This Easy Garlic Bacon Pasta Recipe is going to be your go-to weeknight meal when you need dinner on the table in just 10 minutes.
With just 5 ingredients, this dish comes together in the time it takes to cook your pasta! With the optional extras of parsley and parmesan for garnish.
The key to this delicious dish is the bacon! As it cooks it releases all its gorgeous bacony fats. These are packed with flavor and this oil is used to cook off the garlic - making a very simple yet scrumptious sauce for your cooked spaghetti.
A simple sauce for pasta
With just, bacon, olive oil and garlic, you can make an easy yet delicious sauce for your pasta!
Cook the bacon in olive oil until it's crispy and has released all of the delicious fats. This bacony olive oil is then used to cook the garlic slivers in.
Once everything is cooked, some of the cooking liquid from the pasta is added and the spaghetti is tossed through.
How to use pasta cooking water to make a sauce.
The pasta cooking water is an amazing gift from the pasta gods! Regular readers are probably sick of me mentioning it!
When you cook pasta it leaches some of its starch into the cooking water. This means that cooking water has the ability to make your sauce a little thicker, a little glossier and a little lighter (because you need less oil to coat the pasta).
It does this by creating an emulsion between the oil and the water. And this mixture coats your pasta and sticks to your pasta. So you have a bowl of delicious pasta without a pool of sauce at the bottom.
Which bacon to use for garlic bacon pasta
You want to use bacon with a high-fat content, so avoid turkey bacon or the trimmed 'bacon eyes'. The standard smoked back bacon that you can buy at the grocery store is great for this.
Or pick something a little gourmet from the butchers, an applewood smoked bacon or brown sugar and chili bacon would add something amazing to this bacon pasta!
How to cook bacon for pasta
You want to cook the bacon until it is crispy, but you don't want to burn it, so cook it over a medium-high heat. This allows the fats to render off and the bacon to crisp up nicely.
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What goes with Garlic Bacon Pasta
Sides: Now I want to say garlic bread because I LOVE carbs and am not afraid to admit it. BUT the sensible thing to do here would be to pair this with a salad or a side of green vegetables. A simple arugula/rocket and parmesan salad would be my first choice, or maybe a side of garlic skillet green beans!
Wine: The garlic and bacon here mean that you want a wine that can handle flavor, but not compete. SO go for something light bodied like a Pinot Grigio or a Soave. For red lovers, the always popular Valpolicella, will blend nicely with the bacon and enhance the subtle smoky notes.
But my favorite choice here has to be a Lambrusco. The lightness of the bubbles and the touch of sweetness pair well with the oil sauce in the pasta and can withstand the garlic perfumed oil. (Don't be put off by memories of university days with large bottles of fizzy sweet wine that pretended to be Lambrusco. Lambrusco is a delicious wine)
Enjoy x
For more scrumptious pasta dishes try:
- Garlic Butter Pasta with Garlic Chicken
- Creamy Tomato Chicken Chorizo Pasta
- Creamy Lemon Salmon Pasta
- Shrimp Chorizo Pasta
- Pasta with Chicken Broth and Butter
- Easy Garlic Bacon Pasta
- Creamy Pepper Steak Pasta
- Black Truffle Pasta
- See ALL 60+ Pasta Recipes
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Easy Garlic Bacon Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 lb dried spaghetti
- 10-12 strips thick cut bacon (see note 1)
- 3 tablespoon olive oil (see note 2)
- 6 large garlic cloves (see note 3)
- chopped fresh parsley garnish
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Cook the Pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the salt and cook the pasta for 1 minute less than the packet suggests.1 tablespoon salt1 lb dried spaghetti
- Once the pasta is cooked reserve 2 ½ cups of the pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta.
Whilst the Pasta is Cooking
- Chop the bacon into smallish dice, add a tablespoon of the olive oil to a frying pan then cook the bacon over medium high for 4-5 minutes until crispy.10-12 strips thick cut bacon
- Whilst the bacon is cooking peel and thinly slice the garlic.6 large garlic cloves
- Once the bacon is crisp, remove it from the pan using a slotted spoon, leaving the oil and bacon grease behind.
