Fig Bacon Jam

This Fig Bacon Jam recipe has that rare balance of sweet and salty, creamy and crispy. Make the bacon and fig jam recipe ahead of time and you have a weeknight meal that comes together in the time it takes to cook your pasta.

I know some of you will have no interest in reading a story about how my kiddo dreamed up this fig pasta recipe. If that’s you, please just hit that Jump to the Recipe button. For everyone else, let me tell you how fun it is to watch one’s kiddo get creative in the kitchen.

The backstory

We had been getting monthly cooking boxes for about six months, and one of the challenges she loved was “create your own…” So for weeks, she wanted to develop a pasta recipe.

She was insistent on using angel hair pasta. I hate angel hair pasta. It has a narrow window between when it’s done and when it’s overdone and sticking to everything. But that’s what she wanted.

We talked about what sauces go best with long noodles and which go with short pastas. And she decided she wanted bacon fig jam on angel hair pasta.

Tip from the wise quacker: use long noodles like spaghetti with thinner sauces. And short, chunky shapes work best with chunky sauces.

Worst case scenario was that we’d end up with a bunch of bacon and fig jam. So I created a recipe for a fig pasta sauce with kiddo’s input, and she implemented.

Ingredients

Figs are the fruit of a Ficus native to the Mediterranean, although figs are now grown worldwide including here in Seattle. You can use Mission figs or another type of dried fig in this recipe. Or, if have a bounty of fresh figs, just skip the hydration step for the fig jam.

Substitutions and variations

• Replace dried figs with dates, dried cherries, dried apricots, or prunes.
• Instead of brown sugar, use maple syrup like this amazing smoked maple syrup!
• Add bourbon for a bourbon fig jam.

Recipe tips and tricks

Cooking the bacon

Step 1: cook the bacon until crisp. You can use a cast iron griddle or a roasting pan.

Preparing the ingredients

Step 2: Chop the onions, garlic, and bacon. This silicone garlic peeler is a great tool for peeling garlic, and I trust kiddo with this so much more than having her smash cloves.

Don’t worry about chopping things finely because the fig and bacon jam goes into the food processor in the end. That’s great when you’ve got a kiddo in the kitchen!

Step 3: Cook the onions in a tablespoon of bacon fat or olive oil in a large lidded pan until softened and starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for one minute.

Step 4: Add the cooked bacon and figs and rest of the ingredients and cook over low heat for about one hour, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of water if the fig jam appears too dry. The figs should be practically falling apart.

Step 5: Add the cooked fig jam to your food processor or blender and process until smooth. Add the fig bacon jam back to the pan to keep warm if you’re making the bacon fig pasta.

What to serve with fig bacon jam

• Make a bacon and fig jam grilled cheese sandwich, or use it as a condiment for a cauliflower veggie burger or duck burger.
• Use it as a base for a gourmet pizza or a fig bacon jam spaghetti pie.
• Put it next to a creamy brie on a cheese plate.
• Serve it as a condiment for a simple meat, like pan-roasted chicken breasts or one-pan pork tenderloin.
• If you’re looking for wine, I’d pick a lighter wine within the category of medium-bodied reds like a Carmenere or Cabernet Franc.

Recipe FAQs

Related pasta recipes

If you love this bacon fig pasta, check out the pasta archives for other great recipes like: