This super quick and easy creamy pasta with peas and pancetta is perfect for a weekend night dinner. Delicious sweet peas and crispy salty pancetta are the perfect combination, it's a classic for a reason. Combined into a creamy parmesan sauce, freshened up with lemon and arugula. I make this super easy pasta recipe all year round, I know you'll love it.
Creamy Pancetta and Pea Pasta
Hello! This DELICIOUS creamy pancetta and pea pasta is a classic combination of flavors. Frozen or fresh peas in pasta is one of my absolute favorite things and nestled into this creamy sauce? It's kind of perfect and equally amazing for busy weeknights or dinner with friends.
I have used a dried fusilli bucati, (one of my fave short pasta shapes!) but use anything you like! It comes together in a flash and a perfect dish for any time of year. I love to add some fresh arugula to the dish at the end to freshen it up.
Looking for another creamy pasta to try next time? Check out these easy meals:
Main ingredients
Pasta - Obviously! I have used fusilli, it's one of my favourite dried shapes so I highly recommend. At the end of the day you can use whatever you like! I'm not into rules.
Pancetta - Please try and find pancetta if you can (I get it at a gourmet grocery store), but substitute bacon if you have to. Pancetta gives so much more flavour than regular bacon. You buy it in little slabs then cut it into tiny cubes.
Garlic - Fresh garlic cloves are best always.
Green Peas - Frozen peas are such a delicious addition to any pasta sauce. You don't need to defrost them, it doesn't take long for them to cook in the pan. Use fresh peas, garden peas - anything you love!
Cream - I like to use single cream for a pasta sauce as the heat and parmesan thicken it a lot. If you use heavy cream you might just need to add some extra pasta water.
Parmesan cheese - The better the quality, the better the taste but this sauce is already loaded with flavour so use what works for you. It needs to be really finely grated. If you don't have a microplane then use the star side of your box grater. Use pecorino romano if you prefer.
Lemon juice - Fresh is always best! You can also top the finished dish with some of the zest. It gives the rich sauce a zingy fresh taste.
OPTIONAL Arugula - It adds such a perfect fresh touch to this rich dish. I like to mix half into the sauce and use the rest on top. You could also throw some fresh herbs on top, basil or fresh parsley would be delicious.
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Expert tips:
- Weigh your pasta portions. It's a two second job and ensures the perfect amount of pasta per person.
- Get all your ingredients prepped and ready to go. This is quite a quick sauce so it's great to spend a little extra time getting everything measured out and ready.
- Timing! I try and time the cooking of my pasta so that when my sauce is ready I can transfer my cooked pasta straight into the sauce. This takes some practice. This sauce will take about 10 minutes to make. So you can start cooking your pasta after you start the sauce, depending how long the shape you've picked takes.
- Keep an eye on the heat. When you add the cream you just want a nice gentle simmer, nothing should be boiling like crazy.
- Undercook your pasta. I always undercook dried pasta by a minute so it can bubble away in the sauce at the end and still be al dente. Makes for an even more delicious dish.
How to make this recipe
The full recipe, ingredient list and a short tutorial video are in the recipe card below.
ONE: Fry the pancetta in extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet until golden over a medium high heat.
TWO: Add the garlic and sizzle for 30 seconds. Lower to a medium heat.
THREE: Add the frozen or fresh peas and mix through.
FOUR: Lower the heat slightly and add he cream. You want a VERY gentle simmer.
FIVE: Add the parmesan in a few separate lots and mix in, letting it melt before adding more. I like to push the peas and crispy pancetta to the side while I do that. Add the black pepper and lemon juice and mix in quickly.
SIX: Add your cooked pasta in with a ¼ cup of pasta water, mix well and let it bubble away very gently for a min or two. Finish with some aruglua leaves if you wish and some extra parmesan and lemon zest.
Why pasta water is your best friend!
You'll hear me harp on about the magic that is pasta water in 99% of all my pasta dishes. It really is a key ingredient in every sauce I make. The starch left behind in the water acts as a thickening agent and helps sauces cling to the pasta. I couldn't make a sauce without it.
