Loaded Beef Bacon Cheeseburger Alfredo Pasta Recipe

Oh man, friends, today I’m bringing you a truly luscious, comforting, and totally outrageous dish that combines three of my favorite things: a classic cheeseburger, crispy bacon, and ultra-creamy Alfredo pasta! This Loaded Beef Bacon Cheeseburger Alfredo Pasta is a decadent, flavor-packed weeknight dinner that is ready in just 30 minutes. We’re talking tender pasta swimming in a rich, cheesy sauce loaded up with savory ground beef and smoky bacon. Trust me, this one’s a game-changer for your dinner routine, and it’s guaranteed to be a hit with the entire family.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Ultimate Comfort Food Mashup: It takes all the best flavors of a juicy cheeseburger—the beef, the cheese, the tangy condiments—and wraps them up in a velvety, creamy pasta hug.
• Ready in 30 Minutes: This is one of those magic recipes where the total time is short, but the flavor impact is HUGE. Perfect for busy weeknights!
• Insanely Creamy Sauce: We’re building a glorious Alfredo-style sauce right in the same skillet as the beef, ensuring every forkful is perfectly thick and wonderfully cheesy.
• Perfectly Customizable: Use different pasta shapes, add more veggies, or swap out the cheese—this dish loves a little personalization!

Ingredients

All you need for this incredible Cheeseburger Alfredo Pasta is a large skillet, your hungry self, and these amazing ingredients! Let’s talk about what makes them special:

• Penne or Rotini Pasta: I love a pasta with ridges, like penne or rotini, because they act like little cups to catch all that glorious, creamy sauce and savory beef.
• Ground Beef: The star of our “cheeseburger” filling! It brings that hearty, savory flavor we crave.
• Beef Bacon or Turkey Bacon: This adds the essential smoky, salty, and crispy texture that takes this pasta from great to absolutely unreal.
• Small Onion: Sautéed until soft, the onion builds a critical aromatic base for our sauce.
• Garlic: Because literally everything tastes better with three cloves of fragrant, minced garlic.
• Olive Oil: Used for sautéing to help soften the aromatics and build the first layer of flavor in the skillet.
• Heavy Cream & Milk: The foundation of our dreamy, luscious Alfredo sauce—this is where the magic happens!
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese: This is the key to the “cheeseburger” vibe! It melts beautifully and gives the sauce that necessary salty, sharp, cheesy goodness.
• Grated Parmesan Cheese: Adds a depth of nutty, salty flavor to our Alfredo base and helps the sauce thicken up beautifully.
• Ketchup and Mustard: The secret ingredient duo! These two iconic condiments bring the perfect tangy, acidic balance needed to mimic that true cheeseburger flavor profile.
• Smoked Paprika: A little dusting of this adds a gorgeous, smoky warmth that plays beautifully with the bacon.
• Salt and Pepper: Our standard seasoning essentials—adjusting these is key to making the flavors sing!
• Cherry Tomatoes: Halving these little beauties and tossing them in adds a pop of freshness and a touch of sweetness to cut through the richness.
• Green Onions & Fresh Parsley: These are for topping and garnishing, adding a final burst of color and fresh, herbaceous flavor.

Note: The exact ingredients with measurements and full nutritional information will be right under the article in the recipe card!

How to Make the Loaded Beef Bacon Cheeseburger Alfredo Pasta

This pasta comes together quickly, and everything happens right in one skillet after your pasta is cooked!

Step 1: Get Your Pasta Ready

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add your penne or rotini and cook according to the package directions until it’s just al dente (still has a little bite). Drain the pasta and set it aside while we build the flavor base!

Step 2: Crisp the Bacon

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook your chopped beef or turkey bacon until it’s nice and crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel-lined plate. Don’t drain the fat—we’re using that flavor!

Step 3: Sauté the Aromatics and Cook the Beef

In the bacon fat remaining in the skillet, add the olive oil. Sauté the diced onion and minced garlic for about 2–3 minutes until they become fragrant and soft. Now, add your ground beef. Season it generously with salt, pepper, and the smoked paprika. Cook the beef until it’s fully browned, then drain any excess fat if there’s a lot. Stir in the ketchup and mustard until the beef is fully coated.

