Creamy chicken carbonara with easy marinated chicken, homemade alfredo sauce, and don’t forget the bacon! Not counting the marinating time, this dish comes together in just 30 minutes and is packed full of delicious flavor. An Italian-inspired comfort food dish that everyone will love.
Jump to Recipe
Hello friends!
I wanted to share this amazing way to serve that homemade alfredo sauce I posted about a few days ago. We love fettuccine alfredo but this dish takes it to a totally new level.
And there’s bacon my friends. Do I have you drooling yet?
Just the thought of bacon seriously starts me salivating.
I actually know there are people that exist in this world who honestly don’t love bacon. And oh boy I feel so sorry for them. Or maybe they feel sorry for me.
Anywho…
If bacon doesn’t have you salivating, this delicious chicken that’s been marinated in a flavorful concoction and then grilled (or broiled) to perfection will. I seriously don’t think it gets much better than this.
This creamy chicken carbonara recipe was inspired by eight teenage girls a few months ago when they were telling me they wanted at girl’s camp for their meals.
Only it wasn’t this dish, exactly. It was the alfredo sauce from a jar and chicken from a can and bacon from who knows where.
But they loved the combination and they told me how much they wanted it. I told them I was sure I could do better than that.
And wallah, this dish was born.
And is a winner. A winner, winner chicken dinner.
All the flavors combine into one amazing taste-bud party going on. It’s warm and rich and comforting. You will love it.
A funny story…
Last week, the girls going to camp helped me grill up the chicken for this dish during a morning cooking party we had. Unfortunately our grill decided to take that opportunity to go on the fritz and it turned into a blazing inferno and every last piece of chicken became blackened chicken which was not exactly what we were going for.
I have to say that while most of the girl’s avoided the chicken at the cook’s treat lunch we had later, I actually rather enjoyed it for it’s own unique flavor. We opted out of bringing the black chicken to camp next week, but I have sure been enjoying it on my salads for lunch every day this week. So…if you like blackened chicken, I accidentally found out this recipe makes very tasty blackened chicken.
But I must say, don’t burn the chicken on purpose because the grilled to perfection version of the chicken is quite a bit better. Tender and juicy. It’s soooo good.
A family-friendly serving suggestion
Okay my friends, before I take off let me just talk about serving this dish. In our family, with several picky eaters, we normally serve all of the parts separate and let people add things as they like them. That may work the best for serving it for a group as well.
But whether you choose to mix it all together or serve it separate, you really can’t go wrong. Because like I said before, it really is a winner, winner chicken dinner.
Creamy Chicken Carbonara
Creamy chicken carbonara with easy marinated chicken, homemade alfredo sauce, and don't forget the bacon! Not counting the marinating time, this dish comes together in just 30 minutes and is packed full of delicious flavor. An Italian-inspired comfort food dish that everyone will love.
Ingredients
Grilled/Broiled Chicken:
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice from about 1/2 lemon
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts see note
Alfredo Sauce:
- ½ cup butter
- 8 ounces cream cheese cut into 1/2" pieces
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream see note
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder see note
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese see note
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
For Serving:
- 1 16-ounce package farfalle (pasta bowties) or mini farfalle see note
- ½ pound bacon strips cooked and crumbled
- chopped fresh parsley optional
Instructions
For Chicken:
-
In a small bowl add lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper and parsley and whisk to combine.
-
Place chicken in large ziplock bag, pour marinade over chicken, and seal bag. Place bag in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight (up to 24 hours).
-
To Grill: Preheat grill to medium or medium high. Arrange chicken on grill in a single layer and cook for about 5-6 minutes per side or until lightly browned and instant read thermometer registers 165 degrees F in the thickest part of the breast.
-
To Broil: Preheat broiler to high. Adjust rack so chicken will be about 4 to 5 inches from the broiler. Arrange chicken on a broiler pan in a single layer and cook for about 5-6 minutes per side or until lightly browned and instant read thermometer registers 165 degrees F in the thickest part of the breast.
-
Remove the chicken from the heat and tent with foil for 5-10 minutes before slicing into 1/2-inch strips.
For Alfredo Sauce:
-
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cream cheese and turn down the heat. Whisk well until the cream cheese mixes in with the butter and looks kind of clumpy (it will not melt all the way at this stage and that is fine).
-
Stir in the cream and garlic powder. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a low simmer. Whisk well until the cream cheese mixes in and sauce is smooth. Leave at a simmer, stirring often for about five minutes or until slightly thickened.
-
Stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted and season with salt and pepper. Taste and add any additional salt and pepper, if needed.
For Serving:
-
In a large pot of water add 1 tablespoon salt. Add farfalle (or bowtie pasta) and cook according to package directions until pasta is just barely done (al dente).
-
Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl. Stir in the alfredo sauce and top with chicken and cooked, crumbled bacon. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.
Recipe Notes
1. I usually buy larger, thicker boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut them through the thickness to make them thinner so they absorb more marinade and cook quicker.
2. For notes and variations on Alfredo sauce recipe see Alfredo sauce recipe post.
3. I prefer the Barilla brand of pasta in this recipe.
4. In our family we often serve this recipe “buffet-style”, letting people add the amount of sauce, chicken, and bacon they want (super helpful with picky eaters around).
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat. Grilled chicken recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, Alfredo sauce adapted from The Food Nanny.
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
