Chicken pasta bake with bacon is a creamy casserole prepared in just 30 minutes, making it one of those easy dinner ideas for busy weeknight days!
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here are the ingredients need to make our easy chicken pasta bake:
- 16 oz linguine pasta, or other pasta of your choice (Flat Long Noodles Like linguine, fettuccine, tagliatelle, and pappardelle make great options for this creamy pasta bake because the surface area of the pasta's flat shape can stand up against the heft of rich, creamy sauces. Tubular pasta like penne and ziti are other good choices!).
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- ½ white or yellow onion diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 strips of cooked bacon, chopped
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups of half and half (You may use whole milk instead but the sauce won't be as creamy and velvety)
- 1 cup chicken broth or stock
- 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper (you may add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning if you want)
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 ½ cups cooked leftover chicken, shredded such as rotisserie chicken or baked chicken breast
- 1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese (or any melting cheese of your choice)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil leaves, optional
- Fresh oregano leaves, optional (You can replace these fresh herbs with chopped fresh parsley)
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN PASTA BAKE
In order to make this chicken and bacon creamy pasta bake, follow these easy steps below:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.
- Cook and drain the pasta according to the directions in the package and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt 3 tablespoon of butter in a large and heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes until translucent. Do not let brown! Add the garlic powder, and chopped bacon, and let cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Add the remaining 3 tablespoon of butter, let them melt, and then, stir in the flour to combine. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the half and half, broth/stock, salt, and pepper. Whisk for 1 minute, in small circles around the frying pan, until it starts to thicken. Then add the diced tomatoes. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, for around 5 minutes or until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.
- Add the chicken, cooked pasta, and cheddar cheese and mix through. Let it cook for around 1 minute on the stove, then remove from heat.
- Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 8 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 2 minutes.
- Serve while it is still hot, garnished with fresh basil leaves and oregano. This chicken pasta bake can also be served with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese and fresh grape tomatoes on top. If you would like to, sprinkle on a few red pepper flakes, too.
Tips for Making Chicken Pasta Casserole
- Make your sauce while your pasta is boiling.
- Make sure to cook the pasta al dente and drain well!
- Use canned diced tomatoes to save you some time chopping them, but drain them well; otherwise, your sauce will become watery!
- If you prefer to cook your bacon instead of buying the pre-cooked one, skip the butter in this chicken bacon pasta recipe and use the bacon fat to saute the onion.
Variations
- Pasta: Any long flat noodles or tubular pasta do well enough to hold the creamy sauce.
- Cheese: Replace cheddar and mozzarella for any melting cheese of your choices such as pepper jack, colby, Monterey jack, or smoked gouda.
- Meat: You may replace chicken with leftover turkey from your Thanksgiving dinner and use cooked Italian sausage instead of bacon.
- Veggies: You can add more veggies to our chicken pasta bake such as one cup of cooked broccolis, peas, mushrooms, or asparagus).
- Sauce: Depending on the ingredients you use to replace a few in our recipe, you can make buffalo chicken pasta bake or chicken alfredo pasta bake instead.
FAQ'S
Yes, you can! However, after assembling it, don't bake it! Cover the casserole and refrigerate until ready to bake. Make sure to increase the baking time by 10-15 minutes.
I wouldn't recommend it! First, because the pasta will absorb most of the sauce, making our chicken pasta bake a little dry or less saucy. Seconds, because it contains dairy (half-and-half) and once the casserole is thawed, the sauce can separate.
I used long flat noodles such as linguine, but you can use others such as fettuccine or tubular pasta such as penne or ziti. Whatever pasta you use, make sure it holds the creamy sauce well. If you are thinking of spaghetti, please don't. They will stand up well against the creamy cheese sauce because they are too thin and will get soggy.
Yes, but cook it just until almost al dente. Remember it will continue to cook in the oven!
Yes, you can! Buffalo and Alfredo will make a great variation!
This chicken pasta bake has 429 calories per serving. If you'd like to cut down on the calorie count, you can swap half-and-half for whole milk, flour for xanthan gum (about ½ tsp), and skip the bacon or use turkey bacon. For making it wholesome, use whole wheat pasta!
STORAGE
- Store chicken pasta bake leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Although not recommended, you can freeze for up to one month.
OTHER PASTA RECIPES:
- Cheeseburger pasta
- Kale pasta salad
- Homemade bow tie pasta recipe
- Kale pesto pasta
- Spicy vodka pasta
- Sausage pasta
- Mediterranean pasta
- Baked feta pasta
- One pot pasta
PIN & ENJOY!
Chicken Pasta Bake
Equipment
- 1 oven
- 1 cast iron skillet
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
- 16 oz linguine pasta or other pasta of your choice (Flat Long Noodles Like linguine, fettuccine, tagliatelle, and pappardelle make great options for this creamy pasta bake because the surface area of the pasta's flat shape can stand up against the heft of rich, creamy sauces. Tubular pasta like penne and ziti are other good choices!).
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- ½ white or yellow onion diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 strips cooked bacon chopped
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups of half and half ,warm (You may use whole milk instead but the sauce won't be as creamy and velvety)
- 1 cup chicken broth or stock
- 1 to 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper (you may add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning if you want)
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes drained
- 1 ½ cups cooked leftover chicken shredded such as rotisserie chicken or baked chicken breast
- 1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese (or any melting cheese of your choice)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil leaves optional
- Fresh oregano leaves optional (You can replace these fresh herbs with chopped fresh parsley)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.
- Cook and drain the pasta according to the directions in the package and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt 3 tablespoon of butter in a large and heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes until translucent. Do not let brown! Add the garlic powder, and chopped bacon, and let cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Add the remaining 3 tablespoon of butter, let them melt, and then, stir in the flour to combine. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the half and half gradually while stirring, then the broth/stock, salt, and pepper. Whisk for 1 minute, in small circles around the frying pan, until it starts to thicken and become smooth (without flour lumps). Then add the diced tomatoes. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, for around 5 minutes or until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.
- Add the chicken, cooked pasta, and cheddar cheese and mix through. Let it cook for around 1 minute on the stove, then remove from heat.
- Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 8 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 2 minutes.
- Serve while it is still hot, garnished with fresh basil leaves and oregano. This chicken pasta bake can also be served with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese and fresh grape tomatoes on top. If you would like to, sprinkle on a few red pepper flakes, too.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
** Nutrition labels on easyanddelish.com are for educational purposes only. This info is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate, since the nutrition content of recipes can vary based on ingredient brand or source, portion sizes, recipe changes/variations, and other factors. We suggest making your own calculations using your preferred calculator, based on which ingredients you use, or consulting with a registered dietitian to determine nutritional values more precisely.
Please note that health-focused and diet information provided on easyanddelish.com is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Consult with your doctor or other qualified health professional prior to initiating any significant change in your diet or exercise regimen, or for any other issue necessitating medical advice.
Post first published on July 25, 2016.
Marshall Gatten says
(Following up on my comment from an hour ago, having now made it again.)
It’s really tasty, but we noticed the flour wasn’t completely cooked, giving a graininess. While thinking of how to solve it, I think I figured it the butter mystery I asked about in my previous comment.
If you sauté the onion in half the butter, you could use the other half of the butter to make a roux in a separate pan. This lets the flour cook completely, and then you add the roux to the onion when it comes time to add the flour. (You can’t just add the floor earlier because it won’t let you sauté the onion.)
I’m guessing this was in an earlier version of the recipe but then the recipe got simplified without the “divided” being removed from the ingredient list.
I’m looking forward to making this again with that tweak. I bet it’ll be amazing.
Denise Browning says
Marshall, I added the roux to make the sauce thicker because some people thought it was runny. For me it was perfect. You can use a slotted spoon to remove the onion and bacon from the pan and place in a plate so you don't have to use a second pan which requires more to wash. I have made the pasta just the way is written now and found it good enough. Perhaps you need to cook the roux for longer and add a little more butter. I have a gas stove and use one fo the large burners so this may make a diference in the cooking time of the roux. But thanks for letting me know about you went through so I can add notes for different situations others may encounter.
Marshall says
I’ve made this one before as is evidenced by the note next to it in my notebook that says, “Winner! Even the leftovers are great.” But it must have been a while back. Making it again tonight and noticed it says 6 tablespoons of butter, divided. Okay, some is used to sue the onions (I’m guessing 2 to maybe 3 tbsp) but then it’s never mentioned again. What’s the division for, and by how much?
Denise Browning says
Thank you, Marshall! I am glad you enjoyed this pasta bake recipe. Thank you also for pointing out the "divided" term. I have just fixed the recipe. 3 tbsp are used to sweat the onions and then, the reaiming 3 are added before adding the flour. These 3 tbsp butter must melt before you add the flour. I apologize for the inconvenience!
2pots2cook says
Really, comfort food at it's best!
fooddoz says
Thanks for the chicken pasta bake recipe.
Denise Browning says
Hi there! The pleasure is mine. Enjoy!
Mai says
This chicken pasta bake was creamy and tasty. My family absolutely loved this dish!
Cesar Roberts says
The most delicious pasta bake that I have ever made. Making this again soon for my family but this time I will make with sausage which is cheaper!
Cathy says
I made this pasta last evening. It was super comforting and delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Silvia Martinez says
This dish has everything my family loves, especially pasta, bacon and cheese!
Silvia Martinez says
This looks so delicious and so easy to make, a winner in my book!
Ale says
I have to try and make a pasta casserole, I 've never made one and now I'm curious.
Enriqueta Lemoine says
I'm not a chicken person but this casserole is something that my boys will love! Thanks for sharing...
Chris says
Hya just read recipe sounds yummy but in the ingredients what is half and Half?
Denise Browning says
Hi Chris! Half and half contains half amount of whole milk and half amount of heavy creeam. Depending on where you live, you can buy ready in the supermarket or you can simply add 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of heavy cream to the recipe instead. You do still have the option to use only whole milk instead which it is usually used to make the creamy sauce that goes in this baked pasta. The use of half and half makes this pasta richer but it is not essencial. You can use whole milk instead. Enjoy!
Raymund says
This is such a comfort meal, that creamy goodness will definitely please my palate anytime
Amira says
This is for sure a comfort dish to the whole family.. very nice recipe. pinned.
Mi Vida en un Dulce says
Ummm...I like it, and here that we are in winter, this will come just perfect for us.
John/Kitchen Riffs says
We all need tasty and satisfying dishes like this! And it's a score when it's quick to prepare. This looks great -- terrific flavor. Thanks!
Sugar et al. says
That looks incredible! I wish I could have a big bowl of it on this cold winter night. Mouth watering here:-)
Tandy | Lavender and Lime says
oh my, this looks so scrummy! it is so cold here I could actually eat this for breakfast 🙂
Deb|EastofEdenCooking says
Bursting with flavor and full on comfort food! What a fantastic dinner recipe!
Denise Browning says
Thank you, Deb! We enjoyed it!!