This simple Creamy Bacon Spaghetti has quickly become one of our favorite meals. Best part is it’s so fast to make, only takes about thirty minutes, start to finish.
It was actually one of those things that happened as a happy accident. It had gotten late in the afternoon and I hadn’t decided what to make for dinner. Since we were in a time crunch I decided to use some of our plentiful cherry tomatoes to mix up a quick spaghetti sauce.
While it was cooking I decided I wanted to try and make it special somehow. Because the tomatoes were fresh and I didn’t have time to let them cook down I decided to try adding a little heavy whipping cream to thicken it up and make it nice and creamy. I also decided to throw in a handful of bacon bits for good measure and to give it a little smokey meaty flavor.
It turned out spectacular and I ended up making it again the next night and then again a couple nights later.
Because we had sooooo many cherry tomatoes this year, they were quite literally coming out of our ears, I used them to make the sauce, but the sauce turns out just as amazing and flavorful with a large can of diced tomatoes (you can blend them a little if your have an aversion to the large chunks of tomato.)
If you do use fresh cherry or grape tomatoes make sure to add a pinch of baking soda to the sauce as it simmers. This step really helps to take out the acidic flavor and sweetens the sauce up nicely.
To finish meal in 30 minutes use time wisely by starting spaghetti water to boil when you start chopping onion and garlic. Don’t forget to add salt to the water.
You can use fresh bacon and cook it in your pan before making the sauce and use the drippings for part of the oil if you prefer, but for speed I just use store bought bacon bits.
More super fast pasta dishes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- 2-3 large cloves of garlic, crushed
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes, pulsed in food processor or 1 (29 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp basil
- 1 tsp salt if using fresh tomatoes, ½ tsp if using canned tomatoes
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1½ tbsp brown sugar
- ⅛ tsp baking soda
- 2-3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 2-3 tbsp Parmesan cheese (optional)
- ⅓ cup precooked bacon pieces
- 1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti noodles, cooked al dente (don't forget to add salt to the cooking water)
- In a large sauce pan or pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until tender.
- Add tomatoes, basil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Add brown sugar and baking soda. Stir for 1 minute until sauce stops fizzing.
- Add Parmesan cheese (optional) and heavy whipping cream.
- Simmer for another minute or two. Add cooked noodles to sauce, toss and sprinkle with bacon. toss again and serve.
- We love to serve this with garlic bread or bread-sticks.
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