Balsamic Bacon & Tomato Pasta

This hearty pasta dinner is loaded with bacon and tomatoes. Add some caramelized onions and a tangy balsamic sauce and you have a gourmet dinner on the double!

Gourmet Pasta On The Double

Here’s an all-season pasta dinner!  It can be a cold salad too!

Balsamic Tomato and Bacon Pasta is a very versatile. Served hot, it’s a dinner, but serve it cold and it’s a delicious pasta salad.

Caramelized Onions

This pasta dish gets a lot of flavor from caramelized onions.

You can make them when you cook this, but it does add about 30 minutes to the cook time.

A much better plan is to have caramelized onions on hand in your freezer then just defrost them as you need them.

An excellent and very easy way to prepare caramelized onions in advance is to make them in your slow cooker. You can cook them in bulk and the best thing about the slow cooker method is the onions require no babysitting.  Any time onions are on sale, I buy a few pounds and make my Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions and freeze them in 1/4-cup portions.

A Dish For All Seasons

As I mentioned before, this is a versatile recipe. You can change how you serve it by the season.

In cooler weather, it’s a hearty and tasty hot meal, but in the summer, serve it chilled as a pasta salad!

This recipe is pretty basic as far as ingredients, so it lends itself to additions that suit your taste. I’d say stay with the basic tomatoes and bacon as a base. You can add some cooked chicken in the mix to make the pasta more substantial or add other veggie you like. I’d also add some cucumber if I was making this chilled because that’d add a nice crunch to the texture.

Let your imagination run wild here! It can be different each time you make it!

The Recipe

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Balsamic Bacon & Tomato Pasta

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time55 mins

Servings: 6

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter cubed
• 2 large sweet onions thinly sliced (see NOTES)
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 2 cups grape tomatoes halved
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil divided
• 1 package 16 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
• 9 bacon strips cooked and crumbled
• 2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
• 1 tbs chopped fresh basil -OR- 1 tsp dried

Instructions

• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add the onions, pepper flakes and salt; saute until onions are tender.
• Stir in garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 30-40 minutes or until onions are deep golden brown.
• Add the tomatoes, vinegar and 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta; toss with onion mixture.
• Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with bacon, cheese, basil and pepper; heat through.
• NOTES: For pre-made caramelized onions, use 1/2 cup

Notes

You can shave 30-40 minutes off the cook time by using pre-made caramelized onion. I make mine in the crock pot and the recipe is linked in the post.

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*Adapted from Taste of Home