This bacon sun dried tomato pasta with spinach and cream is quick to make and full of delicious flavors that all will enjoy. Comforting and just that bit different, it's a great easy meal.
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You might think as someone who shares recipes for a living, we have fancy meals all the time. Or at least a lot of variety. The truth is, not always.
Yes, there are times when I can't quite stop myself from making all the things for dinner, but especially with two young kids, we most definitely have a few easy go-to meals that help us out on busy nights when we are short on time and running to activities. Pasta is up there as one of them.
A lot of the time, that meals pasta with homemade pesto or Bolognese sauce for us, but I do try to change things up a bit as well. Much as I like mixing in some easy go-to meals, I am also one that hates eating the same thing too much.
This sauce is a great option if you are looking for something just that bit different, but also using relatively inexpensive and easy to find ingredients. In fact, there's a good chance you have most if not all of them in your pantry and fridge already.
The inspiration
For me, this dish came about largely due to what we had in the house one day. I had bought sun dried tomatoes a while before with something else in mind that didn't happen, at least not with the sun dried tomatoes.
I had a little bacon that I needed to either use or freeze, so I figured in a sauce may be a good use.
We'd had gnocchi in a pretty tasty creamy sundried tomato sauce while we were away on a trip a while back and that became my starting point. Some spinach for color, a different texture and healthy(ish) factor, and the dish was about there.
How to make bacon sun dried tomato pasta
As I said right at the beginning, one of the main beauties of this dish is it is really quick and easy to prepare. In fact you can have everything for the sauce made while the pasta is cooking then you just tip the pasta in, stir and serve.
All you need to do is:
- Soak the sun dried tomatoes in boiling water while you cook the bacon, onion and garlic (soaking not needed if they are tomatoes in oil).
- Drain off some of the fat from the bacon-onion mixture, if needed, then add some cream and a little pasta water, sliced tomatoes and some chopped spinach.
- Cook a couple minutes and that's it.
It's relatively simple, but the flavors are delicious and it's got a lovely mix of comforting creaminess, depth of flavor from the sundried tomatoes but that bit of freshness from the spinach. Plus yummy bacon-ness, if that's a word. But either way, I'm sure you know what I mean.
This easy pasta dish is the kind of meal that is great for those nights when you haven't quite figured out what to eat, but don't want whatever your default one or two typical dishes might be. It may not be every person's pantry meal, but there's a good chance you have most ingredients around (or could do, for next time!).
This bacon sundried tomato pasta is quick and easy, but just different enough to feel like you put in a bit of effort, and works in any season as well. In short, it's the sort of dish you don't really need to find an excuse to make and you'll not regret making, so go ahead and give it a try.
Try these other easy pasta dishes:
- Scallop pasta with white wine and garlic
- Spicy sausage pasta skillet
- Crab pasta
- Espagueti verde, Mexican pasta with poblano sauce
- Plus get more 30 minute meals in the archives.
Bacon sun dried tomato pasta with spinach and cream
Ingredients
- 12 oz pasta approx (see notes)
- 4 slices smoked bacon approx, or 5 if thin/small
- ½ onion
- 2 cloves garlic or 1 if large
- 1 ½ oz sun dried tomatoes ( 1 ½ oz is approx 12 pieces)
- 2 oz spinach
- ½ cup heavy cream double cream
- ¼ cup water approx, from the pasta cooking
- Parmesan to serve
Instructions
- Unless you have quick cooking pasta, set your pasta to cook while you make the sauce. Once it has cooked, drain but reserve the pasta water and cover the pasta to keep warm.
- If using sun dried tomatoes that are not in oil, soak them in boiling water while you cook everything else then drain and slice (if in oil, skip soaking and just slice).
- Cut the bacon into relatively thin slices. Warm a pan over a medium-heat and add the bacon, stirring now and then to avoid it sticking too much until it starts to release some fat.
- While it's cooking, dice the onion and garlic relatively finely (or you can prep everything ahead, if you prefer). Roughly chop the spinach.
- Add the onion and garlic to the bacon once it is just starting to brown, and cooking, stirring now and then, so that the onion and garlic soften.
- Once the onion has softened, another 5 min or so, add the cream and warm to a gentle simmer. Add the little bit of pasta water, the sliced sun dried tomatoes and spinach.
- Cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly, until the spinach wilts down in the sauce. Add the pasta and stir through well so the pasta is well covered with the sauce. Add a little more pasta water if needed.
- Serve, topped with some freshly grated parmesan (Note you can also mix a little into the sauce, if you like).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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This post was first shared in May 2016 and has been updated, primarily with new photos and video.
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Roz | La Bella Vita Cucina
WOW< this is one amazing pasta recipe! I can't wait to make it for my family! Thank you for sharing, Caroline!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks so much Roz, glad you like the look of it and hope you all enjoy!