BLT Pasta with Chicken is the perfect fusion of two comforting classics—your favorite BLT sandwich and a hearty pasta dish. This will quickly earn it’s place on your weekly dinner rotation.
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If you love the traditional BLT, aka bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, you will love this BLT pasta! It also has chicken to make it extra hearty. I don’t know what it is about the combination of bacon, lettuce, and tomato, but it’s kind of perfect. Don’t you think!?
This dish includes tender pasta, tossed in a creamy sauce then loaded with crispy bacon, juicy tomatoes, and fresh spinach for that signature BLT vibe. To make it even more satisfying, juicy, seasoned chicken breast is added for more protein and heartiness. This versatile dish is perfect for weeknight dinners or as a crowd-pleaser at potlucks!
This dish is an all in one dinner, but a simple side salad and bread or garlic toast is a great accompaniment.
What You Need
You can find the full, printable recipe with exact measurements at the bottom of this post. Read on for more details and tips!
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- Large pot to cook in, a Dutch oven is perfect for this recipe. I also love these pasta pots with the strainer lid. Life changing!
- 1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 lb bacon
- 3 cups spinach – you could also substitute arugula
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes- substitute 8 ounces of Greek yogurt or a puck of Boursin cheese
- 1 lb bow tie pasta, or any short cut pasta
- Seasonings- salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika
How to Make It
Cut the bacon and chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels, leaving the drippings in the pot. If there is an excess of bacon grease, drain most of it. You only want about 1 tablespoon of bacon grease in the pot to cook the chicken.
In the same pot, add the chicken. Season generously with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Cook for 7–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove the chicken and set aside with the bacon.
While the chicken cooks, prepare the pasta according to the package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.
Return the Dutch oven to the heat and add the cherry tomatoes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, cooking for about 3 minutes until they soften and develop a slight char.
Lower the heat and stir in the cubed cream cheese along with ¾ cup of the reserved pasta water. Stir until the cream cheese melts and forms a creamy sauce.
Add the spinach to the pot and stir until just wilted.
Return the cooked chicken and bacon to the pot, along with the drained pasta. Toss everything together until well combined.
If the sauce is too thick, gradually stir in the remaining pasta water until you reach your desired consistency. Serve right away while warm
Did you enjoy this recipe? Take a picture and tag me @StephGigliotti on social media and #StephRealLife. I would absolutely love to see your finished dish! Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comment section.
Tips
- To save time you could use shredded rotisserie chicken and/or pre-cooked bacon.
- Sub in Boursin cheese or goat cheese for the cream cheese
- Use arugula instead of spinach
- Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water for the sauce and to thin it out if necessary
- Instead of bacon you could you crumbled sausage, ham, Canadian bacon. Alternatively, use precooked bacon bits
Try these next
- Homemade Spaghettios
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Pasta
- Cheesy Chicken with Broccoli Casserole
- Creamy Homemade Mac and Cheese
- Prosciutto and Pea Tortellini
- Stuffed Bell Pepper Casserole
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BLT Pasta with Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
- 1 pound bacon
- 3 cups spinach
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
- 8 ounces cream cheese cut into cubes
- 16 ounces bow tie pasta or any short cut pasta
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Cut the bacon and chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels, draining all but about 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease to cook the chicken.
- In the same pot, add the chicken. Season generously with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Cook for 7–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove the chicken and set aside with the bacon.
- While the chicken cooks, prepare the pasta according to the package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.
- Return the Dutch oven to the heat and add the cherry tomatoes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, cooking for about 3 minutes until they soften and develop a slight char.
- Lower the heat and stir in the cubed cream cheese along with ¾ cup of the reserved pasta water. Stir until the cream cheese melts and forms a creamy sauce.
- Add the spinach to the pot and stir until just wilted.
- Return the cooked chicken and bacon to the pot, along with the drained pasta. Toss everything together until well combined.
- If the sauce is too thick, gradually stir in the remaining pasta water until you reach your desired consistency.
This was one of the most tasty meals this year! This will be in rotation quite frequently. Very little ingredients but packed with tons of flavor! My family and friends really loved it. The directions were very easy to follow. The step by step instructions with pictures helped so much! 10/10 will recommend! Thanks for the recipe. Steph!
So happy to hear! This is one of our absolute favorites too!