One Pot Creamy Asparagus Bacon Pasta
This one pot asparagus bacon pasta is a super easy weeknight meal. Everything cooks in one pot and it’s ready in 30 minutes!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ We just finished having this for dinner, and it was seriously amazing! Best meal I’ve made in quite sometime. With just my husband, myself, and two kids 3 and under, we almost finished the entire pot! Thanks for this one (and all the others!). -Megan
Why This Recipe Works
This is easily one of my favorite meals to make for dinner, and here are the reasons why:
- It is made start-to-finish in one pot for super easy prep and cleanup.
- The flavors are so good: bacon, mushrooms, asparagus, pasta, and a super tasty homemade cream sauce.
- The leftovers reheat really well.
- It is easily adaptable. You can leave out the mushrooms (as they are a polarizing ingredient for some 😉) or sauté them in a separate skillet to serve on the side for those who do like them. Also, broccoli makes a great sub for the asparagus.
Additionally, adding grilled or cooked chicken is a delicious option. This lemon garlic grilled chicken pairs really well with this pasta. Either serve the chicken alongside or dice the cooked chicken and toss it with the finished pasta.
A Few Notes for Key Ingredients
- Bacon: The bacon cooks first in the pot and then is removed to a plate while the other ingredients cook. It adds tons of flavor to the pasta.
- Mushrooms: As noted above, the mushrooms can be left out or cooked in a separate skillet to serve to mushroom-lovers only.
- Asparagus: Trim 1 to 2 inches off the bottom stems of the asparagus (those ends are tough and stringy in texture).
- Milk: This recipe works best with 1%, 2%, or whole milk for a creamier sauce. I don’t recommend using skim milk.
- Penne: You can sub in a variety of different pasta shapes and sizes. Keep an eye on the cooking time/liquid so the pasta cooks to al dente without over- or under-cooking.
- Cream cheese: Using a bit of cream cheese helps thicken the sauce and amplify the creaminess. The finished pasta dish doesn’t have a notable cream cheese flavor.
- Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated Parmesan cheese will melt infinitely better than using pre-shredded Parmesan cheese.
A Popular Pasta Dish
This one pot asparagus bacon pasta is loaded with so many good things (as the recipe title suggests!). It is creamy and flavorful and really just so delicious.
Keep in mind that the overall sauce and pasta will thicken as it cools. I find it is best to serve within 10 to 15 minutes of it being finished; however, the leftovers heat up really well, especially if you add just a splash of milk or broth before reheating.
This has been one of our favorite meals for over ten years. I still get excited when plugging it into our weekly meal plan! It’s fantastic, and I hope you love it, too.
What to Serve With This
- 1-Hour Breadsticks
- Fresh, seasonal fruit or this Honey Lime Fruit Salad
- Green salad (here’s a gourmet version if you’re looking for something fancy but still simple and delish)
One Pot Creamy Asparagus and Bacon Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 strips bacon, chopped into small pieces
- 8 ounces (227 g) baby bella or white mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups milk, divided (meaning you'll use 2 cups at first and 1 cup later in the recipe)
- 12 ounces (340 g) penne pasta
- 1 pound asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 ounces (114 g) cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (57 g) Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a deep, 12-inch nonstick skillet or in a large pot, cook the bacon over medium until crispy. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and drain all but a teaspoon of the bacon grease.
- Over medium heat, add the mushrooms and season lightly with salt and pepper; cook until the mushrooms are browned and the liquid is mostly evaporated, 4-5 minutes. Transfer to the same plate as bacon.
- To the skillet or pot, add the broth, 2 cups of the milk, pasta, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring the mixture to a vigorous simmer and cook for about 8-9 minutes, stirring occasionally and moderating the heat so the mixture simmers but doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in the asparagus and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until the asparagus is tender and the pasta is al dente but still slightly firm (it will cook for a few more minutes later). There will be some liquid left; that's ok as it will help make the creamy sauce in the next step.
