This chicken bacon pasta bake is creamy, hearty, and satisfying, with a subtle zip thanks to the addition of cream cheese. Prep is streamlined by using rotisserie (or leftover) chicken and a package of pre-cooked bacon. Even better, this easy weeknight meal will also save you time on dishes because it's made all in one pot!
What could be better than pasta enrobed in a creamy, cheesy, velvety-smooth sauce, dotted with chunks of tender chicken and smoky bacon? How about if I told you you can make this stick-to-your ribs, family-pleasing meal with only 9 ingredients, 35 minutes, AND only one pot?!
Thanks to a couple shortcut ingredients (leftover chicken, pre-cooked bacon), and the use of our handy Dutch oven (perfect for cooking all things stove to oven, like my Dutch oven chicken breast recipe), we can make it happen!
This chicken and bacon pasta bake was inspired by my one pot cream cheese pasta recipe. That recipe cooks the pasta in a combination of milk and water, and, rather than draining the pasta, the remaining starchy liquid is combined with cream cheese to create a silky smooth sauce.
We are using that same technique but upping the indulgence factor about 100x by adding cheddar cheese, chicken, bacon, green onion and garlic! And, by baking the pasta at the end, the sauce thickens and the flavors meld together in such a satisfying way. With this chicken bacon pasta bake recipe, you can have true comfort food, even on a busy Tuesday!
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Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Shredded cheese: I like to use medium cheddar, but you can also use mild or sharp cheddar. For the smoothest sauce, I really recommend shredding the cheese yourself.
- Pasta: I used cavatappi, but you can use fusilli or rotini instead.
- Milk: I recommend using whole milk or 2% milk for a creamier texture.
Step by step photos
Here's how to make this creamy one pot chicken bacon pasta bake, step by step:
1. Step one is to cube up the cream cheese, and let it sit at room temperature while you prep the other ingredients. And, if you aren't using pre-shredded cheese (I do recommend shredding it yourself!), you can shred the cheese now as well.
2. Next, let's start the pasta cooking. In a Dutch oven or pot, add the pasta, water, milk, and salt. Stir to combine. Heat over high heat to bring the liquid to a gentle boil, and continue to boil gently for 6 - 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. (If needed, you can turn down the heat at any point to maintain the gentle boil.)
Top Tip
When the pasta is done boiling, the liquid should come up about halfway to the top of the cooked pasta (see the 2nd photo below). If too much liquid has evaporated, add a splash more milk to the pot before adding the other ingredients.
3. While the cooking liquid is coming to a boil and while the pasta is cooking, you can continue on with the other prep steps: finely chopping the garlic, finely chopping the white/light green parts of the green onion, thinly slicing the dark green parts of the green onion, shredding the chicken, and tearing/cutting the bacon into bite-sized pieces.
4. When the pasta is al dente, turn off the burner. Then, add in the chicken, cream cheese, garlic, and white/light green parts of the green onion. Also add in most of the bacon and cheddar cheese, but hold back about ½ cup of each to top the pasta with later.
Stir the pasta together (don't worry about everything melting together yet). Add the lid and bake in a preheated 375 degrees (190 degrees C) oven for 10 minutes.
5. After 10 minutes, remove the Dutch oven from the oven. Stir the pasta together again. This time, all of the cheeses should melt into the sauce. Top with the remaining cheddar cheese and bacon.
Bake, uncovered, for an additional 5 minutes, or until the top cheese is melted. Garnish with the remaining sliced green onion and enjoy immediately!
Tips and tricks
- When the milk, water, and pasta are added to the pot, the liquids should just barely cover the pasta (make sure the pasta is in an even layer). If the dry pasta is sticking up out of the liquid, you can add a splash more milk or water, just until the pasta is barely covered.
- Be sure to stir the pasta occasionally while it's boiling. This is especially important towards the end of the cook time when more of the liquid has evaporated.
- Leaving the cream cheese out at room temperature while the pasta cooks is important, this helps to ensure it will incorporate smoothly into the hot pasta.
Top Tip
This recipe saves on time by directing you to prep the majority of the ingredients while the pasta is boiling. If you prefer, however, you can prep all the ingredients at the beginning. (FYI - prepping the ingredients beforehand will add about 10 - 15 minutes to the total recipe time.)
Substitutions and additions
There are many easy swaps and additions you can make for this bacon chicken pasta bake. Here are a few you can try:
- Instead of cavatappi pasta, try using rotini or fusilli.
- Instead of cheddar cheese, you can use another melting cheese such as pepper Jack, Havarti, or Fontina.
- If you don't have green onions on hand, substitute half a sweet or yellow onion, finely chopped.
- To round out the dish you can add in some pre-cooked vegetables, such as broccoli florets, sliced mushrooms, sliced bell peppers, and/or peas.
- To enhance the flavor even more, you can also add in some additional seasonings, like paprika (smoked or regular), garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, chili powder, and/or thyme (dried or fresh).
Storage and reheating
- Store the leftover pasta in a covered container in the fridge. When properly stored it will last for 3 - 4 days.
- To reheat the pasta, add 1 - 2 servings to a sauce pan with a splash of milk. Cover the pot and heat on the lowest heat setting, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is warmed through. Avoid heating the pasta too much or it may affect the creaminess of the sauce.
- Alternatively, you can heat individual servings of leftover pasta in the microwave. Add the pasta to a microwave-safe bowl with a small splash of milk. Microwave on 50% power in 1 - 2 minute increments, stirring in between, until heated through.
