Creamy Bacon Chicken with Tomatoes and Fettuccine

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Creamy Bacon Chicken with Tomatoes and Fettuccine is an easy skillet dinner for a busy weeknight! Prep ahead and it takes less than 30 minutes to cook.

Oh, hello, Bacon!  Welcome to my dinner, you’ve just made it a party!  This Creamy Bacon Chicken with Tomatoes and fettuccine is a STRESS-FREE dinner that your entire family will LOVE!

You will love it because it’s so easy to make!  Your family will love it because it’s loaded with delicious big comforting flavor.  The chicken is smothered in a creamy bacon sauce sauce infused with smokey and salty bacon flavor.  Cherry tomatoes give a sweet and tangy pop.  And the chicken seasoned with sage is the perfect moist vessel for all of this goodness!

This recipe cooks up quickly on the stove in a skillet or pan.  It pairs perfectly with pasta, rice, quinoa, or heck, a flip flop!

Cooking from the Freezer

When weeknights are busy, it’s so nice to have a stocked freezer to turn to.  I’m not talking about frozen pizzas or frozen TV dinners.  I’m talking about fresh ingredients that you can easily prep ahead and grab for quick cooking dinners.  

This Creamy Chicken Bacon and Tomatoes recipe is one of those grab-from-the-freezer easy dinners!  Bacon stores amazingly in the freezer and of course chicken breasts do as well.  Pre-sliced scallions also freeze nicely and are great when they are being added to a cooked dish.  They are not great it you want to use as a garnish. 

Simply pull the chicken out of the freezer the night before and let it thaw in the fridge.  For the bacon, just cut off as much as you need while still frozen, then put the rest back in the freezer.  

Now, for the cherry tomatoes, you do not want to freeze them.  But, these are great to have on hand for a variety of quick meals from breakfast to lunch to dinner!

Click here to get my printable cheat sheet with 10 Freezer Hacks to make easy dinners!

Quick note!  This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you purchase from them.  This commission is what helps me keep this blog afloat :).  I also share these links because I have used the products, genuinely love them, and want you to know exactly what I used. 

Simple Ingredients and Substitutes

This is one of those simple chicken recipes with ingredients that you likely have on hand or can easily get.

Chicken Ingredients

• Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinless – You can swap in boneless skinless chicken thighs. I always have raw chicken breasts in the freezer as they can last up to 12 months if in an airtight container or packaging. Check out all of my tips on Prepping and Storing Chicken for Easier Dinners.
• Salt – I used kosher salt, but any salt will work.
• Ground Black Pepper – You can use fine or coarse ground black pepper. I like fresh ground, but pre-ground is fine too.
• Onion powder – Same as with the garlic powder, you can substitute with onion flakes.
• Ground Sage – Ground sage adds wonderful flavor to the chicken. If you do not have it, you can use ground rosemary or ground thyme.

Other Ingredients

• Fettuccine – Any pasta will work for this recipe. You can also substitute with rice, quinoa, potatoes, or polenta.
• Bacon – Bacon gives this dish so much flavor! If you replace the bacon with something very lean, such as turkey bacon, you will need to supplement with olive oil when you add the chicken. You can also use diced pancetta and you should get enough fat, but you can supplement with olive oil as needed.
• Grape or Cherry Tomatoes – Either grape or cherry tomatoes will be great in this recipe. You can also use plum tomatoes or vine tomatoes that have been diced.
• Fresh Garlic Cloves – Fresh is best in this simple recipe, but you can buy the pre-minced garlic sold in a small jar or use dried garlic flakes or garlic powder.
• Scallions (green onions) – I love scallions for the green color and mild onion-flavor. You can swap with finely minced yellow or red onion or even shallots.
• Chicken Broth or chicken stock – You can also use, vegetable broth or stock or Beef broth or stock. You can also use water mixed with a beef or chicken bouillon cube or beef base or chicken base.
• Half and Half – This brings in extra creaminess, but you can substitute with cold water, cold broth, or milk. You can also go creamier with heavy cream!
• Cornstarch – This is the thickener in the sauce and is great because it can be mixed into cold water to dissolve and create a slurry. That means that you don’t need to mix flour with butter to make a roux. It’s not only a low-fat thickener, it saves lots of time and fuss!

Simple Equipment for this recipe

You need a large skillet/frying pan for this recipe. I use my absolute favorite 12″ Ceramic Pan, which is great because food really does slide right off with minimal oil and I don’t have to worry about food sticking and burning.  It comes with a glass lid, which is perfect for watching your dinner cook!

Oh, I also like to cut my raw chicken with kitchen shears, but you can also just cut with a knife. And mincing garlic is made super easy with a Garlic Press.

Prep-Ahead Steps for Creamy Bacon Chicken

We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are steps you prepare in the day(s) ahead.

Slice the bacon into small bits.

Cut the chicken breasts into 2 pieces each and then season with a mixture of the ground sage, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Finely slice the scallions. Mince the garlic.  Store the bacon and chicken separately in the fridge until ready to cook.  The scallions and garlic can be stored together in the fridge.

Cooking Creamy Bacon Chicken with Tomatoes

Preheat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the bacon pieces and cook for 7-8 minutes to render the fat and crisp up the bacon. Transfer the bacon to a plate on a paper towel using a slotted spoon, leaving the bacon fat in the pan.

To the bacon fat, add the seasoned chicken breasts. Cook 5 minutes on the first side and then 2 minutes on the other side. Then cover the pan and cook for another 3-5 minutes to cook through until internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 F or all pink is gone in the center. Transfer chicken to the plate with the bacon.

To the same pan, add the garlic, the tomatoes and half of the scallions. Pour in ¼ cup of the broth and scrape up all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan and cook for about 5 minutes until the tomatoes start to pop and get juicy.

Add ½ cup of the pasta water and the remaining broth to the pan and then whisk in the half and half slurry. Bring up to a simmer while stirring as it thickens.

Add back the chicken and half of the bacon bits. Let cook for 3 minutes so that everything comes together.

This is a delicious chicken pasta dish, so serve over Fettuccine or any of your favorite pastas.

ENJOY!  😍 Carrie

Creamy Bacon Chicken with Tomatoes FAQs

Can I use chicken thighs in this Creamy Bacon Chicken?

You can use chicken thighs in this Bacon, Tomatoes, and Chicken recipe. I recommend sticking with boneless skinless thighs for easy prep and cooking. Consider the amount of thighs that you will need as well. Generally, I estimate 16 ounces or 1 pound of chicken for 4 servings. That will likely mean 5-6 boneless skinless thighs, depending on their size. The recipe instructions will be the same for thighs as the breasts.

How far ahead can I prep the chicken?

You can cut and season the raw chicken breasts up to 3 days in advance.  Be sure to store them in an airtight container in the fridge.  Once you cook the chicken, you can save it for another 3 days. 

Do I have to use Bacon?

You can skip the bacon, but it’s what brings the smokiness and bacon flavor to the cream sauce.  If you still want that smokey flavor, you can add some paprika to the seasoning for the chicken.  You can also swap the bacon with pancetta if you want that pork flavor without the smokiness. 

Can I freeze this after it’s cooked?

Yes, this smothered creamy Bacon Chicken and Tomatoes (without the pasta!) will freeze very nicely.  You can store it in the freezer for up to 4 months.  However, don’t freeze the pasta.  Make that fresh when you defrost and warm up the chicken again.