Ever since I discovered how delicious pasta is when cooked in broth instead of water, I’ve been experimenting with all sorts of different ways to play up this simple trick. By simply changing up the add-ins, you can have an endless number of quick one pot or one skillet dinners for busy week nights. This Bacon and Spinach Pasta with Parmesan is my latest quick skillet obsession.
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Bacon, spinach, and Parmesan are not exactly the least expensive ingredients on the planet, so you do have to be a bit careful with this one. I used a half package of bacon and froze the rest for later use. To save on spinach, I skipped the salad sized bags and got a jumbo bag of “cooking spinach”. The big one pound bag was only 20 cents more expensive than the smaller salad sized (9oz.) bags and almost twice as big. I’ll enjoy the extra spinach as salads and freeze some in smoothie packs.
Can I Use Frozen Spinach or Other Greens?
Frozen spinach can be used in a pinch, but make sure not to get “chopped” frozen spinach because it will be in a million tiny little pieces. You can use other greens, like collards, mustard, or kale, but because they’re quite a bit more sturdy, they’ll need to be sautéed down with the onion in the beginning. Parmesan really does top off this dish and make it grand, but you can lighten up on it if you’re strapped for cash. Parmesan is very flavorful, so a little goes a long way.
What Else Can I Add?
If you want to beef up this dish a bit, you can add a rinsed and drained can of white beans, or sauté some mushrooms with the onions. A few red pepper flakes would be nice in here, too, although I like red pepper flakes on just about anything!
Bacon and Spinach Pasta with Parmesan
Servings 4Ingredients
- 6 oz. bacon ($2.15)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.25)
- 2 cups chicken broth ($0.28)
- 1/2 lb. pasta ($0.50)
- 1/4 lb. fresh spinach (about 4 cups) ($1.50)
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan ($0.55)
Instructions
- Cut the bacon across the strips into one-inch pieces. Sauté the bacon in a large skillet until it is brown and crispy (no extra fat needed). Remove the browned bacon to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Carefully pour the fat off into a separate bowl, leaving about one tablespoon in the skillet.
- While the bacon cooks, dice the onion. Once the bacon is removed and the fat is drained from the skillet, add the diced onions and sauté until they are soft and transparent. Allow the moisture from the onions to dissolve some of the browned bits off of the bottom of the skillet.
- Add two cups of chicken broth to the skillet and dissolve off any remaining browned bits of bacon drippings from the bottom of the skillet.
- Finally, add the uncooked pasta to the skillet, place a lid on top, and let the skillet come to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, give it a quick stir, turn the heat down to low, and let simmer for 10 minutes with the lid in place. Give the skillet a stir to loosen the pasta from the bottom every few minutes or so, replacing the lid quickly each time. After 10 minutes the pasta should be tender and most of the broth absorbed. There should be a little bit of thick, saucy broth remaining in the bottom of the skillet.
- Add the fresh spinach to the skillet and stir until it has wilted into the pasta. Turn off the heat, add the cooked bacon back to the skillet, sprinkle the Parmesan over top, stir to combine, and then serve.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Bacon and Spinach Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Cut 6 oz. (1/2 of a 12oz. package) of bacon into one-inch strips. The second half will be frozen and used later. I love adding a little bacon to soups and other dishes because it adds a LOT of flavor. Or who knows, maybe I’ll just use the leftovers for an impromptu weekend brunch.
Sauté the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until it’s brown and crispy. I didn’t add any extra oil to the skillet because the bacon is fatty enough that it releases quite a bit of grease and does not stick. Once the bacon is crispy, remove it to a bowl with a slotted spoon, and pour off the fat into a separate container, leaving about 1 tablespoon of fat in the skillet (for flavor, of course!). When the poured off fat is cool, save it in the refrigerator to add flavor to other dishes, or if you’re not the bacon grease type of person, scoop it into the garbage. Just DO NOT rinse it down your drain.
