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Smokey Garlic Chicken Pasta – A creamy chicken pasta recipe with a tons of flavor. A little smokey, a little peppery, and so good!
In case you couldn’t tell, I have a thing for chicken pasta recipes lately. Tuscan Chicken Pasta is pretty much perfect comfort food, and not even that bad for you. There is just something about the creamy pasta with chicken that I am obsessed with lately.
Creamy Chicken Pasta comes together in minutes and there is no butter or cream, so really go guilt there. Pretty much my dream dinner!
Well this smokey garlic chicken pasta isn’t exactly guilt free. There is not heavy cream, just half and half and some skim milk. So you get a creamy and delicious sauce with a few calories and fat. But still not the same as broccoli salad or anything.
Now this chicken and pasta recipe may sound a little strange. You combine Italian dressing and smokey barbecue sauce with the chicken and bake it. It gives it a tangy and smokey flavor that just works together. Trust me, I know it sounds strange, but it is so good!
Once the chicken is tender and cooked through you just use 2 forks to shred it. Then the chicken and all the sauce it cooked in gets added to the pasta. The dressing and barbecue sauce help to make the sauce more creamy and delicious
I have been making this smokey garlic chicken pasta for years. I have served it to my family, to guests, to my parents, delivered it to friends, and everyone loves it. It makes a lot, but the leftovers are great the next day, so don’t worry about it.
I like to serve this chicken and pasta with a side salad or Cheesy Garlic Bread. Because what goes better with creamy pasta that more buttery carbs, right?
If you want to go all out, you can definitely use heavy cream in place of the half and half and skim milk in this recipe. I am sure it would be over the top amazing. But trust me, this way is so good you will not miss the extra calories.
Smokey Garlic Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 16 oz . Pasta, any short cut will do
- 3/4 cup half and half
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 large garlic cloves, grated
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 Tablespoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups Italian Dressing
- 1/4 cup Barbecue Sauce
Instructions
- In a shallow baking dish cover the chicken with the Marinade and Barbeque Sauce. Bake at 300 for 30 minutes, or until cooked through. Shred chicken.
- Meanwhile cook the pasta according to package directions.
- In a small saucepan melt butter. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add in the half and half, milk, pepper, and cheese. Whisk until smooth. Add in the crumbled bacon. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
- In a large bowl mix the chicken, pasta and sauce together. To serve top with additional cheese if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just made this for dinner and it was FANTASTIC! I didn’t have Lawry’s marinade, so I used Good Season’s Italian dressing. I used twice as much cheese,too…but we absolutely LOVED it. It’s going in the rotation now. The hubs declared it was “FREAKIN AWESOME!”
So glad you liked it!!! Thanks for letting me know, I really appreciate the feedback!
I just made this for dinner and it was FANTASTIC! I didn’t have Lawry’s marinade, so I used Good Season’s Italian dressing. I used twice as much cheese,too…but we absolutely LOVED it. It’s going in the rotation now. The hubs declared it was “FREAKIN AWESOME!”
So glad you liked it!!! Thanks for letting me know, I really appreciate the feedback!
Even the leftovers were delicious, and I don’t usually like reheated pasta dishes!
Even the leftovers were delicious, and I don’t usually like reheated pasta dishes!
I made this last night and it was a huge hit! I left out the pepper (we’re not big fans), and increased the garlic slightly. Yum! I love the combination of the smoky and garlic flavors. Thanks for posting!
Yeah!! So glad you guys liked it! Thanks for posting.
I am ALL over this flavour combination! I love the smokey flavour from the bacon and barbecue sauce. This is so good!!
What a fabulous pasta! Between the creamy sauce and the bacon, I’d be licking my plate clean!
I want to eat some of this right now!
We are a pasta loving house! This is so quick and easy…..perfect!
What a delicious meal!