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Home > Meal Type > Pasta Recipes > Pea Pasta

Pea Pasta

Updated: Nov 12th 2020 • Published: Mar 20th 2020 • 4 Comments

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PIN IMAGE - Pasta with peas and bacon with text overlaid
PIN IMAGE - pappardelle with peas and bacon with text overlaid
PIN IMAGE - a fork digging into peas and pasta with text overlaid
PIN IMAGE - forkful of pea and pasta with text overlaid
PIN IMAGE - a fork swirling pasta with peas and text overlaid

This Pea Pasta is a quick and easy weeknight meal that uses a few simple ingredients to create something delicious. 

The peas are cooked in a little broth with plenty of olive oil and garlic until they are tender and sweet. This simple sauce is then tossed with pasta and sprinkled with a bit of crispy bacon and some grated parmesan. So yummy and so easy!

You can use any pasta you like for this recipe, so it is a great standby for when there is very little food in the fridge!

a fork digging into a bowl of pappardelle and peas

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  • Making a sauce with frozen peas
  • What pasta to use?
  • Bacon or guanciale
  • What wine to serve with Pea Pasta 
  • Pea Pasta

Making a sauce with frozen peas

Frozen peas are such a great ingredient! They keep forever in the freezer (well, I am sure they don’t, but it sure feels like it!!), and they defrost within a few minutes. Sweet delicious peas that add a pop of green to meals like Bangers and Mash with Brown Gravy, or a Seared Steak and Garlic Potatoes. 

BUT I love to make peas the star of the show! 

To make a quick and easy pea sauce for your pasta, grab some frozen peas, add them to a pan with a little broth (chicken or veggie works) slice in a few large garlic cloves, add a good slug of olive oil, some butter and let everything come to a simmer. The peas will defrost, the garlic will mellow, and the stock will reduce. This all happens while the pasta is cooking! 

Once the pasta is almost cooked, reserve 2 cups of the pasta water, drain the pasta and add it to the simple pea sauce. The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce, soaking up the sweet pea and garlic flavors, thin with a little pasta cooking water, add some parmesan and serve with more parmesan, some bacon and a good sprinkle of black pepper.

parmesan being grated over pasta

What pasta to use?

The beauty of this dish is it works with any shape pasta. Long noodles will twist and turn around the peas so you can pick a spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine or pappardelle (as shown in the photos). 

Or grab a pasta shape and use a spoon to scoop the pasta and peas into your mouth. Farfalle, penne, rigatoni, or spiral pasta works well.

close up on the peas in a bowl of pasta

Bacon or guanciale

First let’s talk about the bacon. This isn’t a vegetarian pasta as there is some bacon in the dish, but it is there to add a little salty hint; this is pasta with peas and a hint of bacon, not a bacon and pea pasta. Feel free to add more bacon or leave it out altogether. 

For ease, I have crispy bacon bits in my fridge at all times!! They are great for adding to salads, soups, or in fact, anything! Most things are better with a little bacon! 

Must share my homemade bacon bits with you! But feel free to use storebought bacon bits! 

In Italy (where Stew first ate it) this pasta would be made with guanciale, which is salted and cured pigs cheek. It has a stronger salty flavor than bacon or pancetta, but the texture of softer and more delicate. When cooked, the fat melts away, adding so much to the sauce. Because guanciale is hard to find, we are using bacon bits here, and we replace that missing fat with olive oil and butter.

bacon and peas in a bowl of pappardelle

What wine to serve with Pea Pasta 

Peas are an excellent ingredient to pair wine with; they are sweet and grassy and have that savory sweetness that I love and that I find works so well with wine. 

For white lovers, go for an Italian Pinot Grigio, they are crisp and sharp and can cut through the richness of the olive oil and cheese.

