Leftover Roast Chicken and Bacon Pasta

Looking for ways to use up leftover roast chicken? Look no further than this quick, easy and dang right delicious Chicken and Bacon Pasta!

There’s so many different ways to use up leftover rotisserie chicken, but nothing more delicious than a creamy, carby, bacon-loaded pasta. Plus, it goes from pan to plate in less than 30mins. Hungry? Follow me…

Leftover Chicken Pasta

I don’t know about you, but if there’s not leftover rotisserie chicken in my fridge somewhere then something is seriously wrong. A lot of the time I’ll just get a chicken and pop in straight in the fridge to distribute out in meals throughout the week. Meals JUST like this one. Because who doesn’t love a good chicken and bacon pasta!?

I’ve been meaning to put this recipe on my blog for so so long now, but always held back. Everyone has a signature quirky/’unconventional’ meal right? Okay cool, well yeah. This is one of them. I literally make it all the time, it was only the other day my partner turned to me and asked if I’ve uploaded this before, to which I replied ‘I’m not sure if it’s blogworthy, is it?’. Pasta fell down his face and he stared blankly. That was my answer.

First things first, let’s see just quickly how easy it is to make.

How to make Leftover Chicken and Bacon Pasta (quick summary)

1. Fry up bacon until it just begins to crisp.
2. Add onion and fry until it softens.
3. Add leftover chicken and garlic, fry for a minute or so longer.
4. Pour in sour cream and double/heavy cream and sweet chilli sauce.
5. Stir and season.
6. Add cooked pasta & stir through parmesan.

Sweet Chilli Pasta

Sweet chilli is the one ingredient that throws people with this recipe, but it totally works. The sweet chilli sauce not only helps create the gorgeous combo that is cream and spice, but also adds a nice bit of sweetness too, which in turn is balanced out nicely by the salty bacon/parmesan.

Can I make this with fresh chicken?

Absolutely! The way I recommend doing it is seasoning and frying up a chicken breast over medium-high heat until it’s JUST cooked through, then let it rest. Cook the bacon, onions and garlic, pour in the sauce ingredients, then slice your chicken into strips and add it in. This will ensure your chicken is flavoursome and doesn’t taste dried out. You could of course slice the chicken into bite sized chunks or even shred it with two forks.

How long is leftover chicken good for?

In my experience leftover roast chicken, if tightly sealed in the fridge, will stay good for 3-4 days.

Can you put cold cooked chicken in hot pasta?

I recommend adding it to the pan before the pasta, just to ensure it reheats right through and has a chance to exchange flavours with the sauce.

After more leftover chicken recipes? Check out my roundup of Delicious and Easy Leftover Chicken Recipes!

For more similar recipes check out these beauties too:

Chicken Pasta Recipes

• Chicken Pasta Bake
• Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
• Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
• Chicken and Chorizo Pasta
• Spicy Chicken Pasta

Alrighty, let’s tuck into this leftover chicken and bacon pasta recipe shall we?!

How to make Leftover Chicken and Bacon Pasta (Full Recipe & Video)

4.70 from 10 votes

Leftover Roast Chicken and Bacon Pasta

By: Chris Collins

Looking for ways to use up leftover roast chicken? Look no further than this quick, easy and dang right delicious Chicken and Bacon Pasta!

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 25 minutes mins

Servings: 2

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Equipment

• Large Frying Pan & Wooden Spoon
• Large Pot & Colander
• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
• Fine Cheese Grater

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 7oz / 200g Penne Pasta (or pasta of choice)
• ▢ 1 cup / 150g Leftover Chicken, diced
• ▢ 1/2 cup / 125ml Double/Heavy Cream
• ▢ 1/4 cup / 60ml Sweet Chilli Sauce
• ▢ 1/4 cup / 60ml Sour Cream
• ▢ 1/4 cup / 20g Parmesan, plus extra to serve
• ▢ 4 rashers of Bacon, diced
• ▢ 1 small Onion, finely diced
• ▢ 1 clove Garlic, finely diced
• ▢ pinch of Chilli Flakes (optional)
• ▢ Salt & Black Pepper, to taste

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Instructions 

• Pop 7oz/200g pasta in salted boiling water and cook until al dente. Retain a cup of pasta water just before draining.
• Meanwhile, fry 4 diced rashers of bacon in a drizzle of oil until it just begins to crisp, then add 1 small finely diced onion. Fry until the onion begins to soften, then add 1 finely diced garlic and fry for a minute or so longer.
• Add 1cup/150g leftover chicken just to heat it through, then add 1/4cup/60ml sour cream, 1/2cup/125ml double/heavy cream, 1/4cup/60ml sweet chilli sauce, chilli flakes (optional) and seasoning to taste.
• Drain and stir through your pasta, then add 1/4cup/20g parmesan and give it a final stir. Thin out with pasta water as needed. Serve up and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Leftover Chicken - I recommend using breast if you have it, but dark meat (i.e. thighs) would still work great. If you actually don't have leftover chicken, feel free to fry up a breast and chop. I recommend frying over medium/high heat until just cooked through, then start from frying bacon. Once you've stirred through the pasta, slice the chicken and combine. 

b) Bacon Fat - Only drain the fat away if there's more than about 1 tbsp worth, it adds gorgeous flavour to the sauce.

c) Sweet Chilli Sauce - Make sure it's Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce you're using, not chilli sauce or sweet and sour sauce. Spice levels will differ from brand to brand, so just be vigilant if you're not good with spice! If you want it spicier just add in more chilli flakes to taste.

d) Calories - Based on 2 tbsp extra parmesan to serve between 2 people.

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Nutrition

Calories: 778kcal | Carbohydrates: 48.79g | Protein: 38.64g | Fat: 47.23g | Saturated Fat: 19.717g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5.997g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18.11g | Trans Fat: 0.185g | Cholesterol: 195mg | Sodium: 959mg | Potassium: 570mg | Fiber: 3.1g | Sugar: 2.96g | Vitamin A: 1650IU | Vitamin C: 4.1mg | Calcium: 200mg | Iron: 2.9mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’

If you loved this leftover chicken pasta recipe then be sure to Pin it for later! Already made it or got a burning question? Give me a shout in the comments below and pick up your free ecookbook along the way!