Step 4: Build the Creamy Sauce

Reduce the heat to low. Pour in the heavy cream and milk. Give it a gentle stir and let it simmer for about 3–4 minutes until it starts to slightly thicken. Next, sprinkle in the cheddar and parmesan cheese. Keep stirring until the cheese is completely melted and you have a smooth, velvety, irresistible sauce.

Step 5: Toss and Serve

Add the cooked pasta, the halved cherry tomatoes, and about half of your crispy bacon into the skillet. Toss everything well until the pasta is coated in that gorgeous, cheesy sauce. Let it simmer for another 2 minutes to really let those amazing flavors meld together. Serve immediately, topped with the remaining crispy bacon, fresh chopped green onions, and a sprinkle of fresh parsley!

Pro Tips for Making the Recipe

• Don’t Overcook the Pasta: Stop cooking the pasta when it’s just al dente. It will continue to cook a tiny bit when you toss it in the hot sauce, and you want that perfect texture!
• Go Low and Slow with the Sauce: When adding the cream and cheese, keep the heat on low. High heat can cause the cheese to clump or the sauce to separate. Low and slow ensures a silky, smooth Alfredo.
• Use the Bacon Fat: Do not drain all the bacon grease after crisping the bacon! That fat is liquid gold and adds an essential smoky depth of flavor to your onions, garlic, and beef.
• Taste and Adjust Seasoning: The saltiness of the sauce will depend on your stock, bacon, and cheese. Always taste the final sauce before adding the pasta and adjust the salt and pepper as needed—it’s the difference between good and incredible!

How to Serve

This pasta is a complete meal all on its own, but if you want to jazz up the dinner plate, here are some fun ideas:

• Fresh Green Salad: Pair this rich pasta with a light, simple green salad dressed with a bright vinaigrette to cut through the richness.
• Garlic Bread or Toast: You absolutely need something to mop up every last drop of that creamy, cheesy sauce!
• Pickle Power: To lean even harder into the cheeseburger theme, serve a small bowl of sliced dill pickles on the side for that wonderful acidic crunch.

Make Ahead and Storage

Storing Leftovers

Place any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Like most cream-based pasta dishes, the sauce will thicken up significantly as it cools.

Freezing

Due to the dairy content, freezing cream-based sauces can sometimes cause them to separate or become grainy upon thawing. I highly recommend enjoying this dish fresh or refrigerating the leftovers, but skipping the freezer for best quality!

Reheating

The best way to reheat is gently on the stovetop over low heat. Add a splash or two of milk or heavy cream while stirring to help thin the sauce back out and return it to its original creamy glory. The microwave works too, but be sure to use short bursts and stir often!

FAQs

1. Can I use a different type of meat or make this vegetarian?Absolutely! While the ground beef is key to the “cheeseburger” flavor, you could swap it for ground turkey or even ground chicken. To make this vegetarian, you could omit the meat and bacon entirely and load the pasta up with sautéed mushrooms, zucchini, and extra diced tomatoes for texture.
2. Why did my cheese sauce become grainy or clumpy?This almost always happens when the heat is too high! Remember to keep your heat on low when you add the cream and especially when you melt in the cheese. If the sauce gets too hot, the cheese separates into solids and oils. A great tip is to turn the heat off completely when you add the cheese, and let the residual heat of the skillet melt it in while you stir.
3. What other pasta shapes work well in this recipe?Any short, sturdy pasta that has texture or little holes is perfect for catching the sauce and the bits of beef and bacon! Besides penne and rotini, rigatoni, fusilli, or even small shells would be excellent choices for this recipe.
4. Can I add vegetables to this dish?Please do! This recipe is wonderful for sneaking in extra veggies. Try stirring in a cup of baby spinach at the end (it will wilt instantly), or sautéing diced bell peppers, mushrooms, or zucchini along with the onion and garlic in Step 3.