Chicken Carbonara Bake

A great combo of Chicken Carbonara that you can get at a restaurant and the crispy crust you get when you have baked macaroni and cheese.

I get Chicken Carbonara everytime I go to Olive Garden, they have it with just chicken and also chicken and shrimp. To me its sauce is lighter than a Chicken Alfredo that has a strong garlic taste and heavy sauce.

It doesn't hurt that it comes with bacon or pancetta (an Italian bacon). The only different between bacon and pancetta is how they prepare it. Pancetta is rolled. They are both delicious.

Make this the day before so when you get home you just need to pop it in the oven and have dinner in minutes.

Tools

Casserole Dish or any 9 x 13 pan
Large Pan
Parchment Paper
Aluminum Foil

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Recipe

1 lb Chicken Tenders or Chicken Breast, thinly slice for easy cooking
6 strips Thick Cut Bacon, do not disguised the grease
1 lb Penne Pasta, can use any pasta
3/4 cups Parmesan Cheese
1 cup to 1 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1 teaspoon Granulated Onion
1 teaspoon Granulated Garlic
1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons Black Pepper, freshly cracked is best
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 to 3 cups Milk, I used Unsweetened Unflavored Almondmilk
3 eggs, room temperature
Bacon Grease

Note: Bacon grease give the sauce a little more flavor and helps the sauce go up in temperature so the eggs won't scrambled when the hot chicken and bacon are added. 


1.)Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place eggs out to bring up room temperature. It really depends on the temperature of your house on how long it will take to do so.
2.)Cut bacon into 2 inch piece and sauté for 7 minutes or until crispy.
3.)Once bacon is crispy, transfer to a paper towel and let cool.  Sprinkle a little pepper on the chicken and place chicken pepper side down in the bacon grease and cook for 5 minutes on first side then flip out for another 5 minutes.
4.)After the chicken has cooked 5 minutes on each side continue to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes or until nicely brown on each side and fully cooked in the middle.
5.)While the chicken continues to cook, combine parmesan cheese, granulated onion, granulated garlic, dried parsley, last teaspoon of black pepper, 2 cups of milk and bacon grease. Whisk together and set aside.
6.)Check chicken for doneness. Set aside and let it cool slightly for easier handling. Chop chicken up once slightly cooled.
7.) Add chicken and bacon to the cream sauce then fold in the pasta.
8.) Transfer to casserole dish then cover with parchment paper and aluminum foil
9.) Baked for 35 minutes covered. Removed parchment and aluminum then back for another 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown on top.
10.) Let it cool for 5 minutes before servings.

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