This chicken carbonara recipe without pasta is a household favorite. This recipe is quick, easy, and a versatile dish that can feed your family, perfect for date night with your significant other, or for a group of friends.
This pasta inspired dish allows you to enjoy the flavors you already know and love without pasta. And if you're looking for ideas my diced chicken recipes and easy chicken breast recipes with only a few ingredients are amazing.
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🌟 Why this recipe works
Add this perfect go-to recipe to your weekly meal plan. It is quick, easy and of course, delicious. I love how this dish carries the aroma, it just smells fantastic. As a result, I usually have an audience gather about halfway through preparing this dish, and I love having company in the kitchen to help out.
Compared to most pasta dishes, this one is loaded with flavor from start to finish. And as far as chicken carbonaras go, this one is easily one of the best recipes going.
Also check out my chicken bacon ranch casserole recipe that is ready in less than 40 minute!
🔪 How to make
This no pasta chicken carbonara is easy, delicious, and ready in about 30 minutes. Learn how to make chicken carbonara without pasta with my step-by-step instructions, detailed process pictures, and helpful cooking tips. Lets get started!
Cooking Instructions
I love bacon and the first thing we want to do is cook the bacon.
Step 1
Start by preheating your oven or frying pan and get your bacon ready. In this recipe, I prefer to bake the bacon. This allows for extra time prepping without having to monitor a frying pan constantly.
Tip: save 1 tablespoon of bacon grease and add this to your skillet.
Step 2
Prep the Chicken Thighs – cut into bite-sized pieces
Step 3
Add the bacon grease you saved earlier. Saute the chicken in the skillet and sprinkle the ½ teaspoon garlic powder as well as salt and pepper to taste.
Continue to saute the chicken until it is thoroughly cooked through. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
Step 4
In the same skillet add ½ cup of chopped onion and saute for a few minutes until they start to become tender.
Step 5
Time for the minced garlic. Add in 2 teaspoons of minced garlic and saute for another 30 seconds. You should start to smell the aroma from the garlic in about 10 – 15 seconds. Yummm!
Step 6
Whisk in the heavy whipping cream and the chicken broth, scraping the bits off the bottom of the skillet. All of those bits are loaded with flavor and help layering flavors.
Step 7
Mix in the Parmesan cheese, chopped basil and Italian seasoning. Reminder to stick to quality spices whenever possible.
Step 8
Toss in the crumbled bacon, and 2-3 cups of fresh spinach. Cook until the spinach has begun to wilt. I love this part as everything is starting to layer together.
Step 9
Add the chicken back to the skillet, and toss to coat in the sauce. Sprinkle in additional salt and pepper to taste.
Step 10
Simmer for 3-5 minutes longer, plate and serve this delicious chicken carbonara.
🥗 What to serve with
Air Fryer Garlic Bread
This carbonara pasta and garlic bread is the perfect match. It tastes absolutely delicious and crunchy garlic bread taste this meal to another level.
Healthy Spinach and Apple Salad
Start with 1 bag of spinach leaves (roughly 80g), cut 1 apple and 1 pear into slices, gently toast 100g walnuts in a frying pan with a drizzle of light maple syrup. Mix it all in a bowl with some balsamic vinegar and voilà, another tasty side. Talking about spinach? You should try my creamy chicken spinach casserole recipe.
💭Cooking Tips
A pro tip for elevating creamy recipes like this chicken carbonara is lime juice. Just before the final simmer squeeze one half of a medium-sized lime into the skillet. This helps layer the flavor profile of the dish by adding a touch of acidity, which elevates this recipe to a straight ten.
Helpful links include Amazon Pantry for the extensive selection of healthy herbs. Plus I always end up saving money on everyday essentials at the same time so win win.
🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
What does egg do in carbonara?
The egg plays two roles in carbonara. The egg white combines with the pasta water and thickens to provide viscosity. The egg yolk, emulsifies, resulting in an ultra creamy and smooth texture.
Can I make chicken carbonara without egg?
