Make this quick and easy bacon pasta dish with ingredients you may already have on hand! It's like a classic BLT in the form of pasta! Make it with healthy, gluten-free vegetable pasta and get a serving of veggies to boot!
Sometimes you're dog-tired and you don't feel like cooking, so all you want is a super simple dinner. Other times you're in the midst of craziness and you just need to make a meal from what you've got on hand in the fridge or pantry. Either way, this meal is perfection. There's just so much to love:
- BACON. She said, "you had me at hello." I say, "you had me at bacon."
- One-pot, well two. One for cooking the pasta, one for the sauce. BUT you could cook the pasta first and then use the same pot to cook the sauce if you really want to be dish-efficient! ? Let's just say, it's easy cleanup!
- It's quick! No kidding, start to finish in 30 minutes or less!
- Only FOUR ingredients. That's it. That's all that's holding you back from this deliciousness! Speaking of...
Ingredients
Here's the simple list of what you need!
- Bacon: I love applewood smoked, thick-cut bacon
- Green Veggie Pasta: *Mine was gifted to me from Ancient Harvest.* It's their new "veggie" pasta! Have you ever seen a pasta so green in your life? Each serving of pasta is also a serving of vegetables! You could use any pasta you prefer but you will lose the "L" of the "BLT" equation if it's not a green vegetable-based pasta. Side note: this pasta is green... from vegetables. It tastes like what it looks like it tastes like so if that's not your thing, don't say I didn't warn you. Please don't @ me or leave gnarly comments!
- Grape Tomatoes
- Parmesan Cheese
How to make Veggie BLT pasta
- Step 1: Cook the pasta 1 minute less than the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- Step 2: Fry the bacon until crisp, remove it to drain and reserve 3 Tablespoons of the bacon fat.
- Step 3: Sauté the tomatoes in the bacon grease for about 5 min. The tomatoes will get soft and start to release some of their juices. Season with pepper.
- Step 4: Deglaze the pan. Add a splash of pasta water to the pan and scrape up any bits stuck on the bottom.
- Step 5: Add the bacon, pasta, and cheese to the pan. Stir to melt the cheese and toss the ingredients together. Add more pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Recipe Variation
If you cant find veggie penne, substitute with your favorite gluten-free penne! Optionally add 3oz of baby spinach and wilt in the pan before adding the bacon, pasta, and cheese.
Gluten-free BLT Pasta with Veggie Penne
Ingredients
- 8 oz Ancient Harvest Veggie Penne*, See Notes!
- 12 oz thick-cut bacon,, sliced in 2-inch pieces
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes,, halved
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- freshly cracked pepper
- 3 oz fresh baby spinach*, See Notes!
Instructions
- Cook the pasta 1 minute less than the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- Fry the bacon until crisp, remove it to drain and reserve 3 Tablespoons of the bacon fat.
- Sauté the tomatoes in the bacon grease for about 5 min. The tomatoes will get soft and start to release some of their juices. Season with pepper to taste.
- When the tomatoes are soft, add a splash of pasta water to the pan and scrape up any bits stuck on the bottom. Add a little more pasta water as needed.
- Add the bacon, pasta, and cheese to the pan. Stir to melt the cheese and toss the ingredients together. Add more pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce to your desired consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
*Recipe adapted from this pasta recipe.
If you need more dinner inspiration, click here for all of my dinner recipes.
- If you like this recipe, I think you will really like this gluten-free bacon fried rice! It's another easy recipe made with pantry/fridge staples and of course that includes bacon!
- Looking for more pasta inspiration? Try Baked Chicken Pesto Pasta, Gluten-free Lasagna, or Baked Chicken Meatballs!
Kathy
This looks really good. A nice change from casserole or spaghetti. Easy to find ingredients, too.