Silky noodles, salty bacon, tender chicken, and crispy asparagus complement each other perfectly in this easy skillet chicken carbonara! You won’t believe how simple the recipe is and how quickly it comes together!
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Y’all! It’s Friday and I finally have this recipe written and the video edited! I have been working on putting this post together, with the recipe, pictures, and video all week long. Five minutes here, ten minutes there. Trying to find time to get things done right now is a circus act, largely thanks to my five little monkeys.
Just this morning, I felt certain I could get it done…then there were pedicures with felt-tip pens, missing keys and locks (belonging to the three-year-old), impromptu hikes through the woods that required water bottles and homemade trail mix, floors that needed to be swept after a toy breaking… and all this in one hour period!
I feel like a broken record recently when I tell y’all how much I’m relying on easy meals right now. I enjoy cooking, but I just don’t want to, or have time to, be in the kitchen for a long time.
Of course, I love how the Instant Pot makes it easy to throw food in and walk away. But if I’m not using my Instant Pots, I’m almost certainly using one or more of my cast iron pans.
I looooove my cast iron, and am super excited to finally share this easy one-pot meal with you!
Related ::
15 Things You Need to Know About Cooking with Cast Iron
Essential Weeknight Meals for Busy Families
Easy Skillet Chicken Carbonara
This easy skillet chicken carbonara cooks in stages, first with the bacon, then the chicken and asparagus together, and then finally, tossing everything in the pan with the silky sauce.
The secret to the carbonara (other than bacon, YUM) is the sauce. It’s crazy easy, but definitely what makes this dish. Cheese, eggs, bacon grease, and (important!) some of the starchy cooking liquid that you save after cooking the noodles (don’t forget to save some!)
Classic carbonara recipes call for pasta, parmesan, bacon (or other cured pork), and a sauce made primarily with eggs. This recipe takes the delicious classic and makes it more of a family meal. Everything you need all in one pan.
Maybe it’s the mom in me, or simply the part of me that loves veggies, but a meal just doesn’t feel complete without a vegetable. Asparagus is the perfect compliment to this dish, especially since it can cook alongside the chicken at the same rate. (The addition of the chicken is the wife in me– hubs is all about making sure our meals are very filling!)
Check out the video to see how to make this easy skillet chicken carbonara step by step, then pin or print the recipe so you can add it to your next meal plan!
If you don’t already have a 12″ cast iron skillet, we highly recommend our Lodge pans! We have over five Lodge pans and love how economical AND high-quality they are.
How about some fresh bread?
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Silky noodles, salty bacon, tender chicken, and crispy asparagus complement each other perfectly in this easy skillet chicken carbonara! You won’t believe how simple the recipe is and how quickly it comes together!
Ingredients
Pasta
- FRESH* : 4 eggs & 3 cups flour
- BOXED : 1lb angel hair pasta
Sauce
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp bacon grease
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup pasta cooking liquid
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Toppings
- 4 slices bacon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, minced (about 2 tbsps)
- 3 chicken breasts
- kosher salt
- fresh ground pepper
- 1/2 lb asparagus, cut into 2–3” pieces
- (optional) additional grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook the bacon. Heat a 12″ cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook the bacon until crispy. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel. Drain the grease from the skillet, reserving it in a small dish. Don’t clean the skillet.
- Cook the chicken & asparagus. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to now-empty skillet. Add the minced garlic, stir to coat with olive oil, then immediately add the asparagus to half the pan. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then add them to the other half of the skillet. Cook the chicken and asparagus until cooked through, flipping and stirring a couple of times during the cooking process (about 10-15 minutes).
- Cook the pasta. While the chicken and asparagus cook, cook the pasta according to package directions in 2 quarts of water with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water.
- Make the sauce: Whisk together the parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon of bacon grease, and eggs together in a large glass measuring cup. After the pasta cooks, add 1 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water to the glass measuring cup, whisk and then add the kosher salt and ground pepper.
- Finish the pasta dish. Slice the chicken and return it to the skillet. Stir together the asparagus and chicken, then add the cooked pasta to the skillet. Pour in the sauce. Toss the pasta, chicken, and asparagus together, until all the ingredients are thoroughly coated with the sauce. Add the remaining reserved half cup pasta cooking water as needed. Crumble the bacon and toss to combine. (Optional) top with additional grated parmesan cheese.
- Let the dish stand 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
*Check out this post or this video to see how to make fresh pasta from scratch!
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I made this for dinner and it was absolutely delicious!
★★★★★