- Reduce the heat under the pan and add the remaining olive oil (see note )and the sliced garlic. Stir constantly for 2 minutes and as soon as the garlic has softened but not yet colored, add ½ cup of the pasta cooking water and turn the heat back up.3 tablespoon olive oil
- Boil this mixture for a minute then add in the now drained pasta, keeping the frying pan on the heat.
- Add a further ½ cup of pasta water and toss and stir the pasta in the sauce until it is cooked to your liking. You might need to add more pasta water.
- Once your garlic 'sauce' has coated the pasta, add the cooked bacon and any collected juices back into the pasta then season to taste. (Depending on the saltiness of your bacon you might need salt, but it will definitely want some pepper)
- Serve garnished with fresh parsley and grated parmesan.freshly grated Parmesan cheesechopped fresh parsley
Notes
- You want to pick a bacon that has plenty of flavor and a good amount of fat. The fat is what makes the sauce, so don't go for turkey bacon or bacon eyes. Good old fashioned streaky bacon is best here. I prefer smoked bacon as it has more flavor.
- You may not need all of the olive oil, it depends on how fatty your bacon is.
- The recipe suggests 6 cloves of garlic, but as with every recipe I write, I encourage you to measure garlic with your heart and add more if you want to. (Sometimes I will add 8-10 cloves)
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
Richard says
Silly I know, for such a simple meal, but I took a bit of care over it and it's literally the nicest meal I've ever eaten.
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
I am so happy you enjoyed it Richard. It is recipe I make so often.
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment.
Cx
Freya says
Amazeballs! Thanks Claire! Made it with the family x
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment.
Cx
Menta says
I made this for my family and we finished the whole thing in one sitting!! Usually our garlic bread endeavors aren't very successful, so it's definitely a recipe worth saving. Thanks for sharing!
Btw this is great on leftover hamburger buns too.
Lynne says
Excellent quick and delicious recipe. High praise from the kids too.
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Oh I am so happy you enjoyed it Lynne 🙂
Cx
Leo says
This is the worst pasta recipe of all time don't try it it sucks
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Hi Leo,
Sorry you didn't enjoy it!
It is a fan favorite and one I make for my kids at least once a month.
We do all have different tastes so I guess this one was just a miss for you?
What didn't you enjoy?
Perhaps we could troubleshoot to see if anything went wrong when you were cooking it?
Cx
Krysta B says
I had a similar experience. I don't know if I under did the bacon or maybe didnt use the right kind, but this didn't have much flavor at all.
To salvage the pasta I added more parm, lemon pepper, salt, a bit of borsin cheese, and pesto. It was moving fast, but it kicked up the flavor enough for my kids to eat it.
It's okay. We all have different flavor needs.
Dan says
Everything is true!
Lizzy says
Fussy eaters loved this, I adapted recipe by adding some cream cheese kwith the pasta water to make it creamy. Also added peas to give it some green. Delicious!
Sharron Biccum says
Just made this tasty dish. After frying bacon( no extra oil needed )added a chopped onion then remove from pan and drained some bacon grease Added chopped garlic til just light coloured added juice from a lemon and some pasta water. Then added the cooked pasta and bit more pasta water returned the onion and bacon So good!
Jen J says
Sadly, this recipe had zero flavor. I had to add a lot of salt and onion powder. I couldn't taste the bacon grease or the garlic. I did use chickpea pasta, which I don't recommend.
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
That is disappointing.
I would say either your bacon was too lean, or wasn't a good smoked bacon. (I find unsmoked bacon lacks flavor)
With the garlic, 6 cloves should get a hit of garlic.
Chickpea pasta sounds like it wouldn't absorb flavours well, so I wonder if that is the issue?
Cx
Heidi says
I don't usually comment on recipes but this was terrific! We had leftover bacon from breakfast (double-bacon day!), but not the fat, so I used a mix of butter and olive oil. I also added some lightly roasted cherry tomatoes and used a head of roasted garlic that was in the fridge. Easy and delicious! Thank you!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Hi Heidi,
So happy you enjoyed it. Roasted garlic sounds amazing!
