Chicken, Broccoli and Bacon Pasta

Hello! I hope y’all are doing well! Here we are at the end of May! It’s hard to believe that summer is right around the corner!

Today I’m sharing a recipe that I came up with because My Man wasn’t feeling too great. He called from work and his stomach was bothering him. I was planning on making something with chicken, so that’s where I started. He loves broccoli and we all love pasta, so I knew those would be the foundation of the recipe.

I didn’t want to do anything too spicy, so I started by marinating my chicken in a homemade Italian dressing.

From there I decided to use up some of my bacon and also make a parmesan cream sauce. I also wanted to make this an easy one pan meal.

After my chicken marinated for about 6 hours, I put it and the marinade in my Instant Pot and cooked it for 10 minutes. After it cooled slightly I sliced the breasts into thin strips.

I started by cutting my bacon into small pieces and frying it in my 4 quart enameled dutch oven. After removing the bacon, I put the sliced chicken, garlic and onion into the bacon grease and cooked it until the chicken was a nice golden brown and the onion was soft. Then I removed the chicken and onions and kept it warm in a covered stainless steel bowl.

Next, I added the pasta, chicken broth, cream, milk, butter and some minced garlic to the Dutch oven. I seasoned it with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. I brought that to a boil and then let it simmer for a bit before adding the broccoli.

When the broccoli was soft and the pasta was done I added the chicken and onions, along with some parmesan cheese to the pot. I mixed it up and gave the sauce a taste. I knew I had stumbled upon something magical. That sauce! Wow it is so damn delicous. I actually did a little dance because it tasted so good.

After the chicken was warmed through, I added the bacon in and topped with a little more parmesan and some parsley.

I kid you not, in between every bite My Man and The Girl Child said, “OMG this is so good!” My Man gave it 5 stars and it moved up (knocking another recipe down a notch) into his top 5 favorite meals.

I could eat that sauce every day and not get tired of it! I love when I come up with something this good. I’m excited to share this with you!

You don’t have to marinate your chicken. I just really like the flavor a marinade brings to a dish. You also don’t have to cook your chicken in an Instant Pot! That’s just my go to when I want to move things along for myself a little quicker. You do this however you want! I simply tell you how I did things, but you can take this recipe and do it however you like.

Here’s what you’ll need:

3 chicken breasts (cooked and sliced)

8 slices bacon (cut into small pieces)

2 cups broccoli florets (I use frozen)

1 medium onion (diced)

3 cloves garlic (minced and divided)

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups milk (I use 2%)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1 cup parmesan cheese (shredded)

16 oz penne pasta

1/4 – 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Parsley for garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

For the marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic (minced)

Ok. Let’s do this!

I start by marinating my chicken breasts and then cooking them in the marinade in my Instant Pot on manual for 10 minutes. The marinade adds another flavor to the dish and the Instant Pot gives me a head start on cooking this recipe.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, fry your bacon. I start by cutting mine into small pieces before frying, but you can fry the slices and then break them into smaller pieces. When bacon is done, remove and drain on paper towels.

Add sliced chicken, diced onion and 1 clove minced garlic to bacon drippings in pot. Salt and pepper chicken to taste. Cook until chicken is golden brown and onion is soft. Remove from pot and keep warm.

Add about 1/2 cup chicken broth to pot and deglaze.

Next, add remaining chicken broth, cream, milk, butter, remaining 2 cloves garlic and uncooked pasta to pot. Season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for about 6 minutes. Stir every once in awhile and make sure pasta is covered by liquid.

After 6 minutes add the broccoli. Stir to combine and cook for 5 – 7 minutes, until broccoli is soft.

Put the chicken and onion mixture back in the pot and add about 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Cook a little longer, until chicken is heated through and cheese is melted.

Remove from heat and top with remaining parmesan cheese and bacon. Garnish with parsley if you’d like.

This is great the next day for lunch too!

You can follow me on Facebook @This Country Girl’s Life and on Instagram @thiscountrygrl. I’m also on Pinterest @This Country Girl’s Life.

Thanks for stopping by!

Print Recipe

Chicken, Broccoli and Bacon Pasta

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 30 minute meals, bacon, chicken, cream sauce, dinner, easy recipe, one pan meal, parmesan, pasta

Servings: 8 Servings

Author: Country Girl

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts cooked and sliced
• 8 slices bacon cut into small pieces
• 2 cups broccoli florets I use frozen
• 1 medium onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced and divided
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups milk I use 2%
• 1/2 cup butter 1 stick
• 1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
• 16 oz penne pasta
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Parsley for garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste
• For the marinade:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic minced

Instructions

• I start by marinating my chicken breasts and then cooking them in the marinade in my Instant Pot on manual for 10 minutes. The marinade adds another flavor to the dish and the Instant Pot gives me a head start on cooking this recipe.
• In a large pot or Dutch oven, fry your bacon. I start by cutting mine into small pieces before frying, but you can fry the slices and then break them into smaller pieces. When bacon is done, remove and drain on paper towels.
• Add sliced chicken, diced onion and 1 clove minced garlic to bacon drippings in pot. Salt and pepper chicken to taste. Cook until chicken is golden brown and onion is soft. Remove from pot and keep warm.
• Add about 1/2 cup chicken broth to pot and deglaze.
• Next, add remaining chicken broth, cream, milk, butter, remaining 2 cloves garlic and uncooked pasta to pot. Season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for about 6 minutes. Stir every once in awhile and make sure pasta is covered by liquid.
• After 6 minutes add the broccoli. Stir to combine and cook for 5 – 7 minutes, until broccoli is soft.
• Put the chicken and onion mixture back in the pot and add about 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Cook a little longer, until chicken is heated through and cheese is melted.
• Remove from heat and top with remaining parmesan cheese and bacon. Garnish with parsley if you’d like.

Notes

You don’t have to marinate your chicken. I just really like the flavor a marinade brings to a dish. You also don’t have to cook your chicken in an Instant Pot! That’s just my go to when I want to move things along for myself a little quicker. You do this however you want! I simply tell you how I did things, but you can take this recipe and do it however you like.