Smokey bacon combined with the delicious flavours of sun dried tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms and garlic, finished off with some parmesan for a simple pasta dish to enjoy any night of the week.
Bacon and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
There is something special about sun-dried tomatoes with pasta, it is just like they are meant to be combined together. Add a few other ingredients and you have the perfect pasta dish.
Whenever I have sun-dried tomatoes on hand and want a quick but delicious dinner on the table this is the recipe I make again and again.
Best Sun-dried Tomatoes for Pasta
For this recipe I use sun-dried tomatoes that come in a little packet that do not have any oil, this makes them lower in calories than the variety in oil.
But you can use either, values of course will be slightly high in those in oil, but not a huge amount, so don't be scared to use those if that's all you can find.
What's the best low calorie bacon for Pasta?
In the UK, back bacon is readily available and it's quite lean when you remove any fat, you can also get medallions which have most of the fat removed.
If you can't get lean bacon, some diced ham or even chicken will work in its place, but you may want to add some smoked paprika for that smokey flavour.
Can I use any kind of pasta in a recipe?
Yes you sure can. I use penne pasta as it's the type I tend to have on hand, but any shape will work - fusilli, bows, orecchiette etc
You can even use gluten free pasta for this recipe and there are some great pasta choices available if you are gluten free, you can even get pasta made from chickpeas which is a great additional source of fibre and protein.
How to saute vegetables without lots of oil
This is a neat little trick I learnt many years ago now and not only is it a great way to saute veg without lots of extra calories with oil or butter, but it adds lots of great flavour too.
You just add a little bit of stock at a time into the vegetables and keep reducing it down before adding a little more, this does something magical, almost as if you did fry them in the butter or oil. They get a lovely colour and don't go all dry. Once you try it you will use this trick for any vegetables you cook.
Herbs for Pasta
So many different herbs go well with pasta, but two of my favourites are parsley or basil and both work well with this dish. You can use one or the other or a mixture of both, it's totally up to you and also depends on what you have on hand. For me basil can be hard to find in the winter time, so parsley tends to be my preferred choice then.
You can use dried too if you can't obtain fresh. Normally I use 1 teaspoon of dried to 1 tablespoon of fresh.
Sides for Pasta
With the mushrooms and tomatoes added to this recipe which bulk it out and make it more nutrient dense and filling, I find I don't need any additional sides to go with this.
But some great choices are a mixed salad with all your favourite salad items, like:
- Lettuce (crisp or baby leaves)
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Onion (I like these Pickled Red Onions)
- Beetroot
- Carrots
- Peppers
- Radish
or if you don't fancy salad, go for some additional vegetables on the side like:
- Green Beans
- Asparagus
- Sauteed Spinach or Kale
- Grilled or Sauteed Zucchini (Courgette)
More Pasta Recipes
Looking for some other delicious pasta recipes? Check out these:
- Cheesy Beef Enchilada Stuffed Pasta Shells
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Meatball Pasta (Gluten Free and Dairy Free)
- Mushroom, Bacon, Tomato and Zucchini Pasta
- Mexican Pasta Bake
- Baked Feta Pasta with Chicken (TikTok Recipe)
- Best Ever Bolognese Pasta Bake
- Creamy Garlic Chicken with Spinach Penne Pasta
- One Pot Cheeseburger Pasta
or if you would like more recipe ideas - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes and can search by ingredients, course, diet and more.
All with estimated calories, Slimming Eats and Weight Watchers Smart Points values.
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Recipe Card
Bacon, Mushroom and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
Smokey bacon combined with the delicious flavours of sun dried tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms and garlic, finished off with some parmesan for a simple pasta dish to enjoy any night of the week.
Ingredients
- 40g of Sun-Dried Tomatoes (not in oil)
- 120g of uncooked pasta of choice (I used Penne)
- 4 slices of lean smoked back bacon, Canadian bacon or ham
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 200g of mushrooms, sliced
- 100g of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1 cup/240ml of chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon of fresh basil, chopped
- olive oil spray
- 30g of parmesan cheese, grated
- salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Place the sun-dried tomatoes into a bowl, cover with boiling hot water and allow to blanch until softened.
- Add pasta to a pot of boiling hot water and cook till al dente, reserve ⅓ cup (80ml) of pasta water and set the cooked pasta aside and reserved pasta water aside.
- Spray a frying pan over a medium high heat with olive oil.
- Add the bacon and fry till light golden, remove and set aside
- Spray with more olive oil spray
- Add the onion and garlic and stir fry until softened
- Add the mushrooms and a little of the stock, keep adding the stock a little bit at a time, when that bit has reduced add some more, until the mushrooms have caramelized (for this you will use about ⅔ of the stock)
- Remove the sun-dried tomatoes from the water, and chop finely
- Add into the pan along with the cooked bacon and toss to coat.
- Add in the fresh tomatoes, tomato paste and remaining stock and cook until the fresh tomatoes are softened.
- Cook until that last bit of stock has reduced down.
- Add in the pasta, fresh herbs and parmesan along with the reserved pasta water and toss to coat
- Stir until the parmesan is all melted and pasta is heated through.
- Taste and season with salt and black pepper as needed.
- Serve and enjoy!!
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 2 Serving Size 1 SERVINGAmount Per Serving Calories 457Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 74mgSodium 842.6mgCarbohydrates 70gFiber 7gSugar 10gProtein 29g
Nutritional information, values, points etc are an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate by the ingredients you use.
Michele says
Nice and easy, very tasty, quite earthy flavours that make a change from tomato based pasta dishes..
Laura says
This sounds amazing! Where can I get the sundried tomatoes not in oil?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Hi Laura, I get them in a bag by the fresh produce (fruit and veg) here in Canada, so possibly in a similar place, maybe ask one of the store helpers, alternatively you could try a search online of the grocery store you use. To see if they list them.
Sue says
Where can you buy sun dried tomatoes Not in oil?
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
They normally come in a little bag where the canned tomatoes are or in the fresh produce area. Check with your local grocery store. Most sun-dried tomatoes won't be in oil.
Creed says
Hey! I want to substitute chicken sausage for bacon (trying to stay away from bacon), but I'd also like to add more vegetables to it. I'm new to cooking like this...do you think red bell pepper and asparagus would be good additions?
Siobhan (Slimming Eats) says
yes those should be fine, just chop the asparagus into bite sized pieces.