Creamy Angel Hair Pasta with Bacon and Shrimp is super creamy and rich with lots of salty bacon, garlic, and a little baby spinach. This easy meal can be made start to finish in about 20 minutes.
This dish is so versatile. Elegant enough to serve to guests, but easy enough to make for a weeknight meal. Creamy Angel Hair Pasta with Bacon and Shrimp is absolutely loaded with bacon flavor. Not only is there lots of crumbled bacon in it, the shrimp and garlic are cooked in bacon grease for maximum bacon flavor. Yum!
It’s primarily a cream-based sauce flavored with a little mozzarella cheese and a good bit of Parmesan, but there’s also a can of diced tomatoes for a little tomato flavor.
Some crushed red pepper flakes give the pasta a little heat.
CREAMY ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH BACON AND SHRIMP RECIPE TIPS:
I love making this dish with angel hair pasta, mainly because it cooks so quickly. But the sauce also coats it really well and its tender, delicate texture is perfect with shrimp. If you prefer, you can use spaghetti, linguine, fettuccini, or even penne instead.
Instead of shrimp, scallops or chicken can be used.
I prefer to use petite-diced tomatoes. They are in small enough pieces that they blend in really well and people who aren’t crazy about tomatoes usually don’t object to them. You can use regular diced tomatoes if you prefer.
I like to serve this easy pasta dish with additional Parmesan cheese on top. You can never have too much Parmesan cheese with a creamy sauce!
Leftovers will keep for 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Try These Other Amazing Seafood Pasta Recipes:
Creamy Angel Hair Pasta with Bacon and Shrimp
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Angel hair pasta
- 8 slices bacon, diced
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- salt and pepper
- 1 (14-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups baby spinach
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook angel hair according to package directions.Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta.
- Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate.Pour all but 1 tablespoon of grease out of skillet.
- Place skillet over medium-high heat and cook shrimp and garlic in the bacon grease until shrimp turn pink. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Set aside.
- To the skillet, add diced tomatoes, heavy cream, and red pepper flakes.Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes to thicken some.
- Turn heat to low and stir in mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese until melted.
- Add spinach, angel hair pasta, and shrimp/ garlic mixture. Stir to mix.Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in bacon.
- If sauce is too thick, add in some of the reserved pasta water.Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
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This was a big hit with my family. I would recommend adding more spinach. I also added fresh asparagus which added a little crunch. Two people asked for the recipe. I will definitely make it again
I’d give it more than 5 stars if I could. I subbed in some Trader Joe’s sharp white cheddar because I didn’t have mozzarella and I think whatever cheese you have on hand would work (I’m planning to use a cammenblue or saga next time). Also used half and half instead of heavy cream. It was amazing. Definitely save some pasta water because I forgot to and added more half and half because the sauce was so thick, it really didn’t matter because this recipe is bulletproof. I sealed 2 portions in vacuum bags and put them in the freezer although they might not make it past lunchtime today!
Can you make this a day ahead of time and reheat. I am making it for 15 people?
Sandy
You absolutely can
I would love to make this ahead of time and freeze it to take on a trip. Does anyone see any reason this wouldn’t work? Thanks!
Really good! Really easy! Yum!
Looks absolutely delicious. Can’t wait to fix it for company this weekend. Looks easy, but great ingredients in it.
Forgot to rate!!
Forgot to rate!
I made this today and yes this is very good. We didn’t have heavy cream so I used some Neufchatel Cheese, two blobs LOL. My sauce was a bit weird so I added the 1/2 cup of water and all was better. The spinach that we used was frozen and cut up fine. SO it kind of globbed up with the cheeses. Still very good. I only used a small pinch of cayenne pepper but it sure made a difference.
Everyone loved it!! Thank you so much!
Soooo good! And easy! Family loved it. Took about 30 minutes. I didn’t have spinach on hand or heavy cream so I used skim milk and turned about just fine. Thank you for sharing!
Great recipe. Prep time is more than 10 minutes. I added 2 Tablespoons shallots and 1-2 Tablespoons fresh basil. Delicious. I served over haricots vert, thin green beans, for keto and pasta for hubby. Might me good as a topper for garlic toast/bread.
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing.
It looks good, I will try recipe.
Needed to add pasta water.
The crushed red pepper was just the right amount of heat.
My entire family enjoyed it😃🍝
Turned out perfect …. Might add more bacon next time 😀 you can never have to much bacon!!!! WOW!
I did make it and was asked to make it again even before that dish was gone. I happen to have a lobster so I threw it in there and I eliminated the bacon. But it was a big hit and I am making it again tonight with additional king crab pieces and left-over sir fry chicken tenders. I will add the bacon this time, though. Thanks for sharing!
I am salivating!! Gonna try it tonight. Any thoughts on substituting the heavy cream, though?
I used whipping cream…… turned out beautifully!!
This recipe is straight fire. Pair it with a cold cucumber salad and cornbread and your set all the way to the bank.
This recipe sounds delicious. My weakness is seafood. I could eat seafood 3-4 times a week if I could. I can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing your recipe. Just reading your recipe put 10 pounds on me. LOL!!