Cx
Kayla Wallace says
nice
CC says
Was ok but tasted a bit bitter. Perhaps I overcooked the garlic but didn't seem to.
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Hi CC,
I would say the bitterness has either come from overcooking the garlic (but that usually goes crispy and brown, so you normally notice it and like you mention it didn't seem overcooked) or perhaps the olive oil used. It could have been a little old or a very grassy oil that didn't taste great heated.
Sorry you didn't enjoy the dish
Cx
Nadine says
Loved it! So glad you explained about the olive oil, and the pasta cooking water. Made it exactly, my whole family loves it. Like it better than Carbonnaro.
bryan says
I would love to add broccoli and zucchini to your recipe. May I ask at what stage would you add those and would I have to alter some ingredients, e.g. more salt, less water, etc.
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Hi Bryan,
I would fry the zucchini off in the bacon grease, season it with salt and pepper and then let it sit with the bacon until you add it to the pasta.
For the broccoli I would pop it into the cooking pasta for 2-3 minutes (or longer if you like softer broccoli)
Because the broccoli might hold some water once it is drained, go a little easy on adding pasta water at first and see how you go.
I hope that helps.
Let me know if you try it 🙂
Cx
Angie says
Tried this recipe & thought it was so delicious, didn't have fresh parsley so added dried towards the end as well as roasted peppers. Will definitely be trying this again as an excellent way to use up bacon for a quick evening meal.
Gina says
This reminded me of carbonara but easier and less messy. Love the bacon garlic flavor and how simple dinner came together!
Julianne says
This was so quick and easy to make, perfect for busy weeknights. What a great use of just a handful of simple ingredients, bacon and garlic being two of my favorites!
Michelle says
This recipe was so easy to follow and make and turned out to be a hit with my kids. Will be making it again!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
It is always a hit with my kids too. So happy yours enjoyed it 🙂
Cx
Will says
Thanks for this recipe! It was delicious.
Made it tonight- added sun dried tomatoes and everyone loved it. 10/10
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
So happy you enjoyed it Will 🙂
Cx
Janice says
I really love pasta dishes, and this easy garlic bacon pasta was on a whole new level! It was sooo good, it makes me want more for our next dinner! This recipe is a must-try!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Oh I am so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
It is one of my favourites!!!
Cx
Jenna says
Made this tonight, after reading the comments I was excited to try it. It was a let down, probably won't make it again but was worth a try, just no flavor other than oil.
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Sorry to hear that Jenna.
I wonder if your bacon wasn't strong bacon, (I always use a smoked bacon) or maybe not cooked for long enough to flavor the oil.
It should have that delicious smoky salty taste of bacon and the hum of fresh garlic.
Cx
Yolz says
Hey Jenna , just add your own ingredients for example all spice, chilli, onion powder and pepper!
Lyn Iwakoshi says
Hello-dumb question here-after we cook the bacon do we toss out the oil and bacon grease? Or add the additional olive oil to that mixture once we remove the bacon with slotted spoon? Thanks! Can’t wait to try this dish 🙂
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Hi Lyn,
Definitely don't toss out the oil and bacon grease, that has all the flavor 🙂
Once you've removed the bacon just add the additional oil to the grease. If your bacon has released a lot of fat you might feel you don't need all of the additional olive oil, that is all good. Better to reduce the olive oil and keep all the bacon grease.
Hope that helps 🙂
Cx
Teresa Rycroft says
I gave it a 2 because it was tasty and easy to make however we found it way to salty I didn't even add anything on its own it was a bit too much
BB says
My son and I loved this. We had it with a Caesar salad.Thanks for the recipe.
