Bacon Penne Arrabiata
topped with Parmesan & Parsley
- Wheat
Arrabiata may mean “angry” in Italian, but we feel anything but mad about this deliciously spicy dish. Our chefs cooked up this twist on the classic Italian meal, adding savory and crispy bacon to the mix. We’re pretty sure the fiery, tomato-ey, carby goodness will transport you to that favorite Italian restaurant only you and your BFFs know about.
Ingredients
14 ounce
Marinara Sauce
4 ounce
Bacon
1 unit
Red Onion
¼ cup
Parmesan Cheese
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
6 ounce
Penne Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
1 clove
Garlic
1 tablespoon
Italian Seasoning
5 teaspoon
Red Wine Vinegar
1 teaspoon
Chili Flakes
¼ ounce
Parsley
Not included in your delivery
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Sugar
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and finely dice onion. Peel and mince garlic. Pick parsley leaves from stems; mince leaves.
• Place bacon* on a baking sheet. • Roast on top rack until crispy, 15-20 minutes. • Once bacon is cool enough to handle, chop into bite-size pieces.
• Once water is boiling, add penne to pot. Cook until al dente, 9-11 minutes. • Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water, then drain.
• While pasta cooks, heat a large drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and chili flakes to taste. (TIP: Skip the chili flakes if you’re not a fan of spicy food.) Cook, stirring, until onion is softened, 3-4 minutes. • Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
• Add marinara, Italian Seasoning, stock concentrate, half the vinegar, ¼ cup reserved pasta cooking water, and 1 tsp sugar to pan. (For 4 servings, use all the vinegar, ½ cup reserved pasta cooking water, and 2 tsp sugar.) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low. Simmer, stirring, until slightly thickened, 10 minutes.
• Add drained penne and half the bacon to pan with sauce; stir until thoroughly combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Divide penne arrabiata between plates. Garnish with Parmesan, remaining bacon, minced parsley, and more chili flakes if desired. Serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the spicy kick and bacon addition, though some found it too spicy even with half the chili flakes 🌶️.
- Ease of prep: Customers praised the quick and simple preparation, with several mentioning it was easier than expected.
- Suggestions: Consider adding less chili flakes for milder heat; some recommended including more bacon for stronger flavor.
- Portions: Several noted generous portions with leftovers, while a few wished for more bacon or additional protein.
- Sauce: The marinara sauce received mixed reviews; some loved it, others found it too sweet or acidic.
Reviews from our home cooks
This was really good - penne pasta in a thick, chunky marinara sauce - what's not to like? I only put in half the onion (since I don't like onions) and that seemed to work nicely; I also skipped the hot pepper (I appreciated that the rest of the ingredients were not spicy). I liked the combination of flavors a lot. It was also quite good reheated a day later. I did burn the bacon a bit, even though I only had it in for 16 minutes (the recipe said 15-20) - I'm not sure what went wrong there!
This is a tasty pasta recipe. The dish itself has a complexity of flavors, though none of them are bacon. The bacon is not noticeable in the recipe or on top of the dish. It adds no additional flavor. In fact had I not known bacon was in it and bitten down on something that crunched I would not have known that it was part of the recipe. A garlic clove was left out of my package and this is the second time something was missing from the recipe. I did need to use more than twice the indicated amount of pasta water to make the sauce thin enough to adhere to the pasta. The cooking times were accurate and precise.
The combination of the onions, parmesan cheese, and bacon gives a harmonized flavor and the marinara sauce with the Italian seasoning is so good. Best pasta I have ever made
A good heat level for arrabiata and the bacon added good depth.
I wanted to love this after having made it not too long ago using a different recipe but it fell a bit short. I diced the bacon and cooked in pan to save a dish and add some flavor. However, the amount of onion suggested overwhelmed the dish for us. The tomato sauce was a pleasant surprise. I'd order again but I'd tweak the recipe for sure.
I would have never thought to add bacon to a pasta dish. It was delicious! I was a bit heavy-handed with the chili flakes, but the spice made it even more enjoyable.
This was amazing!!! So delicious and easy to prepare. We added extra penne from our pantry and then had awesome leftovers. This was one of our favorites!!!
YUM. The sauce tasted like it was cooking for hours - added all of the red pepper flakes and the heat was PERFECT. Only change would be MORE BACON.
Very good. Be careful with the red pepper flakes especially if you have children. My package arrived with the penne pasta bag busted in the brown paper bag. Other than that it was good especially with a garlic bread loaf.
I loved the bacon with the penne arrabiata! Also, there was enough for 3 meals! Thank you!
