Bacon Chicken Veggie Rigatoni
I have been on the search for easy dinners to throw together. At 31 weeks pregnant- being in the kitchen all day is the last thing I want to do. I tell you, swollen legs/feet and standing in the kitchen all day are two things that don’t mesh well together. Plus it seems like everything I eat or every ingredient I use ends up smearing its beautiful face on my belly one way or another haha! I should just take pictures of my belly and let you guess what ingredients made their way into each recipe?! I’m kidding… Please tell me I am not the only one who gets food on their prego belly?!
Back to my search for easy recipes. This dinner is super easy to make and right up my ally and time frame for kitchen time. Bonus- It is made using skim milk for the cream- making it much lighter- “Skinnier” if you will- than a lot of my other pasta dishes that use heavy cream. Of course bacon isn’t fat free, but a little here and there for flavor isn’t too bad :)
This was one dish I could get all my family to eat and an easy way to sneak in some veggies for my pickier eaters. This dish is so simple to make up and requires very little effort on your part. If you are looking for a way to change up your current dinner rotation, definitely give this a try! You won’t regret it!
- 1 lb cooked rigatoni
- 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 4 cups skim milk
- 1 (14 oz) packet Knors vegetable mix
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cooked and chopped bacon
- 1½ cups grated swiss cheese, separated
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 diced tomato
- Dump cooked rigatoni and shredded rotisserie into a 9x13 baking dish. Toss around to evenly distribute ingredients through pan.
- To make sauce: Melt butter in a large sauce pan. Add flour and stir to form roux. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Slowly add skim milk and stir until sauce thickens. After sauce has thickened, add Knors vegetable mix, salt, chopped bacon, 1 cup swiss cheese, Parmesan cheese and diced tomato. Stir to evenly mix in.
- Pour sauce over pasta.
- Top pasta/sauce with ½ cup swiss cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until pasta is heated through and cheese on top has melted.
Enjoy!
Blair @ The Seasoned Mom
Bacon, chicken, rigatoni...all of my kids' favorites. This looks delicious! Pinned! Can't wait to try it. :)
Jenn@eatcakefordinner
I love the idea of adding vegetable mix to this. Bacon really does make everything better.
CeeDee
Is the bacon cooked or uncooked prior to adding it to the sauce? Thanks in advance for clarifying.
Chef in Training
It is cooked and chopped. Sorry about not clarifying that earlier in the recipe but it is in there now :) Thanks for catching that!
Cee Dee
Thanks for the quick reply. Making this for dinner tonight. Looks so good!
Emily @ Life on Food
Oh this looks so good! All of my favorites mixed into pasta.
Erin @ Making Memories
Oh my heck, this looks absolutely heavenly!!!
Chloe @ foodlikecake
Mmm, this looks good!
CeeDee
This was delicious. I realized too late that I was out of Swiss so resorted to pepper jack. Nice little kick but not at all overwhelming. Drained diced tomatoes subbed for the fresh and gave the slightest sweet blush to the sauce which we loved. I think I'd add a couple more slices of bacon next time (and there will be a next time). Thanks for a really good recipe.
Serene@HouseofYumm
First off, I was also a victim of getting anything and everything smeared on my belly while pregnant. Second of all, I love this!! I definitely like the idea of using skim milk in exchange for bacon :) Pinning this!
Chels R.
Oh there is Swiss Cheese in it! That kind of seals the deal for me ;)
Debbie@SimpleJoysofHome
This looks so yummy! Thanks for sharing. :)
Lindsey
I doubled the sauce and added steamed broccoli, sautéed squash, celery, spinach, and onions, and it made 2 completely full 9x13! Perfect for taking one over to the elderly grandparents of the kids I nanny. Everyone loved it! I would add some garlic and red pepper next time to really kick the flavor up.
May
I've been cooking for many years - my kids are all grown and gone and this recipe is brilliant, delicious . I recommend adding a stalk of blanched broccoli to the mix for color and fiber. Nice work chef-in-training!
May
I am an older Mom who has been cooking for eons. My "kids" are in their 20s. This recipe is delicious, flavorful and simple. I added some blanched broccoli for color and fiber. Keep up the good work!
mary
tried this and was a big hit in my family they even asked if there was any left the next day. will make it again for sure
Sue Woodring
Did you mean 1..4 veggie mix?
Sue Woodring
It makes a lot but it is very good!
Karen
Hi Nikki :). Sounds yummy, but it also sounds like a tremendous amount of sodium & MSG.
i.e. - 1 (14 oz) packet Knors vegetable mix 1st 3 ingredients are Potato Starch, Monosodium Glutamate, Salt. There's also autolyzed yeast and a couple of Disodium ingredients :-(. That, plus the bacon and the parmesan and the added salt...That'd put a serious hurting on people who are sensitive to it or have to watch it.
I apologize for being a Debbie-Downer, but for a lot of people it's just not good for them. A lot of those veges could be used raw or frozen, par-boiled, drained & dried and added to casserole. Still really yummy, more nutritious and far less salt :-)
Just a suggestion.
eda
Does any one explain to me what is Knor vegetable mix? Is it like a dehudrated consomme or so? Thanks!
eda
"dehydrated" must've said.
pamela bates
you could make it vegan by using 1 cup of cashews 3 cups of water blending till smooth and creamy add 2 tablespoons of garbanzo flour to thicken it a tablespoon of nutritional yeast for flavor and onion garlic and other seasoning to taste. i don't think you will miss the milk at all.
Shelley
I am wondering if the Parmesan cheese is to be grated or shredded?