Claire says
Thank you, thank you so much for adding the ingredients in light grey under the instructions. It's makes it sooo much easier to follow then scrolling up and down and up and down. I am making this tonight and judging by the comments it's a winner and we will be added to our quick recipe folder. Blessing Claire
Larissa says
I made it today for Friday dinner after a busy work day. It was very delicious and really easy to cook, my family loved it! Thank you for the recipe, I will definitely make it again!
Claire McEwen says
Thank you Larissa, it is a fav of mine as well as it is so quick to make 🙂
So happy you loved it!
Cx
Shelley says
This was delicious and easy, I also added shrimp to it. I sautéed the garlic then added thawed peeled shrimp before following the rest of the steps. I loved the flavors of these simple ingredients. Thank you for adding a new favorite for my family.
Traci says
I have been making this for many, many years. A friend, of mine, from Milan told me how to make this. The only difference, I saute diced red onion with the the bacon. then add the garlic. This dish is so, so good!!
Gail Montero says
I love how this is easily done with simple ingredients from pantry and fridge! Delish!
Natalie says
Simple yet so delicious. Looks amazing with that crispy bacon on top. I will have to make this asap. I'm such a pasta fan!
Julie says
What a fabulous dinner idea! You can't go wrong with garlic and bacon together. The perfect family dinner- so great!
Katie Crenshaw says
I love how simple this recipe is. The pasta turns out delicious and filling. It is perfect for an easy weeknight meal, but tasty enough to serve for guests.
Amanda Dixon says
We loved this pasta! The garlic and bacon nicely flavored the pasta, and it came together so quickly. We'll definitely put this on our rotation. Can't go wrong with bacon and pasta!
Kirsty says
Very simple but perfect dish. Minimal time and ingredients maximum flavour. Thanks
Claire McEwen says
Thank you Kirsty, it is a favourite and frequent dish on our dinner rotation!
Cx
Julie says
Tried this recipe and it was easy and very tasty! I added a little more pasta water than in the recipe and also a splash of half and half. Will be making it again.
Rose says
Made this tonight - yummy & so quick & plenty for lunch tomorrow!!!! I added an onion w/the garlic & sorry but I couldn't help it throw in some butter!! Thanks for a great recipe!!!!
Claire McEwen says
Butter makes everything better 😉
So pleased you enjoyed the recipe!
Cx
Gwen says
It’s funny to see this, my family has been making this my entire life and yes I agree you must add butter prior to the garlic and or onions!! 💗
Charlotte Gilb says
I love your addition of measurements in the body of each step of your directions! Ends all the scrolling. What a fantastic feature!! 👍 I have not ran across anyone else doing this! Keep up the good work. I will be visiting your site often!😋
Char
Elaine R says
Wow, so simple to make but amazing flavor. Had to use avocado oil due to an allergy but this recipe rocked. I am going to keep this is with my regulars. Great for the family or as a side for gourmet dinner parties.
Jasmine says
Thanks so much for sharing! This is a new favourite for our whole family.
I find salting the pasta water a bit too salty but that is the only thing I've changed to suit our own tastes. I recommend it all the time!
Lauren says
Probably a silly question but if I use wine when do I add it in ? I have never cooked with wine before 😋
Claire McEwen says
Not a silly question at all.
If you wanted to add a splash of wine to the sauce then I would add it in when you add in the pasta cooking water.
But to be honest I find the pasta flavourful enough without wine...I'd just have a glass of wine with the dish.
Hope that helps 🙂
Cx
Alicia says
This was really good! For some reason we ended up with a LOT of extra water in the noodles, so we decided to whisk in some heavy cream and flour to thicken it up. It was great! My husband said we should definitely make it again (although next time I will TRY not having to add thickeners!).
Ash says
Maybe I did something wrong I don’t know but I read and re-read everything. Just tasted like greasy garlic spaghetti to me.
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am sorry to hear that it wasn't to your taste. So many people love it 🤷🏻♀️
Did you really boil the pasta cooking water into the oil to make an emulsion?
or maybe the bacon you had was really fatty and left too much bacon grease behind...although usually that just makes it taste better.
Sorry I can't be more help
Cx
Maggie says
Can you make this with any pasta? Also can you use garlic powder rather than cloves?
