Description
This Creamy Bacon Pasta Sauce is a rich, flavorful dish featuring crispy bacon, fresh vegetables, and a velvety Parmesan cream sauce. Perfect for a quick and satisfying dinner, it pairs beautifully with your favorite pasta.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 200–240g dried pasta or 300-350g fresh pasta (adjust based on appetite)
- 15g butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4–5 rashers streaky bacon, chopped into small pieces
- 3 cups fresh vegetables, chopped (e.g., broccoli and courgettes)
- 3–4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup cream
- 70g Parmesan, finely grated
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (adjust to taste)
Instructions
- Cook Pasta: Cook pasta according to package instructions, undercooking by one minute. Reserve some pasta water before draining.
- Cook Bacon: Heat butter and olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry bacon until crisp (4–5 minutes). Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving drippings in the pan.
- Cook Vegetables: Lower heat slightly, add vegetables to the pan, and toss to coat in the bacon drippings.
- Add Garlic: Stir in garlic and cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
- Make Sauce: Add cream and cracked black pepper. Lower heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Sprinkle Parmesan over the top and stir until melted.
- Combine Pasta and Sauce: Add cooked pasta to the sauce along with a splash of pasta water. Toss to coat.
- Add Bacon: Return the bacon to the pan and toss everything together. Let it gently bubble for 1–2 minutes, adding more pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce.
- Serve: Season to taste (the bacon should provide enough salt) and serve with extra Parmesan on top.
Notes
- Start the sauce while the pasta is cooking for efficiency. Adjust timing based on whether you’re using fresh or dried pasta.
- Add enough pasta water to ensure the dish stays saucy, as pasta quickly absorbs liquid.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 650kcal
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 860mg
- Fat: 38g
- Saturated Fat: 19g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 52g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 24g
- Cholesterol: 85mg