- In a blender, process the remaining 1 cup milk, cream cheese and flour until very smooth. Gradually add it to the skillet or pot while stirring quickly to combine. Simmer for a couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Remove the skillet or pot from the heat. Stir in the bacon and mushrooms, reserving a bit of the bacon to sprinkle on top, if desired. Stir in the Parmesan cheese or sprinkle it on top, also. The pasta will thicken as it cools.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Recipe posted March 2016; updated February 2026 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
This was absolutely delicious! Double win, my kids liked it. We will have this in our regular dinner rotation!! For other lazy people like me, I did not blend the cream cheese, milk, and flour, just warmed the cream cheese and whisked them together. Turned out just fine! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
This was absolutely amazing. And so easy! Served it with some everything but the bagel seasoning crusted cod. I could eat this every night and the possibilities for vege add-ins are endless! It would be amazing with power greens added at the last minute to wilt, oh! Or sundried tomatoes… or topped with fresh cherry tomatoes!
Oh, wow. Creamy perfection!
We made this the other night and while I thought it was good, I felt like it was missing something . I think I will add a couple garlic cloves the next time I try it. Also, don’t even think about leaving out the parmesan. It really needs it.
Made this last week and my husband and I both loved it! Delicious and easy. Picky kids don’t know what they’re missing.
I made this for supper tonight, and it received a thumbs up all around in our family of 6. I subbed pieces of ham for the bacon and cut the salt a bit since I only had regular broth, not low-sodium.
I made this but boy did that seem like a ginormous amount of liquid, and I didn’t see the point of making it “one pot” if you were going to use a food processor too. So I cooked the pasta separately and used 2 cups of half and half vs 3 cups milk, 4 cups broth and didn’t use flour. I cooked the asparagus in the sauce and it all turned out just right.
This is a fabulous recipe, thank you so much for posting! I think the idea of blending the milk, cream cheese and flour before adding is really helpful. Looking forward to making this often!
You posted this on your insta the other day and it was AMAZING! I added chopped chicken breast and subbed the asparagus for fresh green beans (which I had on hand)! Hubby loved it, and so did I! I would probably add garlic next time, because that’s the kind of girl I am, but it is perfect as is! Thank you for your dinner inspirations!
Agreed on the garlic! I will have to try adding chicken too…even rotisserie would be good! Good suggestion!
I substitute one chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces and sauteed, for the mushrooms. One of our favorite ‘special’ meals.
Just made this with lots of things that were about to go south in the fridge. I added mushrooms and used laughing cow cheese instead of cream cheese. No mozzarella, but I solved that with more parm. It got raves all around.
Oh man. I made this in a pinch tonight and my six year old announced that she wants this for her birthday dinner next week. I had leftover roasted asparagus to use and bacon so this was a perfect way to use up leftovers. I added some fresh, roasted tomatoes that were going to go bad as well. I absolutely love how versatile this recipe is. Thank you, thank you!!
Very good! I think next time I would add chicken to bulk it up a little, and sauté some diced onion and minced garlic to the mushroom step to add a little more flavor.
Holy yum!! I love everything in this dish!! It was so delicious and simple to make!
So so so delicious! It is going on my monthly meal plan. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes Mel! My family sure appreciates it as cooking doesn’t come naturally to me. ♡♡
Easy. Simple ingredients. No mess. And I, a non-asparagus lover, loved it!
This is one of my new favorites! I love the one-pot ease, and the flavor is on point! I used frozen asparagus spears because fresh is not in season. It came out so yummy! Will make lots more this winter and even more in the spring when fresh asparagus is here! I did cut down the milk to 2 1/2 cups and it was good. I’m sure 3 cups simmered a little longer would be great too! Thank you Mel!
This was delicious! My family of 6 loved it. I left out the mushrooms because none of us like mushrooms, and it tasted wonderful. Will definitely make this again. Was easy to make also, I fried the bacon in a separate skillet, then made the rest all in one pot. Thanks for amazing recipes. Love your blog!!