Claire McEwen says
Hi Maggie, you can definitely use any shape pasta. I like the long shapes as the oil clings nicely to them, but my kids love this with fusilli!
I haven't tried it with garlic powder, but as there are so few ingredients the flavors of each really come through and I think the slight bitterness of garlic powder may not work here, fresh garlic has a more rounded flavor that works with the smoky bacon.
Hope that helps
Cx
K says
If you have minced or crushed garlic from a jar, that would work. Garlic powder would change the flavor too much.
Claire McEwen says
Hi,
I have never really used the minced garlic from a jar, but I do know that I have a friend who uses garlic paste from a tube and she says that works. So it could be worth a go. Although I think fresh would still be best (but I get the peeling and chopping is a pain!)
Cx
Melissa says
Just made this...had bacon that needed to be used. Flavour is great. Simple recipe to follow. Just waiting for my daughter to get home to eat it. Mouth is watering.
Kait says
This was SO good. A huge hit for the entire family. I had spinach that needed to be eaten so I sautéed that and added it as a topping, but this recipe stands on its own exactly as described. Thank you!
Claire McEwen says
Oh spinach sounds like a great addition and I bet the pop of green was fabulous!
So happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Cx
Kate says
I was just thinking this as I was eating it! SO SO good, but spinach would just elevate it!
Julia says
I tried this tonight with gluten free pasta. It was amazing. Going to make it again. Thank you so much xxx
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased you enjoyed the pasta and that you could make it suitable to your diet.
Thank you for taking the time to comment 🙂
Cx
Gina says
This was quick, easy , and so delicious! Was definitely a family pleaser, thank you!
Jeremy says
tasted pretty good!
Amanda says
Just add this for supper tonight. Delicious! I threw the parmesan cheese right in the pan with the pasta so the cheese melted and incorporated into the sauce. Thanks!
Claire McEwen says
Great idea Amanda!
So pleased you enjoyed it 🙂
Cx
Gue says
Thoroughly dislike your site. All the ads and distractions, having to go to the end of page to get recipe - just awful
Claire McEwen says
I am sorry you feel this way, but I have a large website with hundreds of recipes and it is entirely free to readers.
As I’m sure you can imagine, it’s quite expensive to host such a resource as well as test each recipe multiple times. Not to mention, cover numerous operating expenses like computers, cameras, lenses, video equipment, employees, marketing and more!
The ads on my site ensure that the site remains free for everyone. Thank you.
Molly says
I don't normally bother to engage with horrible people, but Claire, thank you for your grace and poise in your response to this uncalled for comment. Thank you for taking the time to post a recipe for access free of charge and most importantly thank you for your incredibly astute and helpful comments. I do not care for recipe blogs that you have to scroll through endless stories and pictures about what their fourth cousin twice removed likes, but every section on yours has insight into valuable information such as the science of the recipe and pairings as well as a convenient "Jump To" menu at the top for those who can take the time to complain, but not read. This is my first time stumbling across your site but looking at the scroll bar on the top I am sure I will be back. Keep it up, darling, it's fantastic.
Claire McEwen says
Molly, thank you so much for the lovely comment 🙂
I do try hard to make the post helpful and include relevant information although I admit that back when I started the blog (and the only people reading it were my Dad and my sister) I included far more stories. I am slowly updating them and making them better. But it definitely takes work.
Thank you so much for appreciating the work, I truely smiled all evening when I read your comment!
I hope you have many yummy meals and always drop me a message if there is anything new you'd like to see!
Cx
Marita Esmonde-White says
Then do not use the site there are many others that enjoy it. Just ignore it you don't have to be nasty.
Claudie says
@Gue. if you don't like the blog , then go somewhere else for recipes. No need for spiteful comments, it shows lack of breeding and discourtesy on your part.
Candyce James says
I made this and it turned out great! I added a little heavy cream to the sauce for creaminess and it was a great addition. My picky eater son devoured it.
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased you and your son enjoyed it Candyce!
