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.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
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
Ingredients
- 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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
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.
Any attempts with whole wheat pasta? I’m always tempted to try it in one-pot pasta dishes, but am not sure how to adjust cooking times and broth amounts.
This is our FAVORITE new recipe! LOVE the bacon, spinach, onion and noodles. Itโs really an easy recipe, too.ย
Love this recipe! One of my favourites on standby. I love adding mushrooms and a bell pepper. So versatile! Thank you Beth for this brilliant website! :D
Great additions!
This dish was by far and away the WORST meal i ever put on the table . a waste of good food . 99% went into the trash
I’m so sorry to hear this Sharon! I’m happy to walk you through the recipe and troubleshoot if you’d like.
This has to be the easiest and most delicious pasta dishes Iโve ever made. I did add a splash of the Chardonnay I was drinking and a little half and half. If anyone finds this recipe to be subpar you should question your cooking skills.ย
Costco has a big bag of REAL bacon bits for a pretty decent price – online it says $11.50 for 20oz. I donโt know how that compares, price wise – but its pre-cooked, so it sure cuts down on time!! I find it priceless for some things! Just something to keep in mind. Sounds delicious!
Great tip Kristine! Thanks for sharing!
I was not expecting this to be this insanely good! I was making dinner for 1 tonight and decided to try something new from your one-pot page of recipes. I’m glad no one else was home because I ate nearly the entire thing… I’ll have some lunch tomorrow but this was so good, it needs doubled in my house
Ha! Happy to hear it Parker.
I made this tonight for the first time. I added 6 oz of baby Bella mushrooms, sliced. My husband put tomatoes in his. Very good and a nice, light meal for these hot nights!
Happy to hear it Sarah! These hot nights seem never ending lately.
hands down our favorite new recipe – super easy and affordable!!! thank you!!
only changes I made were chopping the spinach (per the family’s request after the 1st time I made it), adding some red pepper flake to give it just a little spice and I drizzled a little bit of the extra grease on the top and mixed it up just before serving
SOOOOOO good! Thank you!!!!
Happy to hear it Bonnie!
This was easy and delicious. Will make again. Love your site! I am a beginner cook and your pics and notes are a great help! Thank you.ย
Does anyone have recommendations on reheating? Making for a family who just had surgery so thinking of delivering it already done and assuming they can just bake to reheat?
Unfortunately I’ve only ever reheated one serving at a time and I did that with the microwave, so I’m not sure the best way to reheat the whole thing. I feel like reheating it in the oven may cause the pasta to further absorb the moisture and make it turn out dry.
Made this just now with leftovers I had, taste great!
What is the serving size and nutrition facts for this recipe?
This s our familyโs favorite recipe I have found on Pinterest! We just love it. YUM
Looks delicious! If you double the recipe you double the broth too? Thank you!
What kind of pasta did you use? Looks like egg noodles?ย
Nope, it’s a regular pasta and the shape is called campanelle, which means “flowers.” :)