This was so fantastically delicious! I used 8 oz frozen mushrooms since that’s what I had on hand and it cooked perfectly, just like directions described.
My blender isn’t very powerful (the cream cheese/milk/flour mixture got all gloopy and stuck) , so I used a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. *insert the Peg+ Cat problem solved jingle*
I did cook the pasta for the first part of step 2 for more like 5 minutes (instead of 8-9) since I like pasta more al dente and used just over 3 cups broth and that was spot on for us.
This goes right into the meal rotation– thanks so much, Mel!
I just got some asparagus from a friend, and had mushrooms that needed to be used up! This was perfect! Everyone loved it!
I made this and loved it! I added some basil, red pepper flakes, and some lemon zest and juice. Awesome!!! I bet I would like it with the chicken the commentor above added. The lemon was so tasty.
I made this and added your Lemon and Garlic Grilled Chicken. It was AMAZING. The hubs said it was his favorite meal I’ve made to date!
This was delicious!!! I don’t love mushrooms, so I added lots just to my husband’s portion, but I love that it all cooks in one pan and tastes amazing! Thanks for another great recipe to add to my rotation.
I adore every ingredient in this recipe. Have made it already a few times and have to say that it is undeniably good. Had it done with whole wheat pasta as well as verde. All turned out awesome. I make it with Portobello, Porcino and Chanterelle mix. Love every bite. A side salad of cherry tomatos, steamed curly kale and artichokes hearts with aceto balsamico complements nicely into a full meal.
I can not believe how yummy this is! I couldn’t stop eating it out of the pot! Thank you so much – I look forward to eating this all hours – amazing!
Oh man this was super yummy! Even my picky eaters liked it. I added a little splash of lemon juice at the end to cut some of the richness. Mel to the dinnertime rescue again!
I made this tonight and all 4 of my children agree that they like asparagus now! So this was a definite success. To help those who had questions- I baked my bacon and used turkey bacon. Also, I used a combo of pasta but probably added a little more than 12 oz out of my 16 oz box, and it was not soupy. I also added 1/2 cup of cream and 2 and 1/2 cups of milk. The sauce was just perfectly creamy. One last thing, for all the mushroom haters like me, I omitted them and we didn’t miss them. Thank for another simple, healthy and adaptable meal!
I am wondering if it is a “must” to use the flour….was thinking of trying to make this GF with GF pasta and a sub for the flour. Do you think corn starch might work? Thanks for any insight you might have:).
The flour helps thicken but you could try cornstarch as a substitute (or maybe a gluten-free flour) and see how it works – I haven’t tried it so I can’t say how it will turn out exactly.
I made this last night and it was delicious. I subbed in diced pancetta because i was out of bacon and it was very good! Thanks for the great recipe.
I despise mushrooms and felt foolish for even pretending I’d like this recipe as I chopped them up (I thought they be less obvious chopped versus sliced). Guess what? My whole family loved this recipe, mushrooms included. Thank you!
Do you think it would matter if I used turkey bacon and baked it?
I think that would be fine.
Thanks for this delicious one pot dinner! Thanks for the tip on pasta cooking time and how to adjust the liquid, my penne was al dente in 5 minutes! A winner
I made this tonight and it was delish! I even managed to sneak in some frozen peas and a couple handfuls of chopped “power greens” without any complaints from the natives. Thanks for a great recipe!
It was delicious! 5/6 of the family liked it. The 4 year old has decided she doesn’t like noodles so she wouldn’t even try it. Husband was super happy and grateful for the leftovers!
I made this for dinner tonight because I had some asparagus that needed to get used up as well, and it was really delicious! Although, I did feel like there was WAY too much sauce. We like it saucy, but this was seriously almost soup. I had to siphon off almost 2 cups at the end and it was still plenty saucy. I followed the recipe to a T except I didn’t include mushrooms since we aren’t big fans around here. Do you think that could be what made the difference? Do the mushrooms soak up a lot of liquid? Either way it was awesome and I will be making it again. I will just probably decrease the liquid by quite a bit. 😉 Thanks Mel!
