The farther I go through life, the more I value the one-pot wonder. Don’t get me wrong, I love to take my time and cook elaborate meals for my family and friends – but I also firmly reside in a reality that makes those meals infrequent. For all the ordinary everyday busyness I appreciate a meal that can be cooked without using all my pots and pans at one time, and this recipe fits the bill. These One Pot Bacon and Pea Bow Ties are very straightforward and require only one dish (aside from your plates, but if you want to go the paper route and throw them away after dinner for even less time slaving over a dishwasher I’m all for it).
The instructions are basically to fry some bacon in the bottom of a soup pot, remove the bacon and throw in everything else, and then add that crispy bacon back in with some cheese after the noodles are cooked. I don’t see how it could get much simpler. And I also want to toot my own horn for a second so that you recognize that I had to do a lot of thinking and experimenting to get this recipe down to one pot. Those first few attempts were not awesome, but it was well worth it. You can thank me later.
Want more one pot pasta recipes? Try Broccoli Cheddar Rotini or Lemon Spinach Penne
I call this portrait ‘Crispy Bacon on Plate’. It is my masterpiece.
- 4 strips of bacon
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup water
- 3 cups bow tie pasta
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Dash of black pepper
- 1/3 cup shredded parmesan
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Heat a soup pot over medium heat and cook bacon until crispy, about 5-7 minutes, turning once halfway through. In the meantime, mince garlic. When bacon is crisp, remove from pot and set aside. Remove pot from heat and sauté the garlic in the bacon grease for about one minute, then carefully add the milk and water. Bring to a boil and add the pasta, peas, salt, and pepper.
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Cook until pasta is done, about 12-15 minutes. Stir frequently towards the end of the cooking time so that the pasta doesn't stick as the liquid boils down. You'll know it's done when the pasta is soft and the liquid is pretty much gone. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and bacon (crumbled). You can reserve a little of each for garnish if desired. Serve hot and enjoy!
I love how easy this recipe is and how little cleanup is involved. I will probably make it without peas as we are not pea lovers in this house. Even without them I bet it will be delicious!
Oh I’m sure you could totally make it without peas! My girls would say they aren’t pea lovers either, but they still have to eat their veggies 😉
Pinning now! I am always looking for new recipes because I cook for a lot of people every evening. Thanks a bunch.
You’re welcome, hope you and your crowd enjoy!
LOVE one pot meals, and this looks too easy! Pinned and will definitely try it out!
Thanks, hope you enjoy it!
This looks so good. I’m hungry right now so reading this is torture! (but in a good way.. 🙂
I’ve never thought of torture in a good way before ha ha ha. Thanks for stopping by!
Love quick, one pot meals! Thanks for giving me another one to try!
You’re so welcome! Hope you enjoy!
Love it! I am always looking for yummy, easy, and fast, so this is right up my alley! I am featuring this week for Friday Frenzy!
Wow, thank you so much!
Oh yeah, this may just be the perfect meal! Love that it’s made with “normal” ingredients…everything I would already have in my fridge and pantry!
I try really hard to create ‘normal’ recipes, because I have a normal family just like everybody else! Thanks for commenting!
Yum! I love the sound of this one, Jordan!
Thank you! My family thinks it’s pretty tasty, hope you get to try it!