{"id":7903,"date":"2026-09-26T21:04:05","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T21:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/?p=7903"},"modified":"2026-09-26T21:04:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T21:04:05","slug":"one-pan-creamy-chicken-bacon-spinach-penne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/26\/one-pan-creamy-chicken-bacon-spinach-penne\/","title":{"rendered":"One-Pan Creamy Chicken, Bacon &#038; Spinach Penne"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>One-Pan Creamy Chicken, Bacon &amp; Spinach Penne<\/h1>\n<p>Golden chicken, crispy bacon, tender spinach, and creamy cheese come together with penne pasta in this rich and comforting one-pan dinner. It\u2019s easy enough for a busy weeknight and hearty enough to make everyone reach for seconds!<\/p>\n<h3>Ingredients<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces<\/li>\n<li>8 oz bacon, chopped<\/li>\n<li>12 oz penne pasta<\/li>\n<li>3 cups fresh spinach<\/li>\n<li>3 cloves garlic, minced<\/li>\n<li>1 small onion, finely chopped<\/li>\n<li>1 cup heavy cream<\/li>\n<li>1 cup chicken broth<\/li>\n<li>4 oz cream cheese, softened<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd cup grated Parmesan cheese<\/li>\n<li>1 tbsp olive oil, if needed<\/li>\n<li>1 tsp Italian seasoning<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd tsp paprika<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd tsp black pepper<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd tsp salt<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd cup shredded mozzarella cheese, optional<\/li>\n<li>Fresh parsley, for garnish<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Instructions<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Cook the bacon:<\/strong> Heat a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped bacon and cook until crispy. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels, leaving about 1\u20132 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Brown the chicken:<\/strong> Season the chicken with paprika, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and salt. Add it to the skillet and cook for 5\u20137 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the chicken and set aside.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Saut\u00e9 the vegetables:<\/strong> Add the onion to the same skillet and cook for 2\u20133 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Add the pasta:<\/strong> Pour in the chicken broth and heavy cream. Stir well, then add the uncooked penne. Bring to a gentle simmer.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cook the pasta:<\/strong> Cover and cook for about 10\u201312 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add a splash of broth or water if needed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Make it creamy:<\/strong> Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the cream cheese and Parmesan until melted and smooth.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Add everything back:<\/strong> Return the cooked chicken and crispy bacon to the skillet. Add the fresh spinach and stir until the spinach wilts, about 1\u20132 minutes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Finish:<\/strong> Sprinkle with mozzarella if desired and let it melt for a minute or two. Garnish with fresh parsley and extra Parmesan.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Serve<\/h3>\n<p>Serve hot straight from the skillet with extra Parmesan on top. This creamy chicken, bacon, and spinach penne is a complete comfort-food dinner with minimal cleanup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One-Pan Creamy Chicken, Bacon &amp; Spinach Penne Golden chicken, crispy bacon, tender spinach, and creamy cheese come together with penne&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recipe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7903"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7905,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7903\/revisions\/7905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}