Is there really anything more comforting than pasta? What about pasta and bacon? Okay, what about Brie, Bacon and Basil Pasta? Right? It’s basically a match made in heaven and we all need to grab a bowl of this immediately.
I made this for the first time a few years ago on a whim because I had some leftover brie from a dinner party and decided throwing it into some freshly cooked spaghetti was the sensible thing to do. I was a little worried because I didn’t know what the brie would do, but the result was mind blowing. Melted brie + spaghetti. Be still my heart. I was and still am in love and I just want everyone to taste the epicness that comes from this recipe and have the best possible meal ever. Plus this would make an incredible Valentine’s Day date night in.
Fast forward a few months and I’ve jazzed it up even more. Because that’s what I do. I added some bacon and basil and reserved a scoop of the pasta water to help the brie melt down even faster. Brilliant. I’m obsessed. The squeeze of lemon juice really helps brighten this cozy dish and bring out all the flavors.
A common question I get asked about this recipe is whether or not you should remove the rind from the brie. The answer actually is that you leave it on. The rind melts down and doesn’t effect the taste at all. But you can totally cut it off if you’d prefer.
I’m for sure adding this quick and easy Brie, Bacon and Basil Pasta into the regular rounds of dinner. It goes exceptionally well with a little Monday night Bachelor viewing. (something I consider myself to be very good at)
Trust me – you’re going to want to try this one!
Brie, Bacon and Basil Pasta
Ingredients
- 10 oz pasta
- 1/2 cup pasta water - reserved
- 4 pieces think sliced bacon
- 1/2 yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 lb brie cut into cubes
- 10-15 basil leaves cut into a chiffonade
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- lemon juice to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and the cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining, then drain the pasta and set it aside.
- Place the bacon in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat and cook the bacon on both sides until brown and crispy. Remove the bacon from the skillet and set it to cool on a paper towel lined plate. Once the bacon is cool, break it into bite sized pieces.
- Add the thinly sliced onion into the cast iron skillet with the bacon grease and saute over medium high heat until the onions are caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and toss for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the cubed brie into the cast iron skillet along with ½ cup of the reserved pasta water and a few squeezes of lemon juice. Stir constantly until the cheese is melted and then add the cooked pasta to the mixture and toss to combine. Add the bacon and basil and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately.
Oh man, I love it! I bet this would be awesome with any white-rinded soft cheese. It’s kind of like carbonara except with brie taking the place of the egg in the sauce, just making it that much more creamy and flavorful. Yum!
Oh my this sounds GOOD! Bacon does tend to make everything better! 😉 Smart thinking with the brie! Yum!
I just fell over and died.
Me, too. Seriously. I need to make this now. Guess what I have in my fridge right now. Do you think it just *might be* leftover brie?
What an inspired combination! We love Brie and this sounds perfect for making when I get home from work.
Oh my gosh Ill be doing that one for sure.. My type of food… Thank you!!
Agreed! Pasta is the most comforting comfort food. Love all these flavors!
Having just made homemade pasta for dinner last night, I can say with 100% certainty that there really is no better combo than pasta + meat + cheese. I can totally imagine melty brie being delicious!
So much deliciousness in one beautiful bowl! Love it.
There is a classic Silver Palate recipe with Brie, Basil, Tomatoes and lots of garlic with linguine. I whip this recipe out for guests every now and then. So easy and how can you go wrong with melty brie on pasta?
I want a tub of this. Right now.
I love bacon in pasta recipes….wait a minute….I pretty much love bacon in any recipe! 😉 When I tried brie several years ago, I didn’t really like it, but maybe I need to give it another try.
Heck.Yes! Everything about this makes my tastebuds do a happy dance.
This looks like the most amazing, creamy delicious pasta…Like EVER!
Pasta carbonara is one of my fave dishes because I LOVE bacon with pasta…so this will definitely be a winner in my book!
No need to say anything else. Just pass the bowl and fork!
Trader Joe’s has a goat’s milk brie that I bet would be amazing in this recipe! And any excuse to eat bacon…Okay, I really don’t even need an excuse. Sold!
omg goats milk brie?!? I NEED TO TRY THAT IMMEDIATELY 🙂
Our basil is still going strong in this SoCal heat wave! RUmor has it there will be a bacon shortage in the year to come…this recipe will be a great way to get my fix before that happens 🙂
omg could you imagine if there was a bacon shortage? That would be terrible!! 🙂
Looks amazing, just to clarify, you leave the white rind on the brie? It just melts down? It doesn’t taste weird?
yup! it melts down and doesnt taste weird at all! But you can totally cut it off if you’d prefer 🙂
I used to wish my name was Brie because I loved the cheese so much. 🙂 …Last was a long time ago, I promise. Looks lovely!
OK—I made it and don’t make fun of me…I had to use veggie bacon (vegetarian here). I know, I know: Heresy. But it was still outrageously good. What a great idea—I would never, ever have thought of making a brie sauce. It’s so easy. Seriously yum!
