This Cheesy Chicken Bacon Broccoli Pasta is the perfect pasta dish for family dinners. It’s easy, super cheesy and filled with pasta’s favorite ingredients.
This pasta honestly has so much going for it. It’s like an ultra creamy, cheesy broccoli soup with bacon, chicken, and pasta. Seriously what on earth could be better?? ? Cheesy. Bacon. Pasta. Need I say more?? ?
Make this tonight for a dinner that everyone will love!!!
All you need to make this creamy pasta are a few simple ingredients: chicken, bacon, pasta, cheese, broccoli, garlic, tomatoes, chicken broth, and heavy whipping cream.
How to Make Cheesy Chicken Bacon Broccoli Pasta
Let’s start with the broccoli florets.
Start by chopping them into bite-sized pieces. The smaller the better if you have picky eaters. Move to a bowl or plate and set aside.
Now find some really good, thick cut bacon…
And cut it into bite-sized pieces.
You can also use kitchen shears to cut it right into the pan. I’m using a 12-inch skillet here, but you may want to use a large pot with high sides, like a dutch oven. We’re going to be adding a lot of goodness to this dish. :)
Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crispy, about 5-7 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, about 1-inch cubes.
And season generously with salt and pepper.
When the bacon is done, remove it to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add the chicken to the pan (with the bacon grease) in a single layer and cook for 5 minutes, until golden and browned, flipping once halfway through. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon to the same plate with the bacon.
If you have excess, remove all but 2 tablespoons of the remaining bacon grease. Then add the diced onions and broccoli.
I am using frozen, pre-diced onions here. I love them! No more crying while chopping onions!
Cook the veggies, stirring occasionally, until golden and browned, about 5-7 minutes.
And the garlic and stir to combine until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Remove the veggies to the plate with the chicken and bacon.
Then sit back and think about the fact that all this goodness (golden chicken, crispy bacon, caramelized onions, garlic broccoli) is about to go into a cheesy pasta. Hallelujah.
In the same pan (again, you’ll want something large with high sides here), add the chicken broth, cream, diced tomatoes, uncooked pasta, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Cover, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Until the pasta is tender and sauce is thickened.
Add the cheese and stir to combine to create the ultra creamy, cheesy sauce.
Finally, add the chicken, bacon, and veggies back into the pan and stir to combine.
Cheesy. Chicken. Bacon. Broccoli. Pasta.
It’s decadently creamy, ultra cheesy, AND… there’s bacon. Make this pasta ASAP. The end.
Print
Cheesy Chicken Bacon Broccoli Pasta
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Prep Time: 20 minutes -
Cook Time: 25 minutes
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Total Time: 45 minutes
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Yield: 6 servings 1x
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Category: Dinner
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Method: Stove
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Cuisine: American
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
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Cuisine:Description
This Cheesy Chicken Bacon Broccoli Pasta is the perfect pasta dish for family dinners. It’s easy, super cheesy and filled with pasta’s favorite ingredients.
Ingredients
- 8 slices thick cut bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups diced onion (about 1 onion)
- 3–4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups broccoli florets, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 (10 oz) can Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 oz (about 3 cups) penne pasta
- 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, each
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- In a large pot with high sides, or a dutch oven, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and crispy, about 5-7 minutes. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. In the same pot with the bacon grease, arrange the chicken in a single layer. Cook for 5 minutes until golden and browned, flipping once halfway through. Remove with a slotted spoon to the plate with the bacon. If necessary, remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the pan. Increase heat to high, add the onions and broccoli, and cook until the onions are golden and brown, about 5-7 minutes. Decrease heat to low, add garlic and stir to combine until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove all the veggies to the plate with the chicken and bacon.
- Add the broth, Rotel, cream, pasta, salt, and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the chicken, bacon, and veggies back into the pot and stir to combine until heated through, 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the cheese and stir until smooth and melted. Serve and enjoy!! :)
More Easy One-Dish Dinners!
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This has become one of my families go to meals! Great recipe and always delicious each time we make it!
I just made this for lunch and dinner with leftovers, I am eating it as I write. This is so delicious?? creamy and tasty, we love it!!