While the bacon is cooking, dice one small onion. Add the onion to the skillet and sauté until it is soft and transparent. The juices from the onion will begin to dissolve the browned bacon bits from the bottom of the skillet.
Add two cups of chicken broth to the skillet. Stir well to dissolve the last of the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
Add the dry pasta to the skillet and place a lid on top (it’s OKAY if the broth doesn’t completely cover the pasta). Turn the heat up to high and let the skillet come to a boil. As soon as it reaches a boil, give it a quick stir, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Every few minutes, give the skillet a quick stir to loosen the pasta from the bottom and replace the lid quickly each time so that the broth continues to simmer. Make sure the broth continues to simmer the entire time, turning the heat up just slightly if needed to maintain a simmer.
After about 15 minutes, the pasta should be tender and most of the broth absorbed. There should be a bit of saucy broth left in the bottom of the skillet.
Once the pasta is cooked, add about 1/4 pound (or 3-4 cups) of fresh spinach to the skillet. Add a handful of the spinach at a time and stir it into the pasta until it wilts.
Turn the heat off, add the cooked bacon back to the skillet, and sprinkle the Parmesan over top. Give it a quick stir to combine and then serve!
And then it will look like this! Like I said, I probably should have sprinkled a little red pepper or even freshly cracked black pepper over the top just to take it up a notch, but honestly, it’s bacon… I was already dazzled!
BACON.
Prepared this exactly as directed (except I had to triple the recipe) and it was very good. I’m raising three grandkids – and it’s tough to please everyone, but they all liked it. The second time I made it, I sautéed two large cloves of minced garlic along with the onions and hand-grated 6-oz wedge of parmesan into the pot once the noodles were finished. (I had it on hand and had almost no parm left in my handy green jar). OMG – what a difference! Beth – you are amazing! Where were you when I was raising my 5 kids on a limited budget? LOL! Thank you for your blog – I enjoy your humor and LOVE your ideas!
My store did not have that type of pasta so I got penne. I hope it works! Also if I use the whole box of pasta, would I use 4 cups of broth?
If it’s a one pound box, that should be about right. Sometimes you have to tweak it a bit with different pasta shapes, though.
This recipe is one of my favorites, because it’s comfort food to the max. I did take your advice and add a good dose of black pepper at the end. Massively delicious!
This was fantastic! I added some leftover rotisserie chicken to make it feel more like a meal and it worked out well. My husband had 2nds!
Delicious and easy. I added 1/2 cup red wine and a little garlic for extra boost.
Thank you
So tasty! Will make again! Thank you
This was like chicken noodle soup with the soup cooked into the pasta! I made this using Rouse’s “naked” rotisserie chicken instead of bacon, since that’s what we had, and elbow pasta. Even with onions and Parmesan it is such a mellow, comforting, light and CHEAP dish! I look forward to trying some of the suggestions in previous comments.
It looks delicious! This blog is an absolute oasis for college kids who have to cook because on-campus meal plans cost a small fortune.
But with that being said, what kind of noodle did you use when you made this?
Thank you! The pasta shape is called “campanelle” and I forgot what brand it was exactly. :)
Delicious and budget-friendly, this recipe is a weekly standby in our house since we discovered it! If I’m feeling extra fancy, I’ll sautee chicken leg pieces and mushrooms in the leftover bacon grease. Then remove, cook recipe as usual, and add in with the bacon and stir. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Great recipe! I added garlic to sauté with the onion. And red pepper flakes. After the noodles cooked a little I added a tad bit of half and half to make it a little more creamy. My teenagers loved it and ate it all! Will definitely make again.
Made this dish…….delicious! Easy, weeknight meal. Definitely make again.
Used shell pasta and added mushrooms. It was delicious and the whole family loved it!
Broccoli works if you haven’t any spinach : )
Delicious!! Just made and ate for supper
Amaaaazing!!! Will definitely be making this again!!