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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
Balsamic Bacon & Tomato Pasta
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 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp 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 tbsp 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
Nutrition
*Adapted from Taste of Home
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
Great receipt! My mamma used caramelized onions in everything that needed onions. They give such a great taste to any dish. Love the simplicity of the dish.
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way recently posted…Mediterranean Tomato Cucumber Salad & Yogurt Dressing
Judith Hanneman says
They have such a wonderful flavor, but I used to dread having to make them before I discovered the slow cooker way to do them! No babysitting and my feet don’t get sore!