This has everything I love. The best of all worlds! Love your recipes. Your pulled pork is the very best. I have shared your site with everyone I know.
The cheesy chicken bacon broccoli pasta can this be frozen
I make this many times. The whole family loves it!! I do add red pepper flakes to spice it up a little. DELISH!!!!! ?
Can’t wait to try this one! Thanks!
I originally found your recipe on Bigoven.com, along with your picture, but the link that they had did not work. So I Googled the title and found your blog with the recipe! We loved this so much, it was awesome and I’m so glad I found it :) Very creamy and I like the fact that the pasta is cooked in the sauce and it thickens it up nicely on it’s own. YUM!!!
Have vowed to try something new every time my grandkids come over. Tonight it will be this, but I will probably put some sour cream in it at the end, because, who doesn’t like spur cream???? Mmmmmm!
How did that work out? Never thought to add sour cream!!
One of my favorite dishes of all time. So good. A hit with everyone. I used milk rol tel so the kids will eat it too. Delicious.
Tried to use petite diced tomatoes and milk. Well it coagulated the milk for sure. Not sure if it would be the same with that specific kind of tomato and heavy cream, but seems like it would happen due to chemistry. Good luck.
Does the bacon have to be thick cut? Could i use regular bacon…
Made this tonight with veggie box broccoli and garlic, left out the chicken as none on hand. It was absolutely delicious and everyone loved it. This recipe is a keeper! Thanks so much for posting.
This recipe sounds amazing will be making this for sure. All my favourite ingredients my son will love this as well.
Okay. I’m always a bit skeptical, but this dish was everything we wanted and more. I added the whole pound of pasta and killed it. My wife wanted cheesy pasta anytjing for her birthday dinner and she is elated. Thx
I made this for dinner. I think I would have preferred it with just the cream (I used Philadelphia cheese) and minus the can of tomatoes.
Have you tried it without the tomatoes? My husband is allergic but this looks awesome!
If you are going to use 16 oz of penne pasta, do you double the recipe or what?
I’ve tried doubling and not doubling and both came out great
This was a hit for me. Will definitely be making it again. My friend said it reminded him of a chicken bacon ranch dish. I didn’t agree but loved it nonetheless.
I stumbled across this reciepe and looks so delicious I just had to make it myself. It taste amazing! The best pasta dish to date. Although mine doesn’t look like the one on the picture, it looks more coated in sauce. Neither the less its absolutely amazing !!!
I found this recipe and saved it to my pasta list as I knew that it sounded like something that my husband and I would love…and it is! I made it tonight and followed the recipe to a T and it was perfect! It was so delicious and quite filling, actually. I am so happy to have found a new pasta recipe to break the old and boring! Thank you Amanda! Very yummy!
Omg, so yummy and easy!!! Even the husband liked it and he’s not a big broccoli fan!!
Can I freeze this?
Could you make this ahead of time and bake it? Like for a potluck or something??
I made this and I was a little disappointed. I do plan to make it again with a couple changes. It doesn’t need the Rotel. I plan to use a can of petite Italian tomatoes. Also think it needs more liquid. So I plan to increase the chicken broth a little bit, and use at least 2 cups of the heavy cream. I think this will prevent the over-salty/spicy taste, and just give it a good creamy Italian flavor.
omg. This was delicious and my family loved it. Thanks.
Uh, yeah, this recipe was deliciously amazing! Added some Parmesan cheese and served with garlic bread, mmmmmmmmm….. Cheers!
Great recipe picture perfect …lots layered tastes here
Currently eating this, and its absolutely amazing! Thanks for yet another easy delicious recipe!
This was delicious!!! The hubby loved it! I will definitely make this again.
It looks like my cream curdled. Any idea how to stop in the future?
Well, I know what’s for dinner tonight!
Hi! this looks amazing and I’m planning on making this week! if i wanted to use a whole box of pasta to make for a family of 5, would i have to double all of the liquids as well? or just maybe double the broth?
Thank you SO much for this easy and super Yummy dish! All I had to do is warm some rolls, since the veggies were in the pasta, dinner was done!! My family all loved it and they all wanted the leftovers packed in their lunches the next day….good thing there was a lot. This one is a keeper.?
