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This one pan skillet baked cheesy bacon penne pasta dish is the ultimate comfort food for bacon, cheese, and pasta lovers!
I went all out on this one.
This skillet baked cheesy bacon penne is easy to make and doesn’t involve horrific piles of dishes. That’s always a plus 🙂
No pasta water to deal with here… everything is nicely cooked right in the skillet. And oh man… is it ever good. Like seriously good. These calories are totally worth it.
We’ve got crispy bacon, plenty of carbs, and a pizza-level cheese situation. It’s great.
This pasta dish is also flavorful beyond the bacony, cheesy goodness because it has just the right amount of garlic, onion, and Italian herbs. I’m convinced that this will please the pickiest of eaters.
I mean, what’s not to like here?
Let me know if you’ve made this baked bacon penne!
Skillet Baked Cheesy Bacon Penne
Ingredients
- 5 slices bacon
- 1/2 onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 (10 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
- 1 (13.5 fluid ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1.5 cups water
- 3 dashes Italian seasoning
- Pepper to taste
- 16 ounces penne
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese (I used partially skim)
Instructions
- Using kitchen shears, cut the bacon into small pieces (I just add it to the skillet as I go). Fry bacon on medium-high heat, stirring every so often, until it's crispy (10-15 minutes). You may need to turn the heat down to medium when it gets closer to being done so it doesn't splatter as much.
- Meanwhile, dice the onion.
- Once the bacon is cooked, remove it to a plate and set aside. Remove most of the bacon fat from the pan and leave about a tablespoon in there. Add the onion and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes.
- Meanwhile, grate your parmesan and mozzarella (if you didn't buy pre-grated ones).
- Pre-heat oven to 400F and move the rack close to the top of the oven.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook it for about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, tomato sauce, water, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Give it a good stir and ensure that the yummy brown bits are scraped from the bottom of the pan. Note: if you're worried there's too much liquid, you can add the water gradually as the sauce reduces. My pan is pretty deep (two inches).
- Add the penne to the pan and increase heat to high. Once it starts to boil, decrease the heat to medium-high and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- The pasta will be partially cooked at this point, and the sauce should have reduced considerably. If it's still very saucy, you can continue to cook it for another 2-3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in half the bacon, the parmesan cheese, and the sour cream. Add an even layer of the mozzarella and then sprinkle the remaining bacon pieces on top.
- Pop it in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. If desired, you can then broil it for another few minutes to get that delicious golden brown cheese you see in my photos. Make sure to watch it closely as it would be sad to burn it at this point.
- Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes prior to serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- This is the oven-proof skillet I used to make this recipe. I highly recommend it.
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I’m thinking of added some cooked, cubed chicken thighs to the recipe for more meat. What do you think? Do I need to change anything else to the recipe if I do add the chicken?
I can’t say for sure without testing, but I think that it should work fine. Let me know how it goes 🙂
Thanks so much… My daughter always requests this recipe!
That’s lovely to hear! Thanks, Kristin! 💕
We just used this recipe and its fantastic!
So glad to hear it, Jan!
Bacon, pasta & cheese? I think you just ticked my top 4 favorite supper ingredients! Pinned!
Excellent! Thanks, Fiona! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
How much penne did you use?
Carol.
Hi Carol, I used 16 ounces. I just added it to the recipe. I need to proofread better… so sorry!
Can you be my new best friend?
I mean it.
My nickname in San Francisco is Bacon Girl because I was head chef at a bacon restaurant!
This looks so fantastic, I can’t wait to make it!
Haha that’s awesome! I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
One pan meal? With Bacon? And Cheese? Yes please. Pinning!
Haha thanks 🙂