Veggie bacon made from roasting shiitakes is awesome. This from a meat-eater.
How did I not ever think to do this before…
amazing!
This sounds so good! Can’t wait to try it. It sounds like a dish I had in Siena, Italy and never forgot!
WOW! All that amazing melted brie paired with bacon is almost (ALMOST) too much to handle! I love this, Gaby!
lekker lekker lekker!!!. have you tried gorgonzola with bacon and basil 😉 ? or just gorgonazola LOL
I’ve made it twice and made it exactly like you did the first time. For the second time I adjusted as follows: cooked 6 slices of bacon, doubled the garlic, and added a bit more basil.
Thanks for the recipe and one of my dear friends for introducing your awesome blog to me! Keep the great food coming, my hubby appreciates great dinners as well and so do our friends.
This was a winning dinner!! My dad and I made this together and I am thinking we had three helpings each. The brie was so nice and creamy, with the salty bacon… ooooh I am dreaming about it all over again. Along with the nummy bacon, we added shredded pieces of roasted duck my dad made the night before, amazing addition! Winner winner duck bacon dinner!!
duck and bacon = GENIUS!!! I wish I was there for dinner 🙂
Made this the other night for my meat and potatoes husband and he really liked it. Said it could go in the make again pile. That’s the highest compliment you can get.
What is the serving for this recipe?
serves 3-4!
This is a dumb question but must you remove the rind of the brie when melting the cheese to make the sauce? I did not and the sauce turned out disastrous, with small clumps of cheese and no mushy, creamy sauce.
Hi Sally! I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t work for you. I actually did not take the rind off because it’s completely edible. Did you add enough liquid to smooth it out? Let me know and I’m happy to try and get to the bottom of it with you 🙂
Hi Gabby, thanks for the reply! I did use the required amount of pasta water but a little less than half a pound of brie. I added both the cheese and water simultaneously so I don’t really know where I went wrong!
I turned this into a delicious breakfast pasta for my girls. Omitted the garlic and cut the onion back a little (nobody wants garlic breath all day at high school) and after the pasta was all nice and melty, I made nests in ramekins and plopped an egg on there and baked it til the yolk was runny. Swoon. Thanks for the inspiration!
I got in from work tonight and scoured the fridge for something quick to cook. My eyes fell upon the bacon and brie and I thought they would work well together. So, I typed “with bacon and brie” in to Google and one of the results jumped out at me, only because of it sharing my daughter’s name, albeit with a spelling variety.
Sometimes the best discoveries are made by chance and coincidence, this was one. I’m terrible at sticking to recipes and have to tinker, so I added a couple of birdseye chillies to the mix and stepped down the liquid. I had no fresh basil. I could pretend that the reduced liquid was deliberate, but I’m European and haven’t the faintest idea what a cup is and oz is where Dorothy went, so I just chucked some of the pasta liquid in to my guesstimated quanities and hoped for the best. Additionally, I was using gluten free pasta which is much more absorbent.
The result was a fairly dry (not creamy) and sticky pasta dish with a real depth of flavours and a nice afterburn. I’m sure it bears no relation to the original recipe, I’d like to think it is inspired by it.
Happenstance, coincidence, luck, the stars aligning, call it what you will. But I’ll be back. Nice one Gaby.
BEST COMMENT EVER!! Glad you enjoyed it Timmy!
I’ve just toured the site a little, nice, my Gabriela shares your book taste too.
I’m now thinking of adapting this recipe with a nice soft goats cheese. If I hadn’t just over eaten, I’d donit right now. Oh, no goats cheese in the fridge anyway.
Successfully made tonight for dinner. We loved it.
Will this be tasty reheated tomorrow or even frozen?
reheated tomorrow = YES!! Frozen = I’d say probably not the best
This was the perfect recipe to use up my leftover NYE Brie and bacon…yummm. Thanks.
I’m going to use left over party white wine instead of the pasta water….. We’ll see. Also inspired by the gluten free pasta idea as I’m trying to be mainly wheat free.
Yum! That looks amazing!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
What size skillet do you usually use for your recipes? Do you have a recommended brand? In the market for a new one!
This looks like a pasta winner!
Um, totally agree. This isn’t kind of meal!
I can only imagine how delicious this is!
We made this tonight and did not have bacon so we subbed pancetta. Amazeballs! So delish! We will be doing this again!
Regarding the bacon, brie pasta recipe, what about the rind on the brie? Just cube the brie, rind and all?
yup!! or you can take it off if you prefer
I just made it! Tasted really good. Even my husband who is a picky eater thought it was really good. Thanks a lot for this recipe Greetings from Denmark
My only problem with this is. . . .how can there be leftover brie? Sacrilege!!!!
This was amazing!!! I used gluten-free rice spaghetti and Trader Joe’s Goat brie (rind removed) and added 4 slices of turkey bacon with the regular bacon. I also used more basil because we have a lot growing that I wanted to use up. Even my picky kids loved it.
Wanted to use up some brie I had left over from Christmas and came across this recipe. It was delish! Will totally make again! Thank you!