Hi Launi, what brand of pasta did you use? That may make a difference (I included some tips in the notes above the recipe). The mushrooms may absorb a little liquid but it shouldn’t make a difference of several cups.
It was DaVinci brand penne, and it said 9-10 minutes cooking time. I tried to adjust the time accordingly but didn’t use any less liquid. Also, I don’t have a scale, so I just tried to eyeball 12 oz of pasta from my 16 oz package. So now that I think about it, I may not have added enough! No worries, I’m willing to work out the kinks since the end result is so tasty! 🙂 Thanks!
Making this tonight since I was in a bind as to what to cook tonight, I just so happen to have all these things. Though I think I’ll add in shredded chicken, meat it up a bit 😉
I am in the “throws” (literally) of moving, so trying this is a few days on the horizon. But I have every confidence that it will be AMAZING!!! Anything containing the words ‘asparagus’ and ‘bacon’ is a sure fire win!!
I loved this dish! Made it yesterday but used some salted butter and garlic. I also used farfalle pasta which I love with creamy pasta recipes and it turned out excellent. This dish is so versatile – it reheats well so it made for delicious leftovers today. Thanks for sharing.
I love pasta so much but never try to add asparagus and bacon together in it. What a new dinner menu tonight! Thanks for sharing this!
We are a non-mushroom loving family, but I hate to leave out texture and flavor! Is there anything you think would be delicious to sub with the mushrooms? Also is the Parmesan the canned stuff or fresh?
I use freshly grated Parmesan; as for the mushrooms, I’m not sure anything will give you quite the same texture and flavor. You could try adding cooked chicken or even another vegetable (or just leave them out).
This is going to be a regular for us. It was really good!
We just finished having this for dinner, and it was seriously amazing! Best meal I’ve made in quite sometime. With just my husband, myself, and two kids 3 and under, we almost finished the entire pot! Thanks for this one (and all the others!).
I made this tonight and it was delicious! Even my two (very very picky) kids ate some. That’s a small miracle! Thank you!!
I made this tonight and it was a hit with my husband & I and our 5 kids. I did add a finely diced jalapeno pepper to the sauteing mushrooms and I think it added just a little extra flavor without adding heat. Thank you Mel for coming to the rescue once again.
Yum! I bet the jalapeño was terrific in this.
The only way my mom could get me to come home from the park when I was little was to promise me asparagus for dinner. It is the best vegetable! I still love it as much now as I did then. Keep the asparagus recipes coming!
By some miracle, I have everything for this in my fridge. You’ve bumped your own Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches until later in the week. But I wonder if I could save myself the step of blending the milk, flour, and cream cheese in the blender, and just make a slurry with the milk and flour and melt the cream cheese into the hot sauce? I hate pulling out the blender, and creating extra dishes.
Definitely worth a try! I agree about not creating extra dishes. I tend to always blend my flour slurries just because I hate lumps (and apparently don’t whisk fast enough).
The slurry and melt method worked out just fine. It takes just a second to bring the sauce back up to a boil, and a minute or so to thicken after that. Then I added the cream cheese and parm, stirred it all ’till it was melty and delicious, and YUM! I used whipped cream cheese because that’s what I had, the results may vary with other types.
I just used my immersion blender in the measuring cup I used at the beginning of the recipe. Easy, and not much in the way of extra dishes. Just an idea!
Perfect!
This looks amazing! I love asparagus but never think to incorporate it into dishes like this! We’ll definitely have to give this a try soon!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
You know why I am soooo happy about this? Because I created Avery similar recipe the other night (but used green beans, cauliflower and broccoli and Italian sausage) and it was SO good, my boys didn’t even complain (gasp) and…I didn’t write down the recipe. So I was planning on the throw in skillet/say a prayer method. But now I don’t have to!! Thank you!
I have asparagus in my fridge that needs to be used up! What a perfect thing to try for dinner. And seriously, everything tastes better with bacon! Thanks Mel! You just made my Monday!