- You can also freeze the pasta if you wish, but just be aware that the pasta sauce will be looser upon freezing and reheating. To reheat the frozen pasta, let it thaw in the fridge overnight and then follow the above reheating instructions.
Recipe FAQs
This recipe calls for cooked leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken that has been shredded. You can use either dark meat, light meat, or a combo - whatever you like! And, if you prefer, you can also chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces instead of shredding.
Of course, you can always cook the chicken using your preferred method right beforehand if you don't have any leftover chicken on hand. Pan-fried or poached would be easy ways to prepare the chicken for this recipe.
Much like using leftover chicken, this recipe saves on time by using a package of pre-cooked, ready to serve bacon. But, if you only have raw bacon, you can of course use that for this recipe. You will need 10 slices of bacon cooked to crispy, using whichever cooking method you prefer. For a really easy method, try cooking the bacon in the microwave!
This recipe also saves on dishes by first boiling the pasta in a Dutch oven on the stovetop, then moving the Dutch oven directly to the oven to finish cooking.
But, if you don't have a Dutch oven (or another similar pot that can go from stovetop to oven), you can still make the recipe! Just boil the pasta in a regular pasta pot, and mix in the other ingredients as called for in the recipe. When you are ready to put the pasta into the oven, just transfer it into a casserole dish. If your casserole dish has a lid, you can use that for the first part of the oven cook time. But if not, just tightly cover the casserole dish with a piece of aluminum foil.
What to serve with chicken bacon pasta bake
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Print📖 Recipe
Chicken Bacon Pasta Bake
This creamy bacon chicken pasta bake is an easy one-pot meal! Prep is simplified by using leftover or rotisserie chicken and pre-cooked bacon.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: main course, entree
- Method: stove top, oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (340 g/about 4 cups) cavatappi (can sub rotini or fusilli)
- 4 cups (946 ml) water
- 1 ½ cups (355 ml) whole or 2% milk, plus more if needed
- 3 cups (375 g) shredded leftover cooked or rotisserie chicken
- 8 ounces (227 g/about 2 cups) shredded cheddar cheese (for smoother texture use freshly shredded)
- 1 block (8 ounces/227 g) full-fat cream cheese
- 1 package pre-cooked bacon (2.52 ounce/71 g), torn or chopped into bite-sized pieces (note 1)
- 4 green onions
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon (7 g) salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Prep the cheeses: Unwrap the block of cream cheese and cut it into cubes. If needed, shred the cheddar cheese. Set both aside.
- To a large Dutch oven or other wide oven-safe pot (note 2), add the 12 ounces pasta, 1 ½ cups milk, 4 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt to the pot and stir. The liquid should just barely cover the pasta when in an even layer (if not you can add a splash more milk or water). Turn the burner on high to bring the liquid to a gentle boil, then turn the heat down as needed to maintain the gentle boil. Gently boil the pasta for 6 - 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, finish the remaining prep (note 3): (1) Finely chop the garlic. (2) Cut the green onions in half where the dark green portion begins (keeping the 2 portions separate). Finely chop the light green/white portion. Thinly slice the dark green portion at an angle. (3) Shred the rotisserie/leftover chicken. (4) Tear or chop the cooked bacon into bite-sized pieces. Set ingredients aside.
- When the pasta is al dente (not hard but still firm when bitten), turn off the burner. The liquid should now come up about halfway to the top of the pasta. If too much liquid evaporated during cooking, you can add an extra splash of milk to the pot.
- Add the chicken, garlic, white/light green portion of green onion, and cream cheese to the pot. Also add most of the shredded cheese and bacon, reserving about ½ cup of each to save as a topping.
- Stir the pasta together with the toppings (it's ok if not all the cream cheese is melted). Add an oven-safe lid to the Dutch oven or pot (or cover tightly with aluminum foil) and place in the pre-heated oven.
- Bake the pasta for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven and stir the pasta, making sure all the cream cheese has evenly combined with the pasta. Sprinkle the top of the pasta with the remaining cheese and bacon. Place the pot back in the oven, uncovered, and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the top cheese has melted.
- Garnish the pasta with the reserved dark green onion slices and enjoy immediately.
Notes
- You can also use bacon that you cook yourself if you don't have pre-cooked bacon. You will need 10 slices that are cooked till crispy.
- If you don't have a Dutch oven or oven-safe pot, you can boil the pasta in a regular pot and then transfer it to a casserole dish after you have mixed in the other ingredients. If the casserole dish or pot you are using doesn't have a lid, you can cover it tightly with aluminum foil.
- To save time, I like to do as much of the prep during the pasta cook time as possible. I found that I was able to prep the garlic, green onion, bacon, and chicken during the roughly 15 minutes it took to both bring the liquid to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente. However, if it's easier for you, you can always prep all the ingredients before starting the pasta and use that time instead for clean up (or rest)! If prepping all the ingredients separately, it will add about 10 - 15 minutes to the recipe prep time depending on your speed.
- The nutrition information below was calculated using 2% milk and plain chicken breast. This information is an estimate only, provided by an online nutrition calculator. The nutrition counts of your dish will vary based on the brand and exact amounts of ingredients used. This nutrition estimate should not be considered a substitute for professional medical, health, or nutritional advice. See our full disclosure policy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: â…› recipe
- Calories: 560
- Sugar: 2.3 g
- Sodium: 805 mg
- Fat: 24.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 13.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 45.6 g
- Fiber: 3.3 g
- Protein: 35.5 g
- Cholesterol: 111 mg
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