As well as a family favourite nailed-on hit, it’s also ultra convenient for days when you want to prep dinner earlier in the day to save time later. Fill your boots with the cheesy, carby goodness that is SO satisfying in any season. This Bacon and Chicken Pasta Bake recipe is comfort food, pure and simple. It’s a totally winning combination of flavours that even the fussiest of diners is going to approve of. A creamy chicken pasta bake has always been one of my go-to dishes, and there’s so many ways you can mix it up. It’s a fantastic way of stretching a pack of chicken breasts, and the bacon and cheese obviously just take everything up a notch. Every home cook needs an affordable and easy chicken pasta bake in their repertoire, right? Here is my offering. I hope it’ll be one to add to your go-to midweek meal plans too.
Why you’ll love this recipe
⭐️ Easy and adaptable (mix it up each week) ⭐️ So comforting and delicious ⭐️ Great for prepping ahead and leftovers I’ve reduced it to two pans (hurrah!) and simplified things a little, without reducing the taste. You could serve this as a regular chicken and bacon pasta dish, without adding the cheese on top and grilling if you prefer. One of the things I love about this Chicken Pasta Bake is that I can make it ahead of time. So when I know it’s going to be a busy midweek evening, I do my initial cook in the morning and cover it in the fridge once it’s cooled, ready to then simply pop in the oven later.
Other make-ahead pasta bake recipes
Tuna Pasta Bake Meatball Pasta Bake Spinach and Ricotta Pasta Bake Broccoli Orzo Bake.
Substitutions
Meat – If you want to mix this up, try using meatballs, sausage, ham or chorizo instead of the chicken and bacon. Alternatively, if you ‘d like to make this a vegetarian dish, just omit the meat completely and add extra vegetables. Veggies – You can swap out the broccoli for another vegetable if you prefer. Something like peas would work really well.
Just store it in the fridge until you’re ready to eat it (for no more than 3 days) and enjoy. If you want to reheat it, make sure it’s piping hot before serving again, and never reheat more than once. In the freezer You can freeze pasta but it won’t be at its best and I wouldn’t recommend it. It goes a bit mushy after being defrosted. My advice is to be as economical as you can with leftovers in the days after the initial cook (no-one will need any convincing to get rid of it for you!) I tend to do this with most of my pasta bake recipes because it just works better. I’ve tried it both ways and cooking the pasta first always has the best results, and as it takes such little time to cook, this step is always worth it for me. Just cook the pasta in fresh boiling water and drain off before adding to the sauce and ingredients to then bake together. Prepare up to the end of step 10 in the recipe and then when cold pop into the fridge (covered). When you are ready to eat, preheat the oven to 180C and cook for about 30-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and everything is hot throughout. Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
