Creamy Chicken And Bacon Pasta Bake

An overhead shot of creamy and cheesy chicken and bacon pasta bake.

Creamy Chicken And Bacon Pasta Bake

A classic cheesy Creamy Chicken And Bacon Pasta Bake with baby spinach and sun-dried tomatoes can be prepped, baked and on the table in less than 45 minutes!

5 from 19 votes

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Course: dinners

Cuisine: Italian, Pasta

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 40

Servings: serves

Calories: 790kcal

Author: Lucy - Bake Play Smile

Cost: $10

Equipment

Stove-top
Oven

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 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp 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 tsp 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

RECIPE NOTES & TIPS

INGREDIENTS:

Pasta - I used penne here, but spirals, shells, and rigatoni would work just as well. The creamy sauce coats these types of pasta well and gets into the hollows or twists.
Chicken - use either thigh fillets or breast fillets.
For a shortcut, use BBQ rotisserie chicken or leftover cooked chicken.
Milk - I recommend using whole milk (full fat/full cream milk), and preferably have this at room temperature to blend more easily when making the cheese sauce.
Cheese - choose a mozzarella, tasty or cheddar cheese (or a mix of these) for the sauce and add extra over the top.

OTHER TIPS:

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.

Nutrition