Pasta with Bacon and Peas (2024)

Jessica Randhawa
September 28, 2021

4.81 from 247 votes

Last Updated September 28, 2021 | 18 Comments

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This creamy pasta with bacon and peas is an easy one-pan dinner recipe made with simple pantry ingredients. Flavorful, delicious, and perfect for busy weeknights!

Easy Bacon Pea Pasta

If you’re craving comfort food then you are going to love this bacon and pea pasta. Quick and delicious, it’s similar in taste to classic Italian carbonara – minus the egg.

Made with spaghetti noodles tossed in a light parmesan cream sauce and filled with loads of bacon and peas, this easy bacon and pea pasta is a true winner and family favorite.

Perfect any time of year, rain or shine, I love serving this recipe with a simple side salad or buttery garlic bread.

How to Make Pasta with Bacon and Peas

Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. The plan is to cook the bacon and make the sauce while the water comes to a boil and the pasta is cooking.
Grab a large pan, skillet, or Dutch oven to cook everything in.
Cook the bacon until it is fully cooked, crispy, and fat is rendered. Remove the bacon from the pan, but leave rendered bacon grease in the pot.
Cook the onion in the bacon grease until softened, then add the garlic.
Stir in the chicken broth and the frozen (or fresh) peas. Cook for a few minutes before adding the heavy cream.
Bring to a gentle simmer (avoid boiling heavy cream), and stir in half of the grated parmesan cheese.
Add the cooked bacon and spaghetti noodles to the sauce and gently toss to combine.
Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Add the remaining parmesan cheese over the top.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

I used spaghetti to make this recipe, but feel free to use any pasta noodle including linguine, fettuccine, or angel hair or small to medium-size pasta shape such as bowtie, shells, rotini, fusilli, rigatoni, etc.
Use freshly grated parmesan cheese – not the powdered stuff or pre-shredded kind that comes in a bag. The flavor will be better overall and there won’t be any weird clumping.
Expect to add a little bit of liquid (cream, chicken broth, etc) before reheating leftovers. Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave, gently stir and continue to heat until the desired temperature is reached.
Thick-cut pork bacon will give the best flavor. Turkey bacon or pre-cooked bacon bits is not recommended. You may also swap the bacon with prosciutto or pancetta, if desired.

Looking for more delicious pasta recipes?Try these reader favorites:

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Chicken
Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
Creamy Penne Pasta Recipe
Ground Turkey Pasta Recipe
Easy Bacon Broccoli Pasta Recipe
Pasta Primavera Recipe

Did you try this creamy pasta with bacon and peas?

Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love to hear your thoughts. And tag me#theforkedspoononInstagramif you’ve made any of my recipes, I always love to see what you’re cooking in the kitchen.

RECIPE CARD

Pasta with Bacon and Peas

4.81 from 247 votes

AuthorAuthor: Jessica Randhawa

This creamy pasta with bacon and peas is an easy one-pan dinner recipe made with simple pantry ingredients. Flavorful, delicious, and perfect for busy weeknights!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Pasta

Ingredients

▢ 8 ounces dry spaghetti noodles
▢ 12 ounces thick-cut bacon - diced into small pieces
▢ ½ onion - minced (or 2 shallots)
▢ 3 cloves garlic - minced
▢ ½ cup chicken broth
▢ 1 cup frozen peas
▢ ¼ cup heavy cream
▢ ½ cup parmesan cheese - grated
▢ reserved pasta water - see notes
▢ salt and black pepper - to taste

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (I usually add at least 1 tablespoon of salt) and cook the pasta 1-2 minutes less than the package instructions (or until al dente). Reserve 1 cup of boiling pasta water before draining. Set the pasta aside.
As the pasta cooks, cook the bacon in a large skillet or Dutch oven set over medium to medium-high heat until it is cooked, crispy, and the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon from the pan using a slotted spoon and drain it on a plate lined with paper towels.
Set the pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the onion in the rendered bacon fat until it is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and continue to cook for an additional 1 minute.
Add the chicken broth and the frozen peas. Cook just until the peas have thawed then stir in the heavy cream (adding more cream for a richer sauce).
Bring to a gentle simmer and stir in half of the grated parmesan cheese.
Return the cooked bacon to the sauce and add the cooked pasta. Gently toss to combine. Slowly add some of the reserved pasta water, as needed to thin the sauce.
Season with additional salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the remaining grated parmesan cheese.

