Creamy Asparagus & Bacon Pasta Bake

🥘 Ingredients

• Parmesan cheese
  6 tbsp
• asparagus
  12 oz
• bacon
  8 oz
• chicken stock concentrate
  2 unit
• cream sauce base
  8 oz
• garlic
  2 cloves
• lemon
  2 unit
• nonstick cooking spray (for 4 servings, use a 9-by-13-inch baking dish)
• olive oil
  1 tsp
• onion
  2 unit
• pasta cooking water
  1 c
• penne pasta
  12 oz
• sour cream
  6 tbsp

🍳 Cookware

• baking sheet
• plate
• large pan

1. 

   1

   Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry all produce. Coat an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray . Place bacon on a baking sheet and roast on top rack until crispy ⏱️ 10 minutes to ⏱️ 15 minutes . Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Once cool enough, roughly chop the bacon.

   nonstick cooking spray (for 4 servings, use a 9-by-13-inch baking dish), bacon: 8 oz
2. 

   2

   Whilst water boils, add penne pasta to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente ⏱️ 9 minutes to ⏱️ 11 minutes . Reserve pasta cooking water , then drain the penne.

   penne pasta: 12 oz, pasta cooking water: 1 c
3. 

   3

   While the pasta cooks, trim and discard woody bottom ends from asparagus ; cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Halve, peel, and finely dice onion . Peel and mince or grate garlic . Zest zest, then cut lemon into wedges.

   asparagus: 12 oz, onion: 2 unit, garlic: 2 cloves, lemon: 2 unit
4. 

   4

   Heat a large drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium-heat. Add asparagus, onion, and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened ⏱️ 4 minutes to ⏱️ 6 minutes . Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant ⏱️ 30 seconds to ⏱️ 60 seconds .

   olive oil: 1 tsp
5. 

   5

   Return the drained penne to the empty pot. Add the cooked vegetables you just prepared. Add half of the chopped crispy bacon. Add chicken stock concentrate and sour cream , then pour in the cream sauce base and add juice from half the lemon plus a pinch of ground lemon zest. Stir carefully, and if needed add splashes of the reserved pasta water to reach a full sauce coating.

   chicken stock concentrate: 2 unit, sour cream: 6 tbsp, cream sauce base: 8 oz
6. 

   6

   Transfer the pasta and vegetable mixture into the prepared baking dish. Evenly sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top. Bake on the top rack until the cheese melts, ⏱️ 3 minutes to ⏱️ 5 minutes . Scatter the remaining chopped crispy bacon ears across the surface as soon as the bake is pulled from the oven.

   Parmesan cheese: 6 tbsp
7. 

   7

   Let the pasta bake rest for ⏱️ 5 minutes before serving to set. Serve the creamy bake family style directly from the baking dish, with the reserved lemon wedges presented on the side for squeezing.
8. 8

   **Note:** Bacon is fully cooked when its internal temperature reaches 145°F.