Very slowly add the milk (½ a cup at a time), whisking the entire time. TIP: Only add the next ½ cup of milk once the mixture is smooth and creamy. If you add too much milk at once, the sauce will be lumpy.
- Add the grated cheese and season with salt and pepper. Stir until smooth.
- Pour the creamy sauce over the pasta and stir until all of the ingredients are combined and coated in the sauce.
- Sprinkle over the extra grated cheese and cook for 30 minutes or until golden on top and bubbling.
Notes
- Make sure to use a large baking dish, or if you don't have a large one, use two smaller ones.
- You can prep this dish a day ahead if you like - assemble then refrigerate and bake when you're ready - just add 10-15 minutes extra cooking time since it's chilled.
- Storing - store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 2-3 days.
- Cooked pasta bake can be frozen complete, or in portion sizes for convenient single meals.
- Freezing - freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge or microwave before reheating.
- To reheat, place in the oven at a low temperature until heated through. You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave.
teresa says
My son loved it - great flavours and easy to make
Gigi says
Loved this recipe and it fed a whole crowd.
Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes.
Lucy says
I'm so happy to hear that!
Theresa says
This is amazing!!! Got heaps of leftovers too!!
Kaylee says
Easy recipe to follow and a big hit with my family will definitely make again!
Lucy says
Thank you so much!