Indulge in a symphony of flavors with this tantalizing bacon pasta featuring a rich and creamy cheese sauce elegantly infused with the aromatic essence of thyme. This delectable dish is a true culinary delight, showcasing the perfect harmony between crispy bacon, tender pasta, and a velvety cheese sauce. With variations ranging from a classic rendition to a tantalizing sun-dried tomato and spinach version, this recipe offers a customizable experience that caters to diverse palates. Embark on a culinary journey that will leave your taste buds yearning for more.
Check out the recipes below so you can choose the best recipe for yourself!
CHEESY BACON PENNE
This satisfying classic gets its flair by mixing in two of the best foods around: bacon and garlic!-Sharon Skildum, Maple Grove, Minnesota
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 50m
Yield 6 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute garlic in butter for 1 minute. Stir in flour and pepper until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in 2 cups of cheese until melted. Remove from the heat. , Drain pasta; add pasta and 1/3 cup bacon to cheese sauce. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese and bacon. , Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 402 calories, Fat 24g fat (16g saturated fat), Cholesterol 83mg cholesterol, Sodium 708mg sodium, Carbohydrate 26g carbohydrate (5g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 22g protein.
CREAMY BACON PASTA BAKE
Creamy bacon sauce makes this pasta bake a delicious, comforting dinner. This is the perfect recipe to make-ahead and feed a crowd.
Provided by Alida Ryder
Categories Dinner
Time 50m
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- In a large, oven-proof pan, fry the bacon until it starts to crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside. Drain off the bacon fat and reserve for cooking with.
- In the same pan, melt the butter and add the onion. Allow to cook until soft.
- Add the garlic and sage and cook for a minute before adding the flour.
- Stir the flour into the butter then whisk in the milk and cream. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 5-7 minutes until the sauce is thick and creamy. Remove from the heat then stir in the bacon, Parmesan and half of the grated cheese. Season to taste.
- Add the cooked pasta and some of the pasta cooking water. Stir to coat the pasta in the sauce. At this stage, the sauce should look quite thin. The pasta will absorb more sauce as it cooks so if it looks too dry at this stage, add more pasta cooking water.
- Top with the remaining cheese and more sage leaves if desired then place in the oven.
- Allow to bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes then serve.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 589 kcal, Carbohydrate 76 g, Protein 30 g, Fat 18 g, SaturatedFat 8 g, Cholesterol 51 mg, Sodium 572 mg, Fiber 5 g, Sugar 8 g, ServingSize 1 serving
PANCETTA BACON PASTA
Provided by Food Network
Time P7DT20m
Yield 5 servings
Number Of Ingredients 22
Steps:
- Heat the butter in a large saute pan. Add the Pancetta and saute until slightly brown. Add the garlic, saute briefly, and then deglaze with the wine. Reduce the wine by half, and then add the heavy cream. Reduce this by one third, and then toss in your cooked pasta. Heat the pasta through and add the Parmesan, white pepper, and salt and toss. Pour into bowls and add more Parmesan cheese (as much as you like).
- Ask your butcher for a 5 pound, nice square piece of pork belly (skinless) that will fit into a 2-gallon zip-top bag.
- Pat the belly with paper towels to dry. Mix together all the spices. Wearing plastic gloves, rub the cure mixture into both sides of the belly. Place in a 2-gallon zip-top bag, put on a sheet pan, and refrigerate. Every day for 1 week, turn the bag over and massage the belly (through the bag) to ensure saturation. The pork will take on a slightly darker color than what it was. This is a sign that the cure is working. It will also draw some moisture out of the belly. When the meat is darker and firmer, remove the belly from the bag and run under water to remove any cure sediment. Pat dry and lightly cover with a dusting of ground white pepper. Roll the belly very tightly into a log and wrap tightly with cheesecloth. Tie the end and hang in a 34 to 38 degree F refrigerator for at least 2 weeks.At this time the bacon should be fully cured and have a good firmness when squeezed.
BACON AND ONION PASTA
Building off of the simple but powerfully flavorful Italian dish pasta aglio, olio e peperoncino, this wondrous pantry recipe gets much of its flavor from bacon fat and caramelized onions. The one-two-three punch of spicy red-pepper flakes, aromatic garlic slivers and savory herbes de Provence bloomed in fat provides the umami-rich base for this easy workday meal. Red vermouth creates a rich, jammy pasta sauce edged with sweetness. Don't sleep on angel hair pasta: It's got the right airy bounciness that's excellent at soaking up seasonings. Threaded with parsley and Parmesan, these generously oiled noodles are a dream to eat.