Jessica’s Notes

This recipe can be made with any pasta shape or pasta noodle.
This recipe is best when it is made with heavy cream. Add more heavy cream to make a heavier, richer, cream sauce.
The reserved pasta water is already hot, salty, and starchy. Reserve at least one cup and add to the sauce if needed.

Nutritional Information

(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)

Keyword Bacon Pea Pasta, Pasta with Bacon and Peas

Did You Make This Recipe? Tag it Today!Mention @theforkedspoon or tag #theforkedspoon and please leave your star rating in the comment section below.

About Jessica Randhawa

Chef Jessica Randhawa leads The Forked Spoon. A world traveler, Jessica developed her passion for culinary arts while adventuring. With her recipes making their way onto renowned platforms such as Women's Health, Daily Mail, Al Jazeera, and Fox News, she's marked her presence in the culinary world. Jessica's academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science from the University of California.

Comments

Barbara says
March 10, 2024 at 12:17 pm

Very good, I doubled the pasta and increased the bacon to 16 ounces, increased the peas to 2 cups and doubled the chicken broth. I did not add any salt and I am glad I didn’t, the cheese and bacon add plenty of salt.
Reply
Min says
February 27, 2024 at 5:02 pm

A very indulgent and delightful dish requiring just a few ingredients. Easy to follow recipe. I used evaporated milk in place of heavy cream.
Reply
- Jessica Randhawa says
  February 28, 2024 at 10:51 am
  Thanks Min 🙂
  Reply
  See Also
  Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms Recipe
Patricia says
June 23, 2023 at 4:43 pm

Amazingly YUMMY! I used half and half because that is what I had on hand and it worked great.
Reply
Gail says
April 17, 2023 at 5:23 pm

Great taste, recipe easy to follow.
I doubled the pasta and peas, some extra water to make more sauce but did not double the cream. Still great flavor and craving satisfied.
Reply
- Jessica Randhawa says
  April 17, 2023 at 6:53 pm
  Thanks for the great feedback and rating, Gail 😀
  Reply
Patty says
March 23, 2023 at 9:29 am

Delicious, quick and easy. I followed your instructions and it was very tasty!
Reply
- Jessica Randhawa says
  March 23, 2023 at 3:32 pm
  Thank you for the delicious feedback and rating, Patty 😀
  Reply
Rebecca K says
September 20, 2022 at 1:15 pm

It was ok to me but my whole family complained of too much bacon grease in the sauce. I wish I had followed my first instinct and drained half the fat. Next time I’ll try that and add more chicken broth and cream and I think it will be just right.
Reply
LORI says
August 31, 2022 at 7:31 am

YUM! (And it is easy.)
Reply
- Jessica Randhawa says
  August 31, 2022 at 10:39 am
  Thanks for the yummy feedback and rating, Lori 😀
  Reply
Emily says
July 26, 2022 at 3:44 pm
If I don’t have heavy cream on hand, could I use milk or buttermilk as a replacement?
Thanks!
Reply
- Jessica Randhawa says
  July 26, 2022 at 4:03 pm
  Definitely not buttermilk.
  You can try milk, but the milk might separate.
  Heavy cream would be best 🙂
  Reply
- Nicole says
  August 11, 2022 at 6:31 pm
  You can also use cream cheese instead of heave cream and the pasta water to thin it out.
  Reply
Marsha says
May 30, 2022 at 5:56 pm
My parmesan turned to goo
Reply
- PeggyAnn Cramer says
  June 29, 2022 at 2:40 pm
  If you heat the sauce very slowly and stir quite often, it doesn’t do that.
  Reply
May Ally says
March 14, 2022 at 10:49 am

Really great recipe! Prosciutto + Peas + Pasta is one of my favorites and using bacon works well, too. Thanks!
Reply
- Jessica Randhawa says
  March 14, 2022 at 1:34 pm
  Thanks for the really great feedback, May Ally 🙂
  Reply