This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This creamy chicken penne pasta recipe is easy to make and has bacon, tender chicken, and an irresistible fresh tomato, garlic, and parmesan sauce. It’s ready in just 30 minutes!
You may also enjoy my Chicken Pesto Pasta or this Creamy Fresh Tomato Salmon Pasta next.
Why you’ll love it
I’m excited about this easy chicken pasta recipe! It uses a handful of everyday ingredients and tastes like it came from a restaurant. We’ve got crispy bacon, melt-in-your-mouth chicken, and a fancy-tasting sauce that couldn’t be simpler to make at home.
Let’s talk about that irresistible sauce that has very few ingredients. This creamy garlic pasta sauce is brightened up with fresh tomatoes, and melting in parmesan makes it ultra decadent. It perfectly coats the penne for a lot of delicious savory flavor in every bite.
What you’ll need
- Pasta – I use penne since it captures the sauce really well
- Bacon – it adds so much flavor, and cooking the chicken in the leftover grease makes it so delicious
- Chicken breasts – we’re using boneless/skinless chicken breasts
- Garlic powder – along with salt & pepper, it infuses flavor right into the chicken
- Flour – to get that golden crust on the chicken and thicken up the sauce
- Garlic – for even more garlicky flavor
- Chicken broth – the base of the sauce
- Heavy cream – to make the sauce decadent, silky, and get the best texture
- Tomatoes – Roma tomatoes add a pop of freshness
- Parmesan – for a delicate cheesy finish
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- In any recipe, I always prefer to grate my own parmesan for best taste and texture. Here’s the cheese grater I use for this one.
- This is the cast iron skillet I use.
- These are my favorite angled measuring cups.
How to make chicken penne pasta
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, in a skillet, fry the cut-up bacon until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Season the chicken pieces with garlic powder and salt & pepper, then coat in flour.
Sauté the chicken in the bacon fat until golden. Transfer to a plate. To the skillet, stir in the garlic and chicken broth. Scrape up the browned bits, and cook for a minute. Add the cream and tomatoes.
Cook until the tomatoes are softened. Return the bacon and chicken to the skillet, and warm through while the sauce thickens up. Stir in the parmesan, toss with the drained pasta, and season with salt & pepper.
Substitutions and variations
- I don’t recommend substituting the heavy cream for something else. The acid from the tomatoes is likely to curdle something like milk or half-and-half, and it won’t taste as intended either.
- If necessary, you can replace the fresh tomato with the equivalent ounces of canned tomatoes (try petite diced ones).
- You don’t have to use penne for this recipe, but I do like the way the sauce clings to those little tubes!
What to serve with chicken penne pasta
- A slice of fresh crusty bread and olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping is my favorite pairing. Or try my Cheesy Garlic Bread.
- For a salad, try any of my favorite homemade dressings: Ranch Dressing, Italian Dressing, or Caesar Dressing. None of them need a blender/food processor to make!
Leftovers and storage
- This penne with chicken pasta will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheat slowly over a low heat until warmed through, adding in a splash of cream or broth if needed to revive leftovers.
- I don’t recommend freezing creamy sauces.
Let me know in the comments below if you made this creamy chicken penne recipe! Tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram so I can see your creations. Questions? Ask away.
Chicken Penne Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
- 4 strips bacon
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Flour for dredging
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 5 ounces tomatoes chopped small, see note
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Boil a salted pot of water for the pasta. Cook it al dente according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, cut the bacon into small pieces (I use kitchen shears to make this job easy) and fry it in a skillet over medium-high heat until crispy. Once it's done, transfer it to a paper towel lined plate. Leave the bacon grease in the pan.
- Meanwhile, cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and sprinkle it with the garlic powder and salt & pepper. Coat each piece in flour.
- In the same skillet, cook the chicken over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes/side or until golden. You may need to work in two batches so as not to crowd the pan. If needed, add a splash of olive oil to the second batch. Turn the heat down a little if needed (like if it's splattering a lot). Take the chicken out of the pan and transfer it to a plate.
- Stir in the garlic and chicken broth. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it cook for about a minute or so.
- Add the cream and tomatoes to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes or until the tomatoes start to lose their shape.
- Add the chicken and bacon back into the pan and let it warm through for a few minutes (let the sauce thicken a bit). Be careful not to overcook the chicken.
- Stir in the parmesan and toss with the drained pasta. Season with extra salt & pepper if needed.
Notes
- I used a Roma tomato that weighed around 5 oz. You can use grape/cherry tomatoes and cut them up if you prefer.
- I don’t recommend subbing the cream for anything else because the acid from the tomato is likely to curdle something like milk or half-and-half.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
Turned out perfectly! That’s a good one.
Wonderful! Thanks, Staci!
Easy and awesome!! Loved the flavors. Definitely a keeper!!
I’m thrilled to hear that, Janine!!
Has anyone made this ahead of time and then warmed in the oven? I need something I can prep ahead of time.
Loved this recipe! Only change is that I doubled it, and every last bit was gone. I did drizzle a little bit of a balsamic vinegar reduction over mine and was really good with that too! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
I love that addition of the balsamic reduction! So glad you liked it!
Very good recipe. I tweaked it to my little extras. I used sun dried tomatoes instead and added some crushed red peppers. Love the crunch from the bacon.
Glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
I made this tonight and for some reason it tasted a little bland. I added about a tsp of Italian seasoning and about 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. I also added a 15 oz can of crushed tomatoes instead of only 5 to make it a little saucier. My husband loved it!
Hi Theresa! So happy your husband liked it! Maybe next time add a touch more salt to yours. 🙂
Ok, so…I’m not a great follower of recipes plus I’m a celiac–so I have to maneuver. I liked the idea and so… followed most (may have added too much bacon, pasta & chicken…) of the instructions. Didn’t like the idea of frying chicken cubes after dredging in flour (which would have to be GF flour), (so I made a roux first–adding later) and sauteed the chicken w/o the flour. I added too much roux & ended up adding SOOO much more heavy cream/milk to get it to DEthicken (is that a word?) AND it really did work out in the end… My point is, I like this recipe b/c they are not having you cheat on the tomato cream sauce. Other recipes suggest to add spaghetti sauce (NO!). This base recipe is great…modify as you need to. Thank you!! Enjoy!!
I was searching for a Chicken and Pasta recipe where I had all the ingredients. I came across this one and immediately looked to see if I had everything. The only thing I did not have was tomatoes so I substituted with a can of stewed tomatoes. I just drained the juice and cut them up some. This recipe was delicious and my husband loved it! It’s a keeper and I will make this again.
I’m so glad you found the recipe and enjoyed it, Sandy!! Thanks for taking the time to write me a review.
This looks amazing I’m going to try this tomorrow
Thank you! Let us know how it goes!!
i see that the serving size is for 4, if i needed to make it for more people, could i just double the the amounts of everything and it could be for 8 ?
Yes, that’s what I would do. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
This was so delicious! Even my 4 year old cleaned his plate. Glad it wasn’t too heavy. Made it with protein penne to make it a little healthier. Thanks for sharing it 🙂
You’re very welcome!! 😀
what can you substitute for the parmesan cheese?
So, there isn’t really anything that tastes the same as parmesan. Grana Padano would work but I’m assuming you just don’t have any parmesan in your fridge so you probably don’t have that either. I’d probably just leave it out if you have to, but it won’t taste quite the same. You could of course try experimenting and subbing different cheeses if you want.