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This pancetta and pea pasta is a quick and delicious weeknight dinner recipe. It can be on your table in less than 30 minutes! The garlicky cream sauce is lightened up by using half-and-half instead of heavy cream.

pasta with pancetta, peas, a creamy garlic sauce in a stoneware bowl

This creamy pancetta pasta recipe is really simple; it only has a handful of ingredients, and many of them are pantry staples.

If you like spaghetti carbonara and peas, it’s likely that you will enjoy this dish. There’s no eggs in here, but we’ve got similar flavors going on.

close-up of pasta with pancetta, peas, a creamy garlic sauce, and plenty of fresh parmesan and a fork

What is pancetta?

Pancetta is an Italian bacon that’s made of cured pork belly. It crisps up wonderfully in this pasta dish! I buy pre-diced cubes from the deli section of my local grocery store.

The pancetta pasta sauce is nicely balanced. The peas and creamy sauce are the perfect complement to the salty pancetta.

Pro tip: If you can’t find pancetta, you can always just make this pasta with peas and bacon.

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a bowl of creamy garlic pancetta and pea pasta with freshly grated parmesan

Will you make this easy pancetta pea pasta?

Pasta with pancetta, peas, a creamy garlic sauce, and plenty of fresh parmesan makes an easy and tasty dinner!
4.86 from 7 votes

Pancetta and Pea Pasta

By Natasha Bull
This pancetta and pea pasta is a quick and delicious weeknight dinner recipe. It can be on your table in less than 30 minutes! The garlicky cream sauce is lightened up by using half-and-half instead of heavy cream. 
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 4
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Ingredients 

  • 8 ounces uncooked pasta (I recommend linguine) 
  • 1 (4.4 ounce) package diced pancetta
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • 1 dash Italian seasoning
  • 1 cup peas (I used frozen)
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • Pepper to taste

Instructions 

  • Boil a large, salted pot of water for the pasta. Cook it al dente according to package directions.
  • Meanwhile, in a skillet, fry the pancetta over medium-high heat until it's nice and crispy (about 10 min.). 
  • If there's a lot of fat left over, drain the majority of it. 
  • Add the garlic to the pan and cook for about 30 seconds, then add the half-and-half, Italian seasoning, and peas. 
  • Let the sauce bubble for a few minutes, then drain the cooked pasta and add it to the skillet, along with the parmesan. 
  • Toss the pasta with the sauce and let it cook for a few more minutes, tossing often (turn heat down to medium/med-low). This will help more of the starch to release from the pasta so the sauce thickens up a bit more. Serve immediately with fresh cracked pepper if desired.

Notes

  • You can dice the pancetta yourself if you can't find the pre-diced variety. Pancetta is pretty salty, so I don't typically add extra salt to dishes with pancetta in them (aside from the pasta water, of course). 
  • Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
     

Nutrition

Calories: 505kcal, Carbohydrates: 52g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 54mg, Sodium: 428mg, Potassium: 380mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 616IU, Vitamin C: 16mg, Calcium: 231mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Hi! I’m Natasha.

Salt & Lavender is a recipe blog with a focus on delicious comfort food using everyday ingredients. Beat the weekday grind with hundreds of easy-to-follow and hassle-free recipes!

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20 Comments

  2. 5 stars
    Made this tonight after a hard day at work and both my husband and I loved it! A keeper for sure! Thanks for posting.

    Reply

  3. 5 stars
    I mean it does not get any easier but this! Fast and delicious. I did add a ton of black pepper so it was a little cacio e Pepe yum

    Reply

  4. 4 stars
    One night I wanted pasta, nothing heavy or too much prep. I found this recipe and had all the ingredients on hand (which is usually unlikely). I whipped this up in no time and I have to say, it is delicious! I only had thin spaghetti, but it worked out fine. I made the sauce a little thinner by adding pasta water because I’m a sauce person. Thank you for this ez and delicious recipe.

    Reply

  6. Do you put the peas in still frozen? I cooked this tonight and the sauce turned out very watery, unfortunately :/ trying to figure out what I did wrong!

    Reply

    1. Hi! Hmm… I do put them in frozen, yes. I’m wondering if you just needed to let the sauce reduce a little longer and do step 6 for a little more time. Or, using heavy cream instead of the half-and-half will help it thicken faster.

      Reply

  8. 5 stars
    We have tried this twice. Both times fantastic! And a super simple recipe! The first time we followed the recipe 100% and then the second time we used orecchiette pasta and also added toasted pine nuts which recalled added a nice addition to the flavors.

    Reply