Simple and delicious! I substituted turkey bacon for the pork bacon and used while whole instead of heavy cream and it was marvelous! Very flavorful and creamy!
If we can’t eat pasta, could we make this with veggie noodles of some kind and if so, how much would we need to reduced the liquid by? (I’m assuming it’s 2 cups of stock so that it can cook and be absorbed by the pasta but since it will be veggie noodles, they don’t do that and I didn’t want to end up with soup.) Thanks for any tips!
BEST THING I EVER ATE… Usually my husband is really picky on pasta but i made this and he loved it,.. its a little spicy for me but he loves it…
We’re always looking for healthy pasta ideas and think this is the perfect combo of easy, healthy and cheesy. Adding bacon for flavor is a genius idea! Thanks for posting! Will certainly be back for more!
Has anyone tried this with fat free half and half? I’m watching what hubby and I eat so would love to bring the calories down a little. This looks amazing….definitely making next week!
I use fat free half-and-half instead of heavy cream on occasion. Here’s the deal: It looks watery and grainy. It’s not pretty at all. It’s more liquidy and not a creamy sauce. It still tastes decent though. The bottom line, I would make it this way for just me and Kevin if we were watching our calories, but I would never serve it to company that way, LOL! :) Hope this helps! :)
I was just wondering….what do you do with the leftover broth? Can it just be put in the fridge?
made this for family and was LOVED by all. My daughter didn’t even know there was tomatoes in it, said it was bacon.
I&in italiano And my english is not very good,
I made this dish for my grandkids last night. All the ingredients are their favorites. THEY LOVED IT! What an easy thing to make! You don’t even have to boil the pasta first! It is truly to die for!!!!!
Wonder if you’ve ever thought of a One Pot Wonders cookbook? Our family has loved everyone of yours that we have ever tried. Spicy Sausage Pasta is one of our favorites. Can’t wait to try this new one! Thank you!
This is simply amazing.! I made this tonight for my family and my two littles-3 yrs and 2 yrs demolished it.! We used fresh broccoli from our garden, subbed the heavy cream for milk & butter and used linguine noodles and it was so delish.! Thank you for adding this recipe to our new favorite lists.!
Okay, so I’ve tried several recipes on Pinterest and have been disappointed every single time, UNTIL NOW!! I made this tonight and followed the recipe exactly. Honestly, SO DELICIOUS!!!! The only problem is I cannot stop eating it…I think I’ve gained 10 lbs!!
I made this for dinner and it was delicious! Building the flavors with each ingredient made the dish very appetizing! Definitely a monthly dish!
I made this for dinner the other night but had the great idea to prep everything the night before so it would be easy to throw together. It was so very tasty and there are lots of leftovers!!
Great idea!! So glad you enjoyed!! :)
I just finished this dish up and it is delicious! Very tastey! You build flavors as you go and you can taste each one with every bite! Definitely a monthly dish!
I made this for dinner a few nights ago and my family LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it!
This is for sure one we will be putting into our frequent rotation.
Thanks for sharing. :)
do you put the pasta in uncooked?
do you put the pasta in uncooked – I cooked it first maybe I shouldn’t have.
I love all the ingredients in this! It should be awesome! Pinning it!
I thought you figured out calores and I did not them on this one. Maybe it is BEST not to know!!!
Had this tonight for dinner! OMG it’s good! I’ve already claimed the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. lol
My whole family would INHALE this ! Delish!
Now that’s a meal my kiddos would demolish in a hurry!!! Yum!
Thank you Kevin and Amanda – looks terrific. Have a great Monday!
What a delicious-looking recipe! Quick note: It seems your printable recipe card is showing up twice…not sure if that was your intention?
This WOULD be the perfect meal for tonight and it’s packed with all of my favorite things!!
You are the queen of the skillet meals! This looks great!!
I have tried almost every recipe you have posted. They NEVER fail. Delicious and easy. I get so excited when I see a new recipe post! Thanks Kevin and Amanda! WAR EAGLE!
This pasta has Monday written all over it! I love that it all cooks up in the same skillet, and really, who could resist a plateful of this creamy cheesy goodness?! Pinned. :)