Carbonara sauce contains a raw egg, as it traditionally does. However, it isn't really uncooked. The egg in this dish is cooked just enough to make the sauce rich and creamy. I provided instructions for making this dish with and without an egg, in case you run out of eggs or if you have an egg allergy.
🍳 Related Noodleless Pastas
Ditch the noodles and enjoy the fantastic Italian inspired and side dish recipes for your next dinner. Looking for easy recipe ideas, recipes with few ingredients has hundreds of fantastic recipes worth your time.
Check out my collection of stuffed chicken breast recipes for more ideas.
🧊 Storing and ♨️ Reheating
Store your leftover chicken carbonara by letting it cool down in the pot you cooked it in.
Fridge - transfer the chicken carbonara no pasta to an airtight container and then put it in the fridge for up to 5 days. To serve, heat the soup in a pot.
Freezer - you can also freeze this meal if you want to store some for up to 3 months.
Reheat - when you want to reheat the chicken carbonara no pasta, thaw it overnight, then transfer it to a pot and bring it to the boil stirring from time to time.
👪 Serving Size
This chicken carbonara serves 4 - 5 people and makes a fantastic weeknight meal that is affordable, easy, and tastes fantastic. If you are in a pasta mood and short of time then you must definitely try my one pot cajun sausage pasta recipe that is ready in only 30 minutes!
Love this dinner recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
Try one of my quick, easy, and affordable dinner recipes for your next family meal! And if you have any questions, I'm here to help!
📋 Recipe
Chicken Carbonara no Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Boneless skinless chicken thighs - Cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- pinch pink Himalayan Salt - to taste
- pinch black Peppercorns - to taste
- 6 slices Bacon - Crumbled
- 1 tablespoon Bacon Grease
- ½ cup Onion - Chopped
- 2 teaspoons Minced Garlic
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- ⅓ cup Parmesan Cheese - Grated
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 tablespoons Basil - Fresh Chopped
- 2-3 cups Spinach - Fresh
Instructions
- Cook your Bacon. Start by preheating your oven or frying pan and get your bacon ready. In this recipe, I prefer to bake the bacon. This allows for extra time prepping without having to monitor a frying pan constantly.
- Put your bacon grease to good use and add 1 tablespoon to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Prep the Chicken Thighs - cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Saute the chicken in the skillet and sprinkle the ½ teaspoon garlic powder as well as salt and pepper to taste. Continue to saute the chicken until it is thoroughly cooked through. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- In the same skillet add ½ cup of chopped onion and saute for a few minutes until they start to become tender. Feel free to use purple/red onions!
- Time for Minced Garlic. Add in 2 teaspoons minced garlic and saute for another 30 seconds. You should start to smell the aroma from the garlic in about 10 – 15 seconds. Yummm!
- Whisk in the heavy whipping cream and the chicken broth, scraping the bits off the bottom of the skillet. All of those bits are loaded with flavor and help layering flavors.
- Mix in the Parmesan cheese, chopped basil and Italian seasoning. Reminder to stick to organic-based spices whenever possible.
- Toss in the crumbled bacon, and 2-3 cups of fresh spinach. Cook until the spinach has begun to wilt. I love this part as everything is starting to layer together.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet, and toss to coat in the sauce. Sprinkle in additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer for 3-5 minutes longer, plate and serve. A pro tip for elevating creamy recipes like this chicken carbonara is lime juice. Just before the final simmer squeeze one half of a medium-sized lime into the skillet. This helps layer the flavor profile of the dish by adding a touch of acidity, which elevates this recipe to a straight ten.
Tanya
This dish is absolutely delicious, quick, and easy. I’ve made it twice already and shared with neighbors. Thanks for sharing. Definitely a keeper 🙂
Mandy
Hi- when does the egg go in? Can’t see it listed in either recipe? Thanks!
Kimberly Grabinski
There is NO egg in my chicken carbonara, which is why you do not see it.
Mandy
Thank you for the quick reply! Under "CAN I MAKE CHICKEN CARBONARA WITHOUT EGG?" it says "I provided instructions for making this dish with and without an egg, in case you run out of eggs or if you have an egg allergy."
So that's why I was looking for it. No worries, will make it without anyway!