Cream sounds like a great addition 🙂
Cx
Donna says
I followed the recipe to the “T” and there isn’t much taste. I threw some garlic salt and pepper but still disappointed
Claire McEwen says
I am sorry to hear that, it is one that gets great reviews usually. I can think of a couple of reasons, either the bacon was too lean so it didn't release enough bacon flavoured grease into the pan, or maybe it wasn't fried until crispy.
Also make sure you really heavily salt the pasta cooking water 🙂
Hope that helps if you choose to cook it again.
Cx
Dorothy Smith says
I tried this tonight , it was very good and so easy. Loved it.
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased you enjoyed it Dorothy!
Got to love easy pasta recipes 🙂
Cx
Felicity Van Spyk says
I was wondering if you could name all the ingredients at the begining because I found it hard to go through and have to figure out what to use as I was making it, but just a suggestion
Claire McEwen says
Hi Felicity,
Thank you so much for your comment, my partner and son were making one of my recipes over Christmas and they said the same thing, that they were constantly scrolling up and down to see how much of each ingredient to add. So I have started stating the amounts within the recipes. But it has only been a couple of weeks, so it is only on newer recipes. I do hope to slowly go through and change all my older recipes to be the same, as I think like you have said, it can be hard to figure it all out whilst you are cooking.
Thank you for commenting, I always love getting suggestions for how to make the site better and more user friendly.
Hope you loved the pasta 😀
Cx
Claire McEwen says
Hi Felicity,
I have recently added a new way of detailing the ingredients in the recipe. Would love to know if you think this will help when following the recipe.
This is an example of one:
https://www.sprinklesandsprouts.com/curry-pork-chops/#wprm-recipe-container-28235
Any feedback you have would be awesome.
Claire x
Jeff Ellis says
I think that's a great way to do it. Very clear- and I have the same problems often with recipes I download- constantly flipping from the Directions page back to the Ingredients while trying to cook.
This is a nice solution.
thanks for your Service....
Claire McEwen says
I am so pleased you like the feature Jeff 🙂
Donna Shipp says
Made this for Thursday night dinner and the family loved it! Lighter than carbonara. Yummy and quick!
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased the family enjoyed this Donna, thank you for coming back to comment!
Yanna Reimer says
Made this tonight and added just one grilled chicken thigh. Oh my! So delicious. My hubby kept complimenting me on it. Thanks also for the mini lesson on using pasta water to make a tasty sauce. Definitely a keeper recipe!
Claire McEwen says
I am loving the addition of the chicken thigh!!! Chicken and bacon is such a nice combo.
So happy that it was hit 🙂
Cx
Liz says
I enjoyed making this for a quick dinner. Your time estimate is way off, however. It takes 10 minutes to boil the pasta water. I’m sure I’ll be much faster next time but it took me 35 minutes. I did sauté zucchini and shallots with the garlic.
Claire McEwen says
So pleased you enjoyed it Liz, sorry you found the timings off, I use my electric kettle to boil water for pasta, so I didn't factor that into the cooking time.
Zucchini and shallots sound like a great addition!
Vickie says
This sounds delicious. However, I missed where the olive oil is used.
Thanks
Claire McEwen says
Hi Vickie, some is used to cook the bacon and the remainder is used to make the garlic 'sauce'. I have updated the instructions 😀
Paula Jacobs says
hello, you say "Once the bacon is crisp, remove it from the pan using a slotted spoon." but you don't mention when to add it back in with the other ingredients. Obviously one can work it out, but odd not to put it in your recipe!
Claire McEwen says
Oops, missed that step out of the recipe, thanks for pointing it out Paula 😀
I will edit the recipe now and pop in the missing step.
Gail Ward says
Is the 731 calories per portion or for the entire dish?
Claire McEwen says
The nutritional information is per portion 😀
Marcellina says
Omg, why haven’t I made this before! Of course...pasta, garlic and bacon is a perfect quick meal. Definitely going to be making this soon.
Claire McEwen says
Hehe, bacon just makes so many things better doesn't it 😀