Provided by Eric Kim
Time 50m
Yield 4 to 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Take the bacon out of its packaging with the slices still stuck together and place on a cutting board. Cut the bacon, still stacked, crosswise into ½-inch slices to create little bacon pieces, also known as lardons. Add to a large rimmed sheet pan. Halve and thinly slice the onions. Add to the sheet pan as well. Drizzle the olive oil over the bacon and onions, season with salt and pepper, and toss until evenly coated.
- Place the sheet pan in a cold oven and then heat the oven to 450 degrees. Roast until the bacon has rendered much of its fat but is still pink and the onions are slightly charred in spots but not too dark, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Smash the garlic cloves with the side of your knife and thinly slice them. When the bacon and onions have had their 20 to 25 minutes, remove the sheet pan from the oven and stir in the garlic, red-pepper flakes, herbes de Provence and vermouth. Place the pan back in the oven and continue cooking until the vermouth is almost evaporated, and the bacon and onions look jammy and caramelized but not burnt, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions. (Don't overcook it, as angel hair can go from bouncy to soggy in seconds). Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
- Carefully transfer everything from the pan to the pot with the cooked pasta. Add the parsley and Parmesan to the pasta, and toss until evenly combined, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid if the sauce needs thinning out. Taste, adding more salt and pepper as needed, and serve immediately.
BACON AND PARMESAN PENNE PASTA
This pasta recipe is so easy to make and so flavorful, you will want to make it part of your regular dinner routine. It is a great option for bacon lovers, and those who want something other than red sauce on their pasta.
Provided by SusieQ
Categories Side Dish
Time 30m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Place the chopped bacon and onion in a skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir until the bacon is crisp and the onion is beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.
- While the bacon and onion are cooking, fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the penne, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain pasta, transfer to a large serving bowl, and stir in the olive oil to coat the pasta.
- Drain the bacon grease from the skillet, leaving a couple of tablespoons or to taste. Stir the cooked bacon mixture into the pasta, and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the pasta. Stir to mix in the cheese, and serve.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 411.6 calories, Carbohydrate 45.5 g, Cholesterol 24.9 mg, Fat 17.3 g, Fiber 2.8 g, Protein 17.2 g, SaturatedFat 4.6 g, Sodium 508.8 mg, Sugar 1.4 g
PASTA WITH ONION, BACON, AND GOAT CHEESE
Bell-shaped noodles are an elegant base for this simple, rustic sauce. Other short pasta, such as penne or gemelli, would also be good choices.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Ingredients Meat & Poultry Pork Recipes
Time 35m
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Cook pasta. Drain, reserving 2 cups pasta water; return pasta to pot.
- Meanwhile, cook bacon in large skillet over medium, turning, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes; remove to a paper-towel-lined plate.
- Add onions, garlic, and thyme to fat in skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cover; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Uncover; cook until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes more.
- Crumble goat cheese over pasta; add onion mixture and 1 cup reserved pasta water. Season with salt and pepper. Toss, adding more pasta water as desired. Serve immediately, sprinkled with bacon and more thyme.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 500 g, Fat 16 g, Fiber 4 g, Protein 17 g
Tips:
- Choose the right pasta. Short pasta shapes like penne, rigatoni, or fusilli work well for this dish, as they can hold the cheese sauce well.
- Cook the pasta al dente. This means cooking it until it is tender but still has a slight bite to it. Overcooked pasta will become mushy and won't hold the sauce as well.
- Use high-quality cheese. The cheese sauce is the star of this dish, so it's important to use a good quality cheese that melts well. A sharp cheddar or Parmesan cheese will give the sauce a nice flavor.
- Don't overcrowd the pan when cooking the bacon. This will cause the bacon to steam instead of crisp up. Cook the bacon in batches if necessary.
- Add the thyme at the end of cooking. This will help to preserve its delicate flavor.
Conclusion:
Bacon pasta with cheese sauce and thyme is a quick and easy weeknight meal that is sure to please the whole family. The combination of crispy bacon, creamy cheese sauce, and fresh thyme is irresistible. This dish is also very versatile. You can add other ingredients like cooked chicken or vegetables to make it a complete meal. Or, you can serve it with a side salad for a lighter option. No matter how you serve it, bacon pasta with cheese sauce and thyme is sure to be a hit.
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