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Home » Recipes » Dinner

Garlic Bacon Pasta

By Erin · April 5, 2018 · Updated November 4, 2020 · 5 Comments

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pasta with bacon and text overlay
pasta on a plate with text overlay

This Bacon Parmesan Pasta is made with plenty of cheese, garlic and yes, bacon too and it comes together in under 20 minutes!

pasta on a plate with bacon and cheese

….because sometimes you just need some bacon parmesan in your life. This bacon pasta is creamy, cheesy and is impossible to NOT enjoy.

Admittedly, this is one of my not-so-healthy recipes, but oh my gosh is it good! I will not apologize for the deliciousness of this bacon pasta, and I highly recommend you make it for yourself or your family ASAP.

Recipe features

  • The creamiest pasta that just so happens to be filled with bacon and cheese
  • Ready in under 20 minutes, making is the perfect weeknight meal
  • Serve it with a simple side salad and you have yourself a complete meal!

...speaking of bacon, if you or someone in your family loves bacon, be sure to check out my Bacon-Wrapped Salmon and my Bacon Guacamole.

pasta ingredients with text

Ingredient notes

Pasta - any kind, though I tend to opt for long noodles like spaghetti or bucatini; can use gluten free

Bacon - can sub pancetta

Cheese - parmesan; shaved or freshly grated

Method

First: Cook the bacon in a large skillet, then use a slotted spoon to remove it and set it aside. At the same time, cook the pasta in a pot of boiling water as you normally would.

Second: In the same skillet, heat the butter and olive oil, then sauté the garlic for 2-3 minutes before adding the water and slowly stirring in the shredded parmesan cheese until it's melted, which should create almost like a cheese sauce.

cooked bacon in a skillet

Third: Add one piece of crumbled bacon to the skillet, then transfer the cooked pasta to it and use tongs to coat the pasta in the sauce.

spaghetti in a buttery cheese sauce in a skillet

Tips

  • Use high quality parmesan, preferably freshly grated, which will melt easiest in the skillet
  • Want to keep this vegetarian? Sub mushrooms, grape tomatoes or even my tempeh bacon instead

How should this be stored?

Honestly, because of the creaminess of the sauce, this pasta is best served fresh, and doesn't taste nearly as good the next day. So, my recommendation is to eat it day-of.

twirled spaghetti on a plate

More pasta recipes

  • Italian Chicken Sausage Pasta
  • Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
  • Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!

pasta on a plate with bacon and cheese

Garlic Bacon Pasta

This Bacon Parmesan Pasta is made with plenty of cheese, garlic and yes, bacon too and it comes together in under 20 minutes!
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Author: Erin

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. spaghetti noodles or pasta of choice
  • 4 slices bacon chopped
  • 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 tablespoon butter
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • ¾ cup pasta water
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Cook pasta over stovetop as you normally would.
  • Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet, then use a slotted spoon to remove it, leaving the bacon grease in the skillet and leaving the skillet over medium-low heat. Add oil and butter to the skillet. Once butter has melted, add the garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
  • Then, add the water and HALF of the parmesan cheese and stir until cheese has melted; then, stir in the rest of the cheese. Turn heat down to low and add the salt and pepper and TWO pieces of cooked bacon into the skillet and stir.
  • Next, add the pasta into the skillet and use tongs until the pasta is coated with the sauce. If the sauce seems to be getting too hot, remove the skillet from the heat (you want the sauce to thicken a bit but you don't want the cheese to burn!).
  • To serve: place pasta on a plate, top it with extra salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and the remaining cooked bacon (and extra shredded parmesan, if you wish).

Notes

*Calories are per serving and are an estimation
*Can use your favorite kind of pasta noodle and/or gluten free pasta 

Nutrition

Calories: 711kcal | Carbohydrates: 87g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 474mg | Potassium: 293mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 557IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 308mg | Iron: 2mg
Did you Make this Recipe? Tag me Today!Leave a comment below and tag @thealmondeater on Instagram!

UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in April 2018. It was updated with new text and photos in November 2020.

« Gluten Free Pad Thai
Summer Cheese Board Necessities »

About Erin

Erin is the recipe developer, writer and photographer behind the healthy food blog, The Almond Eater. She's been blogging since 2014 and loves to create food for many different diets, including vegan, gluten free and/or Whole30 recipes.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cindy says

    December 21, 2022 at 6:55 pm

    Maybe I did something wrong (I am usually a great home chef) but this was the greasiest pasta I've ever had. Two bites and we all threw it out.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      December 22, 2022 at 6:52 pm

      Hi Cindy! I'm sorry you didn't like the pasta. Instead of reserving the bacon grease, you could dump it out and wipe the skillet with a paper towel to omit some of the grease for next time.

      Reply
  2. Lewis Johnson says

    March 21, 2019 at 1:45 pm

    I love parmesan pasta, it's my favorite.

    Reply
  3. Tia says

    April 08, 2018 at 10:22 pm

    Hi, I just read your last post and I understand also about avoiding certain foods. I recently came down with a bad case of pneumonia wasn’t getting any better come to find out that, I have acid reflux. Mind you, I cook a lot and love it. So now, I’m dairy free, I also can’t have nuts, chocolate, caffine, or anything Spicy. So I just recently learned how to change all of my food to the special diet while still making regular food for my family. I hope that you get better soon.

    Reply
  4. Debs says

    April 05, 2018 at 6:22 am

    5 stars
    "zero percent healthy and ONE HUNDRED PERCENT delicious" Love this! haha!
    Sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
    Yummy pasta!

    Reply

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