I never EVER drain my pasta in a colander, I always transfer it directly to the sauce using a spider strainer. That way the pasta pot full of water is left there for you to ladle in as you need. If you have seen my reels on instagram you'll notice my sauces are SAUCY.
Pasta soaks up liquid so quickly so I add enough pasta water to make it quite liquidy. By the time I serve into bowls and take to the table it hasn't dried up. You'll get to know what the right consistency is with some practice, you can't go wrong though I promise!
Recipe FAQs
You could use bacon or guanciale would be the closest match.
I use a single or light cream as the heat and parmesan thicken it a lot. I find a heavy cream too thick but if that is what you have just thin it out with some extra pasta water.
I am secretly judging if you have leftover pasta. I don't find creamy sauces reheat particularly well but it will be fine stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 2 days.
I have used a dried shape called fusilli bucati, which is one of my absolute favorites! It will work with any shape but preferably a short pasta. I find recipes where there are bits and pieces like peas and pancetta, using long shapes like pappardelle or spaghetti can be hard to mix through.
Want some other sauces to try?
If you loved this creamy pancetta and peas recipe and haven't tried my Creamy Tomato Pasta Sauce then add it to the top of your list, it's the best simple pasta dish. For something similar my Creamy Bacon Pasta is a great one for the whole family. Have some time on your hands? My White Bolognese is to die for.
Made this recipe and loved it?
I would love love LOVE if you could leave me a review down below and let me know what you thought! I love to hear any changes or adaptions you have made too. Also if you put a photo on instagram, please tag me so I can see, it makes my day!
Recipe
Creamy Pasta with Peas and Pancetta
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Ingredients
- 220 g dried pasta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 120 g pancetta cut into small cubes
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 120 g frozen peas about ¾ cup
- ¾ cup cream
- 50 g parmesan finely grated
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice plus zest to serve
- Salt to taste
- Extra parmesan to serve
- Optional: 1 cup packed arugula
Instructions
- Cook your pasta in a pot of well salted boiling water according to packet instructions. I tend to undercook dried pasta by a minute so it remains al dente and can finish cooking in the sauce. Reserve a cup of pasta water towards the end of the cooking.
- Fry the pancetta in a large skillet in the olive oil over a medium heat until golden, 5 - 6 mins.
- Add the garlic and let it sizzle for 30 seconds. Moving it around so it doesn't burn.
- Add the frozen peas and toss for another 30 seconds.
- Add the cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Lower the heat if you need, it should never bubble/boil aggressively. A VERY gentle simmer.
- Add the parmesan in 2 -3 lots, stirring and letting it melt in between each addition.
- Add the pepper and lemon juice and mix in quickly.
- Add the pasta with ¼ cup pasta water and mix. Let it all gently bubble away for a minute or two to thicken. Remember it will thicken a lot off the heat.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. You shouldn't need to add much. Add more pasta water if you need to loosen.
- Finish with the arugula if using.
- Serve between bowls, topping with extra parmesan and grated lemon zest.
Video
Notes
- Timing is always tricky but you'll get the hang of it the more you make it! My pasta took 7 minutes to cook so I started the sauce slightly before putting the pasta in the water. I like to time it so I can add the pasta straight from the water to the sauce.
Shelby says
So yummy! Had to use bacon but it was so easy and came together so fast. My kids loved it and so did we. The lemon zest is a must!
Emilie Pullar says
Hi Shelby, thanks so much for making!! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Sarah says
Really lovely! One of my favourite things in the world is frozen peas in pasta, they make it so sweet! I added leeks as they needed using and it was really delicious. Great on a budget too. Thankyou so much! 🙂
Emilie Pullar says
I'm so adding leeks next time I make it! So glad you enjoyed 🙂
Lori Michrina says
Another winner! The thing with Emilie’s recipes is they’re pretty much fool proof every time, and they’re deceptively simple. No matter how many chefs I follow on Instagram or how many Italian cookbooks I own, I find myself coming back to her recipes time and again because they’re just that good!
Stacey Ann Sweet says
this looks yummy! What is Rocket??
Emilie Pullar says
Ha sorry! It's arugula 🙂