One-Pot Barbecue Chicken Pasta loaded with bacon, chicken, cheese, and BBQ flavors cooked in one pot! Easy, cheesy, and tasty, it’s the perfect weeknight meal!
I work full time Mondays to Fridays, so most of the cooking I do for my two blogs happen on weekends. With about a dozen recipes cramped in two days, you can imagine the number of pots and pans that pile up.
Bless G! He handles the mountain of soiled dishes with nary a peep. And bless easy recipes like this one-pot barbecue chicken pasta! We get to enjoy a scrumptious meal with only ONE pot to deal with after.
When I saw this recipe, I knew right away it was going to be a hit at our dinner table. With sweet and tangy BBQ sauce, al dente pasta, moist chicken, gooey cheese, and bacon crumbles. this one-pot chicken pasta has all the flavors we love.
I did, however, modify it a little by adding chopped bell peppers and substituting fresh tomatoes for the canned variety and cream cheese for the milk. I also threw in a handful of green onions and crisp bacon crumbles just before serving for an additional pop of color and texture.
Oh boy! Was it indeed a hit! In fact, we sat and gobbled down our share with hardly a word between us until our plates were polished clean.
The chicken pasta takes the stress out of busy weeknights. It comes together in minutes yet tastes like you slaved in the kitchen all day long.
It needs no fancy ingredients or equipment to turn out amazing. Just simple pantry ingredients and ONE pot.
Cooking tips
- Depending on the brand or type (like whole-wheat) of pasta you use, you might need to adjust the amount of liquid used as well as cook time.
- If the pasta is almost done and it’s still liquidy, remove the lid and continue to cook uncovered to allow the sauce to reduce more quickly. You can also add more cheese to thicken the sauce.
- If the pasta looks dry, add more water or broth in 1/2 cup increments to loosen.
Serving suggestions
- Serve with cheesy garlic bread and tossed salad for a truly amazing weeknight meal!
- Store leftovers in a container with a tight-fitting lid and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- Reheat in a microwave at 2 to 3-minute intervals until completely heated through, stirring well after each addition. To reheat in the oven, transfer to an oven-safe dish and warm in a 350 F oven for about 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.
For more easy recipes, check out these one-pan chicken stroganoff and cheeseburger pasta.
One-Pot Barbecue Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound bacon, diced
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, cored, and chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded, cored, and chopped
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup Barbecue sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
- 1 pound uncooked penne pasta
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/4 green onions, ends trimmed and chopped
- bacon crumbles, optional
Instructions
- In a pot over medium heat, add bacon. Cook, stirring regularly until it begins to render fat.
- Add onions, garlic and bell peppers. Cook, stirring regularly, until limp and aromatic.
- Add chicken breast and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add tomatoes and cook, mashing with the back of the spoon, until softened and release juice.
- Add broth, barbecue sauce, and red pepper flakes. Stir until combined and bring to a boil.
- Add pasta and stir to prevent from sticking together. Lower heat, cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until pasta is cooked but firm to bite. Stir every 5 minutes to prevent pasta from burning and sticking to the pan.
- Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Continue to cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Add cheddar cheese and stir just until melted.
- Garnish with green onions, and bacon crumbles, if desired. Serve hot.
Nutrition
Looks good!
What BBQ sauce do you use? Asking from the UK 🙂
Thanks
I like to use a brand called Sweet Ray’s 🙂
This looks so good. My family would love it!
I am sure they would 🙂
This sounds and looks delicious! I am all about one pot meals, and can’t wait to try this one out!
One-pot meals definitely make cooking for the family a lot easier 🙂
Oh wow, how simple is this pasta dish, I am loving it. I too work monday to Friday so hardly have time too so weekends are when I cook
Oh yes, this pasta dish will be perfect for busy weeknight dinners. And a lot less pots and pans to deal with after is a big bonus in my book 🙂
Cheesey, Saucy, Chicken plus Pasta, you would have my children to your house in a jiffy. It looks super delicious. Add some hot Chilli for me and you got me too 🙂
My niece and nephew can’t get enough of this when I make it for them! And yes, a dash or two of hot chili will definitely take the flavors up a notch. 🙂
Pasta dishes are always a big hit here. One dish? Even better.
