A decadent dinner recipe, this Alfredo Pasta with Bacon would be the perfect meal for a special night in. It tastes as good as eating out!
Bacon and pasta? Yes, please! If you also love this combo, check out this Chicken Bacon Pasta or Smoky Tomato Bacon Pasta.
Wondering what to serve with this Alfredo Pasta with Bacon? I love a good salad, like this Antipasto Salad, and some Breadsticks!
My husband loves Fettuccine Alfredo. It’s probably his favorite meal. But really, we don’t have it really often. It’s more of a special occasion meal.
And since we rarely go out for Valentine’s Day, (neither of us are big fans of going out to a crowded restaurant for the holiday), I often make him a big plate of this creamy Alfredo Pasta. This is a version that is super easy to make at home. And bonus – it has one of my favorite ingredients – bacon!
What is Alfredo Sauce?
Before I start, I want to make sure you know that I know the difference between fettuccine alfredo and this alfredo sauce. (That was a mouthful!)
Traditional Fettuccine Alfredo, which comes from Italy, is made simply with pasta, butter and Parmesan cheese. As the butter and cheese are mixed into the hot pasta, they emulsify to form a silky sauce on the pasta.
This Alfredo sauce is an Americanized version of the Italian favorite. In this version, you get a sauce made from butter and Parmesan, but you also add in cream, making a thick, creamy sauce.
Although not authentic, this sauce is decadent and delicious and it is definitely a favorite at our house!
How to Lighten Up Alfredo Sauce
Bacon, alfredo and pasta – pretty much a match made in heaven. But it does get a little heavy. Usually when I’m making a dish for a special occasion, I just go for it. But with this Alfredo Pasta, it’s possible to lighten up just a little bit without sacrificing flavor.
- There’s only 1/4 pound of bacon in the entire recipe, but by utilizing the bacon grease as part of the fat to make the alfredo, you get tons of bacon flavor in every bite.
- Instead of using all heavy cream, chicken broth is substituted in for over half of the liquid. You get all of the flavor with cutting back on the fat just a little bit.
Ingredients
Pasta: For some reason, I’ve always used spaghetti when I’ve made this recipe. Which is funny, because when I make it without the bacon, we usually use fettuccine noodles. But either work well here!
Bacon: You’ll want a good quality bacon, especially because you use a small amount.
Butter: I like to use unsalted butter – especially because the bacon and the cheese will bring in enough saltiness.
Flour: This recipe does call for a full 1/2 cup flour, so this is a thicker sauce. If you want a thinner sauce, feel free to cut that amount down. Others have successfully made it using 1/4 cup of flour.
Chicken Broth & Cream: I talked about this above, but the mixture of broth and cream will cut back on the richness, but still give you tons of flavor.
Parmesan Cheese: I always like to use freshly grated parmesan, as it will melt into the sauce the best.
Tips for Making this Alfredo Pasta
- Don’t forget to save some of the cooking water. You want to use this water to loosen up the pasta instead of regular water because it has a high starch content because of the pasta. That starchy water helps not only to loosen the sauce, if needed, but to keep the sauce creamy.
- You’ll want to cook your bacon instead of buying pre-cooked bacon because you need the bacon fat that is left after cooking your bacon to make the alfredo sauce. For this reason, you’ll want to cook your bacon on the stovetop instead of baking it. I always chop up the bacon before cooking.
- Always use freshly grated Parmesan when you are making a sauce like this. The pre-grated cheese will not melt as well. I always buy a big wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano from Costco, but you can find a smaller wedge of Parmesan at most grocery stores.
- I always add a good serving of fresh cracked pepper to my serving. This is optional, but I love it!
More Can’t Miss Pasta Recipes
Shrimp Alfredo
Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta
Ravioli with Pumpkin Alfredo
Baked Spaghetti
Crock Pot Chicken Alfredo
Lemon Pepper Shrimp Pasta
Easy Parmesan Pasta
Lemon Chicken Pasta
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Alfredo Pasta with Bacon
Ingredients
- 16 oz. spaghetti noodles dry (or other long pasta)
- 1/4 lb bacon
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve a mug full (about 1 cup) of the pasta water then drain the pasta. Return the pasta to the pot.16 oz. spaghetti noodles
- While the pasta is cooking, cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces. Cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.1/4 lb bacon
- Add the butter to the bacon grease in the skillet and cook until the butter is melted. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two.1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and the cream. Cook for a few minutes, until the sauce has started to thicken up. Add in the Parmesan and stir until melted.1 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Pour the Alfredo sauce and the reserved bacon over the pasta in the pot. Stir to coat. If needed, add some of the reserved pasta water to loosen up the sauce.
- Serve topped with chopped parsley, if desired.Parsley
Charles says
Made a big pot for 6. Didn’t last long! I upped the bacon, and resulting small increase in the fat. Great meal with the sides!
And yes, Bob, it did originate in Rome. Check your facts…
polly says
My whole family loved this
Mr Donut says
This is a favorite!
Rina says
Definitely the best Alfredo I ever made!
Sechaba says
Very tasty
Robert G says
Fettucine Alfredo doesn’t come from Italy. But the recipe was delicious!
Michelle says
Like other commenters, I too found there’s a little too much flour in the recipe. I kept that in mind but didn’t want to go too far off the measurements so when testing this I dialed back using about 1/3 a cup instead of 1/2. I still had to add well over a cup of pasta water to thin the sauce down. The flavor isn’t bad, and actually got even better the next day, but the amount of flour makes it a little more reminiscent of sausage gravy than alfredo as far as the sauce’s texture. Let me know if you revisit it. Thanks.
Zofia Giorkor says
This was delicious
Alex says
My family could not talk while eating, it came out so good! I had never used flour to thicken up the sauce and I would have used a tad less, but that is my taste, the reat of my folks disagree. From now on I have the flour trick up my sleeve. Glad I bumped into this recipe.
Deanna says
Made this and it turned out really great – but at first the sauce was really thick and I had to add a lot of extra liquids. Is it maybe supposed to be 1/4 cup of flour?
Deborah says
The flour amount is correct, but it should have read 1/4 pound of bacon instead of 1/4 cup, so that could have made it so you didn’t have enough fat remaining from the bacon. You do need to add some of the liquid to make it the consistency you like, and you can always cut back on the flour next time to thin it out. 🙂
Kim Bee says
My hubby would go wild for this. It just looks divine.
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says
Alfredo pasta is one of my favorite Italian dishes. And the addition of bacon in this is just pure genius. Well done!
kirsten@FarmFreshFeasts says
Deborah,
Yum!
We never go out on the big restaurant days either–much more fun to eat in. I picked up some red and white heart shaped cheese filled pasta last week, and will make some sort of sauce for it . . . but I am torn between a tomato cream and this Alfredo. It just looks so good! Thanks!