One pot pasta meals are a saviour for me on those packed weeknights. Throw everything in the pot and let it cook itself – perfect! This one pot bacon and lentil pasta is filled with tasty ingredients to make dinner time delicious.
Smoked bacon is where the majority of the flavour comes from, and it’s important to give this the time it needs to impart all of that flavour.
The rest of the sauce is simply made from courgettes, lentils and stock – easy peasy. The use of lentils makes a really filling sauce, so you can use less pasta if you like.
This dish is best topped with plentiful grated cheese and ground black pepper, but that’s completely optional!
Ingredients, Substitutions and Variations
- Smoked bacon – the smoked part is the important bit for this one pot bacon pasta you need that flavour. Aside from that, you can use any cut of bacon.
- Courgettes and mushrooms – two medium courgettes and 100g mushrooms are perfect. You could also use carrot and/or celery.
- Lentils – use dried green lentils. They’ll cook in the stock and suck up all of that delicious flavour.
- Chicken stock – or 600ml water and a chicken stock cube.
- Dried pasta – any short shape (I.e. not tagliatelle, linguine, spaghetti etc.) will do. I used rigatoni.
Top Tips
- Let the bacon brown
Give the bacon enough time to get properly golden. This time is well spent in terms of flavour.
- Let it sit
When the pasta is almost cooked, turn off the heat and let the dish rest for 5 minutes. All the flavours will settle and the pasta will be perfect.
- Get ahead
You can make the recipe up to the point where you would add the pasta in advance and leave in the fridge for 24 hours. When you’re ready to eat it, warm through on the hob and add 200ml more water before adding the pasta.
Get the cook books:
One Pot Bacon and Lentil Pasta
July 22, 2024Ingredients
- 6 rashers smoked bacon
- 2 medium courgettes
- 100 g shiitake mushrooms
- 200 g dried green lentils
- 600 ml chicken stock
- 250 g dried pasta
Instructions
- Chop the bacon into 1cm pieces and add to a large saucepan or casserole dish. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the bacon is golden.
- Chop the courgette into 1cm pieces and add to the saucepan along with the mushrooms (you can leave them whole unless there are any very large ones – cut those in half). Stir and let the vegetables heat through for 2 minutes.
- Add the lentils and stock. Bring to the boil then simmer for 15-20 minutes until the lentils have started to soften.
- Add the pasta and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes until the pasta is al dente. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.
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