We’ve all been there, you try your best to plan ahead for meals, but you forgot to take something out for dinner this morning and it’s now 4 o’clock and you have no idea what to make! You open and close the fridge 5 times hoping something will jump out at you. This happens to me more than I care to admit! That’s why I like to have a few super quick meals with few ingredients that I can throw together in the blink of an eye. This bacon and cream pasta is one of my family’s favorite dishes. They don’t realize it’s a last resort meal for me lol. It’s my spin on bacon carbonara.
The Ingredients
We love bacon! Our freezer is always stocked with it. You can unthaw a pack very quickly by tossing it in some cold water. You don’t need it to be fully unthawed, just enough so you can chop it up. Since I always end up using the bacon half frozen, I always start with that ingredient. If you want an even faster solution, you can purchase real bacon bits at Costco. For this bacon and cream pasta, either will do. But if you are using ready bacon bits, skip the next step.
While the bacon is frying up, I will chop up the onions, cook my pasta, and prepare the sauce. The pasta of choice in our house for this recipe is penne. But you can use your favorite, I’ve used spaghetti, bow tie, rotini, whatever I’ve had on hand.
As for the sauce, all you need to do is combine the cream, egg yolks, parmesan, salt, and pepper, and set it aside. This sauce is not cooked. Similarly to carbonara, the heat of the pasta and bacon will cook the egg yolks enough to be safe to consume. When I say this bacon and cream pasta is a quick meal, I mean it!
As you can see, you have plenty of time to get back to your bacon now. As your bacon starts to get a little color, add your chopped-up onions and continue to cook till the bacon gets crispy and the onions caramelized. Then add the garlic until it becomes fragrant. If you used ready bacon, you would start with the onions and only add the bacon at the end to combine the flavors.
Bacon and Cream Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 c. Penne Pasta
- 1/2 pack Bacon
- 1 Onion
- 1 tsp. Garlic
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- Pepper to Taste
Sauce
- 2 c. Heavy Cream
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 1/2 c. Parmesan
Instructions
Sauce
- Mix the cream, egg yolks, parmesan, salt, and pepper together and set aside.
The Rest
- Set a pot of water on the stove to boil.
- Meanwhile, chop up the bacon and cook in a large pan on medium-high heat.
- While the bacon starts to cook, chop up the onion and add it to the bacon. Cook till the bacon is crispy and onions caramelized. Add the garlic right at the end and cook until fragrant.
- Cook your pasta till al dente and strain.
- Put pasta back in the pot, add the cooked bacon and mix together.
- Lastly, add the sauce and mix until all thickens.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Putting it all Together.
At this point, your bacon, onions, and garlic should be cooked. Your sauce should be ready to go. And your pasta done. The next step would be to drain your pasta, and toss it back into the pot. With the heat off, next, you’ll add the bacon and all it’s goodness to the pasta. Now pour in your sauce, and mix quickly, the sauce will thicken up with the heat of the pot, pasta, and bacon, as the eggs cook. Plate and enjoy immediately.
I hope this bacon and cream pasta recipe gets you out of a dinner jam. Even if we try our best, sometimes the days just get away from us, or unforeseen events happen. No need to panic! I’ve got you. If you haven’t downloaded my 4 week meal plan with lunch and dinner ideas yet. Here it is!
Thank you for stopping be today! Don’t forget to check out all my other recipes for inspiration!
Elisa