If you are looking for red wine, then pick a southern hemisphere Pinot Noir. The touch of acidity and background fruitiness works so well with the peas.

a spoon in a bowl of pasta

Enjoy x

For more delicious easy pasta recipes try:

  • Spaghetti alla Puttanesca 
  • Bacon Shrimp Pasta
  • Creamy Tomato Chicken and Chorizo Pasta
  • Creamy Chicken Gnocchi with Spinach
  • Easy Garlic Bacon Pasta
  • Creamy Chicken Chili Pasta
  • See all 70+ pasta recipes

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5 from 1 vote

Pea Pasta

This Pea Pasta is a quick and easy weeknight meal that uses a few simple ingredients to create something delicious. The peas are cooked in a little broth with plenty of olive oil and garlic until they are tender and sweet. This simple sauce is then tossed with pasta and sprinkled with a bit of crispy bacon and some grated parmesan. So yummy and so easy! You can use any pasta you like for this recipe, so it is a great standby for when there is very little food in the fridge!
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time15 mins
Course: Main, Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 -6
Calories: 695kcal
Author: Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts
For more great recipes follow me on PinterestFollow @sprinklessprout
Need Metric Measurements?Use the options below to toggle between cups and grams (if relevant)

Ingredients

US Customary – Grams
  • 1 lb pasta – see note 1
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 cups frozen peas
  • 1 ½ cup broth – see note 2
  • 5 garlic cloves – thinly sliced
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 cup freshly grated parmesan
  • 1 cup crispy bacon bits – see note 3

Instructions

  • Bring a large pan of water to a boil for the pasta.
  • Salt the water generously (at least 1 tablespoon) and add the pasta, set the timer for 1 minute less than the packet suggests.
    1lb/450g pasta
    1 tablespoon salt

  • While the pasta is cooking, add the olive oil, frozen peas, broth, sliced garlic, salt, and pepper into a skillet. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes until the peas are soft. (there will still be plenty of broth left in the pan)
    3 tbsp olive oil
    3 cups frozen peas
    1 1/2 cup broth
    5 garlic cloves – thinly sliced
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/4 tsp black pepper

  • Use a large measuring cup to reserve 2 cups of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and add it to the peas. Cook over medium heat, turning the pasta over in the broth to finish cooking.
  • Add the butter and the parmesan, and continue to stir.
    2 tbsp butter
    1 cup grated parmesan

  • If the pasta starts to look dry, add 1/4 cup (or more) of the pasta cooking water.
  • Taste the dish, adding more salt and pepper if needed, and then serve sprinkled with the bacon bits and extra parmesan.
    1 cup bacon bits
    extra parmesan -to serve

Notes

  1. You can use any pasta shape you like here: spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine or pappardelle (as shown in the photos), farfalle, penne, rigatoni, or spiral pasta works well.
  2. Use vegetable or chicken broth/stock.
  3. I use storebought bacon bits, but you can fry off your own bacon if you prefer. (Then use the bacon drippings in place of the butter!)

Nutrition

Calories: 695kcal | Carbohydrates: 80g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 1436mg | Potassium: 428mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 928IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 276mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @sprinklesandsprouts or tag #sprinklesandsprouts

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Filed Under: All Recipes, Main Dishes, Pasta Recipes

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christina L says

    May 16th 2020 at 4:11 am

    Thank you SO MUCH for putting the ingredient amounts under each step! If I forget something in my prep it is so helpful not having to scroll back and forth!

    Reply
    • Claire McEwen says

      May 19th 2020 at 8:18 am

      Oh I am so pleased you like that feature! It was something that my son suggested and I am loving it. I am slowly working my way back through older recipes adding it in, but it does take time. So it is great to hear that people are loving it!
      Thank you for taking the time to comment 🙂
      Cx

      Reply
  2. Sarah says

    Mar 20th 2020 at 10:24 pm

    I found your site by searching for celery recipes because I had a bunch wilting in the fridge and I ended up trying your braised celery recipe! I just had to let you know because it was absolutely delicious and a bit of a saviour in the current climate – so thank you. It was great with a big bowl of ramen. I’ll be trying more of your recipes too 🙂

    Reply
    • Claire McEwen says

      Mar 23rd 2020 at 5:32 am

      Oh I am definitely going to try it with ramen!
      Yes, now more than ever the fresh food in our refrigerators is so precious.
      I love that this recipes uses up those slightly soft stalks and makes them taste delicious.
      Thank you for coming back to comment
      Cx

      Reply

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Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts

I believe cooking for those you love should be stress free and simple.

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