Description
Indulgent Creamy Bacon Pasta brings Italian comfort straight to your kitchen with its rich, velvety sauce and crispy bacon bits. Perfectly balanced flavors and simple ingredients make this dish a quick weeknight winner for anyone craving a delicious, satisfying meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 12 ounces (340 grams) pasta (fettuccine, penne, or your favorite)
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Aromatics and Seasonings:
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Additional Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup pasta water (reserved from cooking)
- Optional: Fresh parsley
- Optional: Extra Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with generously salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Submerge pasta and cook until tender with a slight bite, approximately 8-9 minutes.
- While pasta cooks, slice bacon into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a cold skillet. Gradually heat the pan, allowing bacon to render fat and crisp evenly.
- Once bacon reaches a golden brown crunch, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, preserving the flavorful drippings in the skillet.
- Mince garlic cloves and quickly sauté in the residual bacon fat, releasing aromatic oils without burning.
- Pour heavy cream into the skillet, whisking smoothly with grated Parmesan cheese and freshly cracked black pepper. Allow sauce to gently simmer and thicken.
- Drain pasta, reserving a small portion of starchy cooking liquid. Add pasta directly into the creamy sauce, tossing thoroughly to ensure complete coating.
- Fold most of the crispy bacon pieces into the pasta, reserving a few for garnishing. If sauce seems too thick, incorporate reserved pasta water to reach desired consistency.
- Transfer pasta to serving plates, crown with remaining bacon fragments, a sprinkle of chopped parsley, and additional Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately while piping hot.
Notes
- Crisp bacon provides the perfect crunchy texture contrast to the smooth, creamy sauce.
- Save pasta water as a secret weapon to help emulsify and thicken sauces naturally without extra ingredients.
- Consider using turkey bacon for a lighter version or omit bacon entirely for a vegetarian adaptation by adding roasted mushrooms or sun-dried tomatoes for umami depth.
- When cooking bacon, start with a cold pan to render fat slowly and achieve maximum crispiness without burning.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 635
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 550 mg
- Fat: 35 g
- Saturated Fat: 18 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 63 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 17 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg