If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I love a good pasta recipe. Easy to make, easy to sneak in extra veggies, and typically a meal that can be made in one pot. Lleyton has always been a pasta lover, but until recently Easton hated pasta. I’m not sure if it was the texture or the taste, but he would lick the sauce off of the noodles and spit the noodles out. Until he had this chicken bacon bruschetta pasta that is! Now he’s a pasta lover like the rest of us.
What’s not to love about bruschetta? Fresh tomatoes, good olive oil, and basil are a perfect combination, especially while summer tomatoes are so ripe and juicy. Adding those flavors into pasta with chicken and bacon creates a flavor explosion that apparently will convert even a pasta hater. Served with a green salad and maybe some garlic bread and you have a perfect summer dinner.
This recipe used up the last of my basil from my garden. Maybe with some luck I could get a little more basil this year, but at 32 weeks pregnant I think my days in the garden are limited. So sadly, my garden is done for the year. The strawberries that I planted were a huge hit with Lleyton, and I plan to plant even more strawberries next year so the boys can both enjoy them. I will say that I didn’t get to eat a single strawberry from the garden because Lleyton ate every one!
This pasta is perfect as we near the end of summer. Here in the Pacific Northwest, temperatures are already cooling off at night and I can tell that fall is just around the corner. Even though we technically still have another month of summer, once Labor Day passes and Lleyton starts preschool, it feels like fall to me and I’m ready for fall weather and trips to the pumpkin patch with the boys. Before we dive into pumpkin and apple recipes, I hope you make this summery pasta dish! Chicken bacon bruschetta pasta is such a good weeknight meal.
- 1 lb. penne pasta
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 15 oz. canned diced tomatoes
- 3-4 roma tomatoes, diced
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded*
- 8 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup julienned fresh basil leaves
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions, drain and set aside.
- In the same pot over low heat, heat olive oil. Add canned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, dried basil, chicken, and bacon.
- Return pasta to pot and stir to combine.
- Add mozzarella cheese and stir again. Taste and add additional salt if needed.
- Serve pasta topped with fresh basil leaves.
- Enjoy!
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