Who doesn’t like a good pasta dish, right? It’s the perfect comfort food. 🙂
I love pasta, but unfortunately I am vegetarian. However, I will look for a better chicken substitute to make this mouth watering recipe.
Hello Akhil
You can skip the chicken if you like. The sauce and pasta alone are delicious 🙂
I love anything that involves chicken & my goodness this sounds like a delicious pasta that my husband would go crazy right away. Pasta is such a comforting dish anytime & I am going to try it out for sure!
I hope you do. The hubby is definitely going to love all the fantastic flavors 🙂
Wow! My hubby will surely like this. I can’t wait to try it, I am heading to the supermarket now.
This is one of my hubby’s regular requests for dinner. He loves the BBQ flavor and appreciates the fact that he has less pots to wash haha
Wow. I will definitely try this recipe. My son loves pasta and hoping that he will love this.
Wow, I never had anything like this and it looks amazingly delicious! The idea works well for my taste since I tend to have BBQ flavor for my food all the time if available.
Thanks, Karla 🙂
Oh my goodness! Your One pot Barbecue Chicken Pasta is really tempting! I wanna grab it from my screen.
Thanks, Nicole 🙂
This dish looks amazing! My kids would devour this.
Thanks, Robin. I am sure the kiddos will love it. My niece and nephew can’t get enough when I make it for them 🙂
Barbecue chicken pasta, huh? That sounds like a recipe for my husband. He’s the barbecue aficianado around our house.
There’s just something about our men and BBQ that they can’t enough of it 🙂
I love delicious easy recipes and your chicken pasta is certainly in that category! Thanks for sharing! I need to make this for my family, and perhaps for a pot luck party too!
This will perfect for a potluck! It makes a huge pot and everyone seems to love the flavors of BBQ 🙂
This would be great fo weekend! We have a family dinner and I think this could be great.
This will be perfect for family dinners as it makes a huge batch for a not a lot of work.
I love to cook. I love to eat food. I HATE to do dishes. So I adore one pot meals and this looks delicious.
You and me, both! Sometimes I’d skip on a great recipe because of the dishes involved 🙂
Oh this sounds great. I know my family would love those flavors. I may have to make this soon.
Yes, this pasta will easily be a family favorite. Lots of good flavor to please everyone at the dinner table 🙂
This dish does look really good. I thought my meal prep created lots of dished. You have me beat.
Don’t we just hate dishes? This pasta will solve that problem 🙂
Pasta will always be one of my favorites and having different recipes for it is always welcome in my book! I think this is great, it got me craving for some pasta! Thanks for the recipe!
Isn’t pasta the most comforting dish ever? I can’t get enough of it! I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
yum, I need to make this this week. I’ll have to pick up a few things but it’s on my to do list.
Happy cooking!
I’m a huge fan of one pot meals. The make clean up so easy, plus they ten to be loaded with everything you need for a complete meal.
Yes, I just love their one-pot convenience. You’re right, a nice green salad on the side, some crusty bread and we have a complete dinner meal 🙂
oh that looks good. I will have to try that this week. I think my kids will eat it too.
It’s cheesy and saucy, so I am betting they’ll love it 🙂
Okay, yum!! I’m pinning this recipe! One pot meals are my jam… it’s just too busy to make a mess in the kitchen right? My boys LOVE bbq too, so we’ll be trying this one 🙂
BBQ seems to be a flavor that everyone likes. I know it’s a favorite in my house 🙂
I love this recipe of bbq chicken pasta. It looks gorgeous. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks, I hope you give it a try 🙂
This looks so delicious. Where I’m currently living I only have one burner so I’ve been looking for one pot dinners but most don’t look satisfying. I am definitely making this my next day off! Hope it tastes as good as it looks
Thanks, I hope you’ll enjoy it 🙂