This creamy cheesy chicken bacon pasta bake with spinach is the ultimate comfort food. It’s rich, flavorful, and easy to throw together. With bacon, tender seasoned chicken, fresh spinach, and a cheesy cream sauce tossed with tender noodles and baked until bubbly and golden brown. The whole family will love this dish, with an alfredo-like sauce and lots of cheesy, serve along side a simple lettuce salad and some warm bread for a balanced meal.
When I was working in restaurants we made baked pasta a lot for family meal (read more about my journey here!) because it was an easy way to feed several people and use up random ingredients in the fridge! This at-home version is no different, get creative with ingredients you have on hand. Use up random boxes of noodles, assorted veggies, or different meat.
You might also like this baked white mac and cheese or my chicken bacon alfredo fettucine! Find all of my pasta recipes and side dish ideas here for more inspiration!
What Makes This Special
- Creamy & cheesy: A creamy white sauce with melted mozzarella and parmesan adds flavor and richness.
- Bacon and chicken combo: Crispy bacon pieces and seasoned chicken make this dish high in protein and filling.
- Easy to make-ahead: Assemble it early and bake later for a no-stress dinner or prep and keep in the freezer for later.
- Fresh spinach folded in: Adds a pop of color and balance without overpowering the dish, this also adds fiber and nutrients.
- Freezer-friendly: Perfect for prepping ahead or gifting, everyone will appreciate this comforting freezer meal!
What Is Baked Pasta
Baked pasta is a pasta dish that’s assembled and then finished in the oven, often with cheese or sauce that melts on top creating a bubbly crust. Typically combing cooked pasta with a sauce, vegetables, and protein – you get the classic, saucy pasta with a golden brown crust. Baked pasta is great for serving family style or for make-ahead meals.
Key Pasta Ingredients
- Pasta – any type of pasta will work here, I like a tube or spiral shape to help catch the sauce. Penne, rotini, or shells are good options.
- Olive oil – I like oil or butter for my fat in this dish. Avocado oil or ghee will also work.
- Butter – this in addition to the oil creates a nice base to the sauce.
- Chicken – boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs work great, chicken tenders can be diced up or use leftover rotisserie chicken.
- Seasoning – this dish uses kosher salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder. Any combination of spices can work!
- Fresh garlic – use as many cloves as you prefer here, the more garlic the better! Fresh garlic is key here.
- Heavy cream – I recommend heavy cream but half and half or whole milk could also work.
- Parmesan cheese – fresh grated is best or buy pre-shredded. Some pre-shredded cheeses have anti-caking agents in them which can change how the cheese melts.
- Mozzarella cheese – I prefer to shred my own cheese, gruyere or asiago will also work here.
- Onion – a finely diced red onion adds nice flavor, white or yellow onions will work as well as shallots. Omit onion if desired.
- Spinach – fresh spinach adds rich color and flavor. I don’t recommend swapping anything here.
- Bacon – diced raw bacon adds extra fat and richness to the sauce and a nice salty bite.
How to Make The Baked Pasta
Let’s talk a little about how to make the Creamy Cheesy Chicken Bacon Pasta Bake with Spinach (The printable instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Quick Overview:
- Cook chicken, remove from pan.
- Sauté bacon, onion, spinach, and garlic.
- Make cream sauce, add chicken back in.
- Toss with cooked noodles, transfer to baking dish and bake.
- Enjoy warm and bubbly.
- Cook noodles according to package instructions, set aside. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water for thickening the sauce. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large baking dish, set aside.
- In a large sauté pan, heat the butter and oil over medium-high heat until melted. Add in the raw chicken and seasonings. Sauté for 5-8 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the pan, set aside. Keep the heat on medium-high. Add in the diced onion and bacon, sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the bacon starts to get crispy. Add in the spinach and garlic, cook for another 2-3 minutes until the spinach has wilted.
- Pour in the heavy cream and reserved pasta water, stir to combine. Let sauce simmer over medium-heat to thicken, 4-5 minutes. Mix in the shredded parmesan and 6 oz. of the mozzarella, stir until melted. Add the chicken back in.
- Add the cooked noodles into the sauce, toss to combine. Transfer pasta to the greased casserole dish and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
What To Serve With
- Potato Au Gratin
- Spinach Salad
- Homemade Garlic Bread
- Kale Salad
- Garlic Knots
- Green Bean Almondine
Tools I Recommend
- Large Colander – a must for cooking pasta, potatoes, veggies, or anything you need to strain. I like the high walls on this one.
- Box Grater – I use this all the time to shred my own cheeses, shred veggies, or fruit. Shredding your own cheese makes all the difference!
- Braising Pan – I love this pan for whipping up sauces or sautéing veggies like the onion and garlic. The high sides are great for keeping messes in.
- Casserole Dish – I love this Staub oval baking dish for casseroles and pasta bakes, it’s easy to serve from and the perfect size.
Additions & Recipe Variations
- Add-ins: add in broccoli florets, spicy Italian sausage, roasted cauliflower, chopped asparagus, mushroom, or sun dried tomatoes.
- Noodles: make this dish with any type of noodle you desire (tube shaped pasta is recommended), stick with small shells or elbow macaroni for the classic looks. Or use cavatappi, penne pasta, and mostaccioli noodles for a fun shapes!
- Cheese: use an aged white cheddar of shredded asiago cheese. Or stick to the classics and use cheddar and Colby jack cheese.
- Don’t Bake: instead of baking this pasta you can serve after combining the sauce and noodles for a more mac and cheese like consistency and texture.
Recipe Tips & Questions
Yes! This is a great recipe for leftover or store-bought rotisserie chicken—just shred or dice it and fold it into the sauce.
Yes! Assemble the pasta bake, cover it tightly, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking. Add 10–15 extra minutes to the baking time if it’s cold from the fridge. Or cover with plastic and aluminum and freeze uncooked for up to a month. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before baking.
Short pasta shapes like rotini, penne, or fusilli pasta work great because they hold onto the creamy sauce. Avoid long noodles like spaghetti or angel hair, they won’t affect the flavor but wont soak up the sauce as well.
You can use half-and-half or whole milk, but the sauce won’t be quite as rich. I would stay away from skim milk or non-dairy milk.
Creamy Cheesy Chicken Bacon Pasta Bake with Spinach
Ingredients
- 16 oz. Dry pasta, like penne or fusilli, cooked to package directions
- 1 cup Reserved pasta water
- 2 tbsp Unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 2-3 medium Bonesless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp Onion powder
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 medium Red onion, finely diced
- 5-6 slices Uncooked bacon, diced
- 3 cups Fresh spinach
- 3-4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cup Heavy cream
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 8 oz. Shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to package instructions, set aside. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water for thickening the sauce. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large baking dish, set aside.16 oz. Dry pasta, like penne or fusilli
- In a large sauté pan, heat the butter and oil over medium-high heat until melted. Add in the raw chicken and seasonings. Sauté for 5-8 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.2 tbsp Unsalted butter, softened, 2 tbsp Olive oil, 2-3 medium Bonesless skinless chicken breasts, 1 tsp Kosher salt, Fresh cracked black pepper , 1 tsp Onion powder, 1 tsp Garlic powder, 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- Remove the cooked chicken from the pan, set aside. Keep the heat on medium-high. Add in the diced onion and bacon, sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the bacon starts to get crispy. Add in the spinach and garlic, cook for another 2-3 minutes until the spinach has wilted.1 medium Red onion, 5-6 slices Uncooked bacon, 3-4 cloves Garlic, 3 cups Fresh spinach
- Pour in the heavy cream and reserved pasta water, stir to combine. Let sauce simmer over medium-heat to thicken, 4-5 minutes. Mix in the shredded parmesan and 6 oz. of the mozzarella, stir until melted. Add the chicken back in.1 cup Reserved pasta water, 1 1/2 cup Heavy cream, 1 cup Parmesan cheese , 8 oz. Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Add the cooked noodles into the sauce, toss to combine. Transfer pasta to the greased casserole dish and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.8 oz. Shredded mozzarella cheese
Notes
Nutrition
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The Creamy Cheesy Chicken Bacon Pasta Bake with Spinach was really good! Plus it made enough food for an army. I’ll cut the recipe down by a half for my husband and I next time I make it. Yet, 1x recipe size will be enough for when all my kids come home. I’d like to try some sun-dried tomatoes in this to see how it blends.
Thanks for trying, the sun dried tomatoes would be a good addition!