You will fall in love at first bite with this easy to make creamy pancetta and peas pasta.

Creamy pancetta and peas pasta

From the recipe collection of Tara Ippolito

How good does creamy pancetta and peas pasta sound for dinner? Sign me up!

It’s so quick and easy to put together, too. This can totally be done as a fast weekday dinner.

I make a lot of pasta and sometimes it’s easy for me to fall into a rut.

I find myself making the same couple of things over and over again.

Granted it’s good but sometimes I like to shake my taste buds up a little bit.

This creamy pancetta and peas pasta was exactly what I needed.

The flavors are out of this world together! It’s one of those addicting pasta dishes that you just can’t seem to stop eating.

The crispy pancetta mixed with the creamy sauce and the little pop of the peas is all so incredible together.

Like I said earlier, the recipe is super easy to make, too.

Good food that’s fast and easy to make is right up my alley.

This became an instant family favorite dinner at my house. I know if you try this one you’ll fall in love with it,too.

Other Italian dinner recipes

If you like Italian food like this creamy pancetta and peas pasta, here are a few other recipes you’ll love also. 

• Classic Italian meatballs
• Chicken cutlets
• creamy tomato ravioli sauce
• Creamy sausage rigatoni
• The best vodka sauce
• Tik Toks famous Alfredo sauce.

What is pancetta?

To be blunt, pancetta is basically Italian bacon. It’s not smoked like bacon so it doesn’t have that Smokey flavor to it. But it’s pretty much the same thing.

Pancetta is seasoned pork belly that needs to be cooked before it’s eaten.

They both have very similar taste and textures.

Pancetta is sold at most grocery stores. Either in rounds or already diced up.

If you have a hard time finding it, just ask a grocery store employee. They will point you in the right direction.

What can I use to substitute pancetta?

Well, since pancetta is so similar to bacon, that would be the first option for a substitution.

If you don’t have pancetta just use that.

Another great substitution would be prosciutto.

Prosciutto crisps up so nicely it would be great also.

What pasta should I use?

I think this really boils down to personal preference. I used farffale or bow ties as I grew up calling them.

If you ask the pasta experts, there are actually “right” pastas to pick for certain sauces.

It’s usually recommended to choose a flat long pasta when eating a cream sauce.

Something like spaghettini, fettuccine or linguine would work wonderfully.

If you want to just use up what you have in the pantry go for it. It’s not a big deal.

Why the pasta water?

You’re going to see pasta water and an ingredient in this recipe.

People who have never cooked with that before often ask me why it’s necessary to add it. Either that or they’re confused on what pasta water even is.

Pasta water is literally the water that you’re pasta is boiling in.

Before you drain the water, reserve a ladle of the water to add taao the sauce.

The salty, starchy water is like pasta gold and here’s why:

• The salty water adds another flavor level to the sauce.

• The starch thickens the sauce and also helps it adhere to the pasta.

This little tip of adding pasta water works on almost every sauce. So next time you’ve got some in the stove give it a try.

Creamy pancetta and peas pasta ingredients

• Bow tie pasta
• Pancetta diced
• Diced onion
• Chopped garlic
• Italian seasoning
• Garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• Frozen peas
• Parmesan cheese
• Pasta water

Instructions

First, heat the pancetta in a large pan until crispy

Then add the onion, garlic and Italian seasoning.

Sauté that until the onion is soft.

Now add the heavy cream.

Next add the Parmesan cheese.

Then add the peas.

Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