You know that moment when you realize it is 4:00 PM and you have nothing planned or defrosted for dinner? When that happens, this bacon chicken alfredo recipe (and others like my beef and cabbage stir fry) are my go-to meals. What’s so great about them? I make them in just one pan!
Less dishes to wash? Yes please!
How to Make Bacon Chicken Alfredo Healthy
Chicken alfredo (especially with bacon it!) may not seem like the healthiest fare. But compare the ingredients in this recipe with the label of most any pre-made alfredo sauce jar and you might be convinced otherwise!
I make a few other changes to my version of this classic comfort food to make it better for you:
- I add lots of fresh spinach
- I use protein and fiber rich shirataki noodles or veggie noodles instead of conventional pasta (more on this below)
- You won’t find any processed vegetable oils in this recipe! Instead this recipe’s healthy fats come from olive oil, some quality cream cheese, pastured bacon, and loads of fresh or dried herbs (which have a ton of health benefits).
Bonus: Other than shirataki or veggie noodles, you don’t need any unusual or special ingredients for this recipe. You can have a better-than-restaurant meal on the table in under half an hour!
Bacon Chicken Alfredo Without Pasta?
I know, I know, there is always a catch. In this case, the catch is that it is fastest if you use shirataki noodles instead of other types of pasta. I don’t really like to eat wheat products anyway, so I use shirataki or vegetable noodles.
Shirataki noodles are already cooked, which makes them super convenient. They just need to be rinsed and tossed into the sauce. I usually keep several packages on hand for this dish and for Thai peanut butter noodles. I often use this kind.
However, you can absolutely use vegetable noodles or any other type of noodle if you want. When I have time, I like to use my spiralizer to make veggie noodles, or use shredded cabbage, or spaghetti squash. I like the extra nutrients from the vegetables and the different flavors they add to dishes.
More One-Pan Meals
I love any recipe with a few basic criteria:
- Real food ingredients
- Cooks in one pan (to minimize the dishes)
- Easy to make
- Ready to eat in under 30 minutes
This chicken alfredo recipe meets all of those criteria and is absolutely delicious. You can make it in about half an hour, even if you have to defrost some frozen chicken in warm water first. If you have some already-cooked, leftover chicken to use, it will cut the time in half!
Some of our other one-pan favorites are:
- Baked Salmon and Asparagus
- Crustless Spinach Quiche
- Roasted Chicken with Brussels Sprouts
- Shakshuka Eggs
- Spaghetti over Cabbage Noodles
- Taco Bowl
- Vegetable Frittata
- Honey Mustard Chicken with Mushrooms
- Not my recipe, but this one-pan chicken and vegetable meal looks tasty!
Healthy Bacon Chicken Alfredo Recipe
Chicken alfredo (topped with bacon) has become one of my family’s favorite meals. I think your family will love it too!
Bacon Chicken Alfredo Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil (or coconut oil)
- 1 lb chicken breasts (diced)
- 8 oz fresh spinach
- 1 tsp onion salt (or sea salt)
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 TBSP onion powder
- 1 TBSP dried parsley
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 21 oz angel hair shirataki noodles
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 4 slices bacon (precooked and crumbled)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley (finely chopped, optional)
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive or coconut oil.
- Add the diced chicken to the preheated skillet and saute until the chicken is cooked through.
- Once the chicken is cooked, add the spinach and saute just until wilted.
- Sprinkle with the onion salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and parsley and stir to combine.
- Cut the cream cheese into 1-inch pieces and add it to the skillet.
- Stir often until the cream cheese is melted.
- While it is melting, rinse the shirataki noodles as directed.
- Add the noodles to the pan and stir until everything is heated through and the sauce has thickened. If your sauce is too thick, you can add ½ cup milk or coconut milk.
- Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until evenly mixed in and melted.
- Remove from heat.
- Top with crumbled bacon and parsley, if using, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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What an awesome idea. I buy ground beef and chicken in 5lb bulk bags and have always divided it up ready to cook and stored in the freezer, but pre-cooking would save so much more time. Have you found that the cooked/reheated meat does or doesn’t absorb your spices as well? That would be my only concern, although I think you could avoid the bland meat scenario by putting some garlic, salt, pepper and some other “general” seasonings (parsley, minced onion) in there when you cook in the crock pot. I would think these are common enough to most things you do with the finished meat that you wouldn’t endanger the final dinner product.
Great recipe! Very rich, so I used carrot and zucchini noodles to lighten the taste up a bit.
Tofu comes to mind, especially a creamed tofu. But there must be more specific solutions on the internet. Try googling vegan cream cheese substitutes.
I have to be dairy free for a month. Ugh! Can anyone suggest a substitute for the cream cheese, cause I need this for dinner??
I made this last night but altered it a bit. I omitted the bacon but added mushrooms and fresh baby spinach and used 4 oz. cream cheese w/ 6 oz. of cream. We used chicken thighs rather than breast meat but that is just our preference. My partner and I LOVED this! Thanks!
Could you make it without the cheese? (Can have daiiry but not fermented dairy)
Thanks
I made this last night, and it was amazing. I did use regular pasta (I know, for shame) because it is what I had. But this sauce was so good, it wouldn’t have mattered what I put it with! My entire family loved it, and my 2 yr old that has eaten a very healthy diet her whole life and usually dislikes pasta, absolutely loved it. If it has her approval, it was done right! She is picky unless it’s meat, salad, many raw veggies (only raw though), or yogurt! I also made the homemade caesar dressing for our salad with it, also incredible! Thanks for another winner, Katie! I’m off to make a gingerbug now, and I have a kombucha SCOBY that’s doing great too!