This quick and easy meal features pasta, bacon and tomatoes in a creamy sauce, topped with parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This BLT pasta was a big hit at my house! Okay, some of my picky eaters removed the tomatoes, but they don’t know what they were missing. No one removed the bacon, of course!
We had this for dinner tonight, it was excellent! Even my picky 5 year old loved it. Thank you for posting the recipe
Melinda
I love that this dish uses fresh tomatoes in addition to the canned, and the cream cheese adds just a touch of creaminess to the sauce.
And of course I love the bacon. And the pasta. It’s a combination that’s always a hit at my house. If you want to light up a bit, you can definitely use light cream cheese.
There isn’t any lettuce in this BLT pasta, but let’s be honest, that would just be weird. The parsley adds a nice touch of green though.
I think this recipe is perfect for bowtie pasta, but a long thin noodle, like spaghetti or linguine, would work really well too. Just use whatever you have on hand.
And I also love how quick and easy this BLT pasta comes together. It’s the perfect recipe to have up your sleeve on a busy weeknight. Goodness knows there are plenty of those at my house.
This recipe makes enough to feed a crowd, so if you’re feeding less than that, you might want to consider making half.
Although, the leftovers are pretty good, if you’re lucky enough to have any. We certainly didn’t! I hope you love this BLT Pasta as much as we do.
I’m back again to let you know that this one was another hit! My husband, myself and a friend loved it.
Lauren
What Should I Serve With BLT Pasta?
Since there are some vegetables in this pasta dish, I like to indulge a little and serve some kind of bread on the side.
Here are some of our favorite things to enjoy alongside this easy pasta dish.
Recipe Tips
- Use a big pot: Cook pasta in a large pot–big enough to hold 6 quarts of water per pound of pasta.
- Salt:Â Generously season your cooking water with salt. A few teaspoons per quart of water is a good place to start. Although a little more or less is fine, depending on your preference.
- Don’t overcook: Boil your pasta to until it is al dente, which means it’s cooked, but still a bit chewy. You’ll want to test your pasta for flavor and texture every 20 seconds or so during the last few minutes of cooking.
- If you’ll continue cooking the pasta in a sauce, or baking it in the oven, remove the pot from the heat a few minutes before it’s done to prevent overcooking.
Ingredients
- Pasta – whatever pasta you prefer
- Bacon – cooked crisp and crumbled
- Onion
- Garlic
- Fresh parsley – flat Italian parsley
- Cherry tomatoes – or grape tomatoes
- Spices: red pepper flakes, salt and pepper
- Canned diced tomatoes – I like the fire roasted variety
- Cream cheese – light or low fat is okay
- Parmesan cheese – grated
FAQs
Can I use any kind of pasta in this recipe?Absolutely! Use whatever you like or have on hand–rigatoni, penned, fettucine, etc. Pretty much any kind of pasta will work in this dish.
Can I add protein to this recipe?Yes. I love adding leftover grilled chicken. Cooked ground Italian sausage is another favorite.Â
Can I make this recipe ahead of time?I think this recipe is best eaten as soon as it’s made, so the bacon stays crispy and the tomatoes stay fresh.
Be sure to save this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
BLT Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry pasta
- 12 slices bacon
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened and cubed
- 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes halved
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice the 12 slices bacon into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook in a large skillet until crispy.
- Remove bacon and drain on paper towels. Leave about 1 tablespoon of drippings in skillet.
- Cook 1 pound dry pasta according to package directions until just al dente; drain.
- Add 1 medium onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes to bacon drippings in skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until onions are soft.
- Stir in 2 cups chicken broth and 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
- Add cubed 4 ounces cream cheese and stir until cream cheese is melted and smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add pasta, 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, bacon and 1/2 cup fresh parsley and cook until heated through, about 2 more minutes. Top with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and serve.
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Nutrition
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19 comments
Tenley
How much pasta do you use- a whole box or is this more appropriate for a half box?
Julie
Sounds yummy! I love it when I see something and then discover my kitchen contains all the ingredients! Yeah!
June
Oh today i cooked the BLT Pasta and it was so delicious!! My family loved it too.
Thank you for posting it 😉
Lauren
I’m back again to let you know that this one was another hit! My husband, myself and a friend loved it. The spicy factor was the kicker that gave it it’s good to great factor. And it was great cold the day after. Thanks for sharing!
marla {Family Fresh Cooking}
Love this! Totally linking to it tomorrow 🙂
Melinda@This Mama's Heart
We had this for dinner tonight, it was excellent! Even my picky 5 year old loved it. Thank you for posting the recipe 🙂
Mother Rimmy
How can you miss with bacon, pasta and cream cheese. I can see why this pasta dish is a hit!
Kristi
Rachel Lynn
This sounds delicious! I’m adding it to my list to try!
scrambledhenfruit
I had this at a pampered chef party, and it was delicious! I don’t think it had the red pepper flakes though- they sound like a great addition!
Sonia
WOW…….!!!!!!!
This is an amazing pasta platter…. !
Stephanie
This looks excellent. I’ll need to try it soon!
Michele
Wow, I was craving this the other day, looks yummy. Can’t wait to try it.
heather
yum! i thought it was similar to my blt pasta salad i made over the summer…but its different so ill have to give it a try!
Domestic Nerd
Wow, this looks amazing! We eat “fried pasta” with bacon & eggs, but this looks like something I would like even better!
http://adomesticnerd.blogspot.com/2011/01/fried-pasta.html
Audra
Oh my, does this sound good! A great reason to buy some bacon!
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy
I LOVE this and your picture is so pretty! THanks!
Christina
I like the sound of this! A lot!
danasfoodforthought
This sounds so delicious! I bet it would work well with turkey bacon too… yum!
misslivviebelle
Ooh, this is definitely our kind of recipe! And better yet, the only thing I need to buy is cream cheese! Thanks!