Creamy Spaghetti with Bacon (Five Ingredients!)
This Creamy Spaghetti with Bacon is a delicious pasta recipe, and perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal. Spaghetti is tossed in a creamy bacon sauce that will have your family licking their plates! The best part? There are only FIVE simple ingredients in this dish and it comes together in less than 30 minutes!
Looking for more easy, kid-friendly pasta recipes? Try my One Pot Spaghetti with Sausage, or this Chicken Spaghetti with Rotel and Velveeta!
What you’ll love about this recipe:
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following simple ingredients to make this Creamy Bacon Pasta Recipe:
INGREDIENT NOTES
Spaghetti: Thin spaghetti, angel hair, and penne also work well but use your favorite pasta!
Heavy Cream: I don’t recommend substituting half and half or milk here, because the sauce won’t thicken as well. If you MUST substitute, use one of my 15 Substitutions for Heavy Cream here so you can get the texture right!
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY SPAGHETTI WITH BACON: STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that the full recipe with the exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below!
Steps 1 & 2: Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, cook bacon 7-9 minutes until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan and transfer it to a paper-towel-lined plate. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease.
Add garlic and tomato paste to the pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring often.
Steps 3 & 4: Add in heavy cream and cook until bubbly and slightly thickened. The sauce shouldn’t be too thick and barely coat the back of a spoon. Season sauce with salt, as needed.
Toss spaghetti noodles and reserved bacon with the sauce until the pasta is well-coated. Enjoy immediately!
Confidence Tip
Always reserve a little of the pasta cooking water. If the sauce becomes too thick, just add a splash of the reserved pasta cooking liquid. Also, make sure to taste the sauce and season it with a good pinch of sea salt and pepper as needed.
STORAGE & REHEATING
Storage: You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Reheating: It’s best to reheat this spaghetti on the stove over medium heat. Add a splash of heavy cream or chicken broth to keep it nice and creamy.
Freezing: I do not recommend freezing this dish.
ADDITIONS & SUBSTITUTIONS
ADDITIONS:
- Mushrooms: Saute some sliced fresh mushrooms in with the bacon and add them to the sauce at the end. SO YUMMY!
- Parmesan Cheese: Feel free to add more Parmesan cheese right in with the sauce to make it an extra cheesy sauce!
SUBSTITUTIONS:
- Pancetta: is great in place of the bacon.
- Pasta: I think this recipe works best with spaghetti, angel hair, or thin spaghetti, but feel free to use whatever pasta shape you like to soak up all the creamy goodness!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Pair this creamy pasta with a light, fresh Arugula Salad or this side salad...and of course, lots of Garlic Bread! You can also serve a green veggie on the side like broccoli or green beans.
This recipe has a similar flavor profile but does not include eggs. The base of this creamy sauce is made from just heavy cream and tomato paste.
More
Easy Pasta Recipes
In a Dinner Rut?
Grab your 7-Day Meal Plan + 3 Bonus Recipes!
I hope you love this Creamy Spaghetti with Bacon! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Creamy Spaghetti with Bacon {5 Ingredients!}
Equipment
- 1 Large Skillet I like using a large non stick or cast iron skilet
- 1 The Best Garlic Chopper optional but amazing 🙂
Ingredients
Instructions
- Cook Pasta: In a large pot of salted water, cook pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining.
- Cook Bacon: While pasta cooks, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon about 7-9 minutes or until pieces are crisp. Remove cooked bacon from the skillet and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Start Sauce: Remove all but one tablespoon of the bacon grease. Then, add garlic to the skillet and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until soft and fragrant. Stir often to ensure the garlic doesn't burn.
- Add: Add tomato paste, and cook for 1 minute more, stirring often.
- Finish Sauce: Add heavy cream to the pan and cook 2-3 minutes until sauce begins to bubble and thicken. Whisk often while cooking. Note: If the sauce becomes too thick, just add a splash of the reserved pasta water. The sauce shouldn't be too thick – it should barely coat the back of a spoon. Season sauce with a good pinch of sea salt and pepper as needed.
- Finish: Add cooked pasta into the sauce, along with the reserved bacon. Toss until everything is well combined. Again, if the sauce gets too thick, just add a little of the pasta water. Taste, and season with more sea salt if needed.
- Garnish: Top with Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and fresh ground pepper if you like! Serve immediately!
This recipe is great! So easy to bring together and super cozy for these chilly winter evenings. This makes the belly happy!
So creamy, so delicious! Love how easy it is to make this recipe. Just perfect!
This spaghetti with bacon was such a simple dish to put together – and, yes, the family was licking their plates! Adding this to my recipe box.
I’m upset I didn’t make a double batch of this because there were no leftovers! It was so good everyone had second and third helpings!
I had something similar in a restaurant once and it was absolutely to die for. I thought it would be a complex recipe but after seeing it I’m definitely making this one this week!
I did just about everything “wrong” with this recipe due to not having what was called for. I used milk instead of cream, I used tomato sauce instead of paste and I used turkey bacon. It STILL was fantastic!
LOL! I think you have created the lower-cal version!!! Glad it worked!! XO~ Casey
This is such a great recipe! So flavorful too! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Omg, how can you go wrong with a recipe like this? Bacon and creamy spaghetti together is the perfect combination!
This is sooo good. It’s one of my go-to spaghetti recipes.
I need this in my life! I’ve had spaghetti made a lot of ways, but I’ve never had it with bacon before. It looks amazing.
Spaghetti and bacon?! What?!!? Mind-blown!!
Even I am a Asian, I love this Spaghetti so much, very delicious!
My family absolutely loved this easy spaghetti dinner with your air fryer garlic bread. Thank you so much for a lovely dinner!
So quick and delicious for week nights. This is a great one for the kids too so I’m making this tonight.
Such a delicious way to prepare pasta! I loved the smokiness of bacon in this! And thank you for including the information on how to read labels for conscious eating/shopping!
Perfect dinner for a weekday night. So quick and doesn’t compromise on flavour. Served it with tenderstem broccoli and we all agreed we will be making it again next week 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
A delicious and easy weeknight dinner! I especially love the label breakdown – I am big into reading labels too. 🙂 The family really enjoyed this spaghetti. Thanks!