Bacon Pesto Pasta

This Bacon Pesto Pasta tosses spaghetti in a fresh basil-pecan pesto with smoky crispy bacon, an easy 25-minute weeknight dinner.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Bacon Pesto Pasta

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 491kcal

Place the basil, parmesan, pecans, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Pulse while slowly adding in the olive oil until smooth. Taste, season with more salt and pepper if necessary. Set aside.
2 cups fresh basil, ½ cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese freshly grated, ¼ cup toasted chopped pecans, 2 cloves garlic, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ⅓ cup high quality extra virgin olive oil
Cut the bacon into 1-inch slices, fry until crispy in a medium-sized skillet. Reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon grease. Drain the remaining bacon onto a paper towel and set aside.
8 slices thick-cut bacon
Cook the pasta to al dente and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.
1 pound spaghetti noodles
Add the pasta to a large bowl. Add in the pesto, reserved bacon grease, and ¼ cup of the pasta cooking liquid, toss to coat the noodles. If it seems dry, add a little more of the pasta water until saucy.
Garnish with the crispy bacon. Serve as is or with your favorite salad and bread, enjoy!

You can use homemade pesto or jarred.
This recipe can easily be doubled.
Add some different meats to switch it up, see above for suggestions.
Make sure your cheese is freshly grated.
This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Add ½ teaspoon of red chili flakes for a little spicy kick.
We like to use pecans in our pesto because we always have them on hand and it is a cheaper alternative to traditional pine nuts.
You can use other pasta, see above for suggestions.