Here I’ll show you the easiest and most delicious way to make tomato bacon pasta!
When I’m in need of some quick comfort, this recipe is one of my go-to’s. It’s beyond simple to make yet surprisingly delicious too! Follow me…
Tomato Bacon Pasta Ingredients
This recipe only requires a handful of ingredients, most of which should already be lurking around in your cupboards! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Pasta – I prefer using long-cut pasta for this recipe, just so it’s easier to toss through the sauce and emulsify the fats.
- Crushed Tomatoes – You could use chopped tomatoes, but I prefer the smoother texture of crushed.
- Tomato Puree – Aka ‘Tomato Paste’. This helps deepen the tomato flavour.
- Butter – This adds a lovely glossy texture to the sauce. I like to use unsalted butter to gain more control over the saltiness of the dish.
- Garlic – I highly recommend fresh over jarred.
- Seasoning – Just a pinch of Italian seasoning gives the sauce a nice background flavour.
- Bacon – I recommend using smoked bacon as it adds heaps of flavour and pairs beautifully with the tomato.
- Parmesan – This will be melted through the sauce. You can also finish with more on top at the end.
- Chilli Flakes – A little bit of heat brings the sauce to life.
Crispy Bacon
The bacon is the star of the show here, so it’s important to treat it right. Although it might seem slightly pedantic, I’ve got some tips for you to help the bacon shine:
- Streaky bacon – this is typically fattier than back bacon, so you get the bonus of the excess fat in the pan. Not only does this add flavour to the sauce, but it’s perfect to recycle and use for frying the garlic and chilli flakes. If you’re in the US, this is just regular bacon.
- Cold pan – starting the bacon in a cold pan will help render down the fat more efficiently, which in turn, results in maximum crispiness. I fry the bacon on a medium heat and don’t recommend going any higher.
- Remove – while you could leave the bacon in the pan as you simmer the sauce, I much prefer removing it and adding it in at the end, just so it stays nice and crispy.
Depending on how fatty the bacon is, you should be left with around 1 tbsp excess fat. If there’s any more just discard it.
Process shots: add bacon to pan (photo 1), fry (photo 2), remove (photo 3), leave fat behind (photo 4).
Tomato and Bacon Pasta
Once you’ve fried the garlic and chilli flakes, you’ll want to fry the tomato puree as well, just to sweeten it slightly. From there, we’ll go straight in with the crushed tomatoes and seasoning.
The sauce doesn’t need to be simmered for too long – 10 mins max. The main thing is that it ends up nice and thick. Adding the pasta will thin the sauce back out, so you want to eliminate excess water beforehand.
Starchy pasta water
I like to use tongs to transfer the cooked pasta straight from the pot into the sauce. Doing this will add some excess pasta water, which is perfect to complete the sauce. The starch in the water helps emulsify the fats and create a thick, glossy sauce. If the sauce over thickens, just add in more pasta water to thin it back out!
Process shots: fry chilli flakes and garlic (photo 1), fry tomato puree (photo 2), and crushed tomatoes and seasoning (photo 3), simmer then stir in butter (photo 4), toss in pasta (photo 5), toss in bacon and parmesan (photo 6).
Serving Tomato Bacon Pasta
Once the sauce has thickened and is clinging to the pasta, serve it up right away! I like to finish with a pinch more chilli flakes and some extra parmesan if I’ve got leftovers lurking around.
For more delicious tomato pasta recipes check out my Tomato Mushroom Pasta and Tomato Spinach Pasta!
For the sister dish to this recipe check out my Creamy Bacon Pasta!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this tomato bacon pasta shall we?!
How to make Tomato Bacon Pasta (Full Recipe & Video)
Tomato Bacon Pasta (easy & delicious!)
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Pan & Wooden Spoon
- Slotted Spoon & Kitchen Roll/Paper Towels (for removing bacon)
- Large Pot & Tongs (for pasta)
- Fine Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 150g / 5.3oz Smoked Streaky Bacon, diced (see notes)
- 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 1/4 tsp Chilli Flakes (or to spice preference)
- 1 tbsp Tomato Puree (Tomato Paste US)
- 1x 400g/14oz can of Crushed Tomatoes
- 1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning (see notes)
- 200g / 7oz Long Cut Pasta (see notes)
- 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 20g / 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve if desired
- Salt & Black Pepper, as needed
Instructions
- Add the bacon to a large pan with the heat off. Turn the heat to medium and fry until crisp with the fat rendered down. Don't rush this and crank up the heat. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and place it on kitchen roll/paper towels. If there's more than 1 tbsp fat in the pan remove excess.
- Add the garlic and chilli flakes to the leftover fat and fry for 20 seconds or so (be careful the garlic doesn't burn) then stir in the tomato puree and fry for 30 seconds or so. Pour in the tomatoes and swill out the can with a couple of tbsp of water (just eyeball it). Stir in the Italian seasoning and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the sauce thickens and is no longer watery, stirring as and when needed.
- Meanwhile, add the pasta to a large pot of salted boiling water and cook until al dente.
- Once the sauce has thickened, add the butter and swiftly stir so it blends with the sauce. Use tongs to transfer the cooked pasta straight from the pot straight into the sauce, embracing any excess water that comes with it. Turn the heat to low and toss the pasta until it's coated in the sauce. Add the parmesan and bacon and continue tossing until the parmesan melts and the sauce thickens and clings to the pasta. If it dries out at all, just thin it out with some pasta water a splash at a time.
- Check for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper if needed, then serve up and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
