This easy bacon pasta bake is so simple to make and only has a few ingredients. The perfect mid-week meal.
Making pasta recipes is one of my favorite things to do. It’s even better when you can add cheese and make it into a pasta bake. This easy Bacon Pasta Bake will become one of your family favourites. Everyone in the family will love this dish, which is made with penne pasta, bacon, garlic, crushed tomatoes, cream, baby spinach, and cheese. [feast_advanced_jump_to].
The Raw Bacon in Pasta Bake Debate: Should You Cook Bacon First or Add It Straight to the Dish?
Crispy, salty bacon makes an amazing addition to creamy, cheesy pasta bakes. But when it comes to assembling your bake, should you pre-cook the bacon first or simply mix raw bacon right into the pasta? I was curious about the pros and cons of cooking bacon for pasta bakes versus using it raw.
As an avid home cook and pasta fanatic, I decided to test out both methods side-by-side to compare the results. Read on for what I learned from my kitchen experiments and helpful tips on how to incorporate bacon into pasta bakes
The Potential Benefits of Raw Bacon in Bakes
Here are some proposed advantages of adding raw. uncooked bacon pieces straight into your pasta bakes
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Saves time and dirty dishes by skipping a skillet pre-cook.
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Allows the bacon to bake and integrate flavors with other ingredients.
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Provides textural contrast – tender pasta and crispy bacon.
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Raw bacon releases some fat to add richness during baking.
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Skipping pre-cooking means less bacon shrinkage and waste.
In theory, tossing raw bacon right into your pasta bake seems like an easy shortcut that could provide nice texture and flavor contrast. But how does it really turn out compared to pre-cooked bacon? I tested it to find out.
Comparing Pre-Cooked vs. Raw Bacon in My Bake
To compare results, I made two identical pasta bakes. The only difference was that for one, I pre-cooked the bacon first. For the other, I simply mixed pieces of raw bacon into the pasta before baking.
Here’s what I observed:
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The raw bacon baked up smaller and more shriveled than pre-cooked.
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Raw bacon released more grease, making the dish oiler.
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The pre-cooked bacon had a crisper, crunchier texture.
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Flavors blended better when bacon was pre-cooked vs. raw.
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Pre-cooking resulted in a more appealing appearance.
While the raw bacon did cook through and add decent flavor, pre-cooking it separately resulted in plumper, crispier bacon that integrated better with the other ingredients.
My Verdict: Pre-Cooking Bacon is Ideal for Pasta Bakes
Based on my test bakes, I personally recommend taking the extra time to pre-cook bacon before adding it to pasta casseroles or bakes. I found separately frying the bacon delivers much better texture and ensures the bacon is properly crispy. And pre-cooking allows you to drain excess grease.
While tossing raw bacon in saves a few minutes upfront, the trade-off in flavor, texture and appearance isn’t worth it to me. Plus, pre-cooking gives you the option to season or candй bacon before adding it to the bake.
How to Cook Bacon for Pasta Bakes
If you opt to pre-cook bacon before mixing it into a pasta bake, here are a few tips:
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Choose a baking-friendly cut like lardons or chopped bacon.
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Fry over medium heat until browned and just crispy.
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Drain on paper towels before adding to remove excess grease.
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Let cool slightly before mixing so it doesn’t overcook during baking.
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Add pre-cooked bacon in the last 5 minutes of baking if you want it extra crisp.
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Season bacon before cooking as desired, like brown sugar or chipotle.
What If You Already Added Raw Bacon? Tips to Save the Bake
Sometimes pasta bake mishaps happen in the kitchen! If you already mixed raw bacon into your assembled pasta dish, don’t panic. Here are some tricks to still save it:
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Cook the bake at a lower temp (325°F) to render bacon fat slowly.
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Cover with foil to help bacon cook through without burning top.
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Increase bake time 10-15 minutes for raw bacon to fully cook.
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Add extra sauce or cheese to compensate for grease released.
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Broil 2-3 minutes after baking to recrisp bacon.
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Drain excess grease after baking if needed.
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Live and learn! Now you know pre-cooked is ideal.
The Takeaway: Pre-Cook Bacon for the Best Results
While raw bacon in pasta bakes can technically work, you’ll get much better texture, crispy factor and fat rendering if you pre-cook the bacon first before mixing it in. Those extra minutes of skillet time pay off in the end result.
However, we all make mistakes in the kitchen sometimes. If you already incorporated raw bacon into your pasta dish, just adjust bake time and temp to allow it to fully cook through. The end dish may be a little more greasy but still tasty.
Step by step instructions:
Preheat oven to 200ºC fan bake. Cook pasta according to packet instructions. Fry bacon in a large frypan until cooked through, add garlic and stir together. Pour in canned tomatoes and stir, add the cream and stir again until it has all melted together.
Add the baby spinach to the sauce then season to taste with salt and pepper. Combine the sauce with cooked pasta and pour into a baking dish. Spread grated cheese over the top.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Serve immediately.
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If you don’t have cooking cream then you can use cream cheese, sour cream or even standard cream. It will still give a similar flavour, I just really like the texture of this cooking cream.
It is the perfect recipe for meal prep to take along for lunches. My husband loves these types of meals to take along for smoko when he’s building.
Store any leftover pasta bake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in the oven or microwave until piping hot.
Do not put this pasta bake in the freezer after step 7. Instead, make it until step 7. After adding the cheese to the top let it cool then cover in cling film and freeze.
You can freeze this pasta bake for later use. Just follow the recipe all the way through until you add the grated cheese. Then, wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it instead of baking it. Go to my Freezer Meals Made Easy course page for more ideas, tips, and tricks on how to make more freezer food.
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Easy bacon pasta bakeYield:
This pasta bake is super simple to make and filled with bacon and spinach.
- 500g penne pasta
- 250g bacon, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 250ml Philadelphia cooking cream
- ½ bag baby spinach
- 1 cup grated cheese
- Preheat oven to 200ºC fanbake.
- Cook pasta according to packet instructions.
- In a large pan, cook the bacon until it’s done. Then, add the garlic and stir everything together.
- Add the cream and stir again until everything melts together. Then add the canned tomatoes and stir again.
- Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste, then add the baby spinach.
- Put the cooked pasta and sauce together in a baking dish.
- Spread grated cheese over the top.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
- Serve immediately.
- Do not put this pasta bake in the freezer after step 7. Instead, make it until step 7. After putting the cheese on top, let it cool down, then wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it.
- Make this recipe ahead of time and pack it for lunch. At work, just heat it up in the microwave for one to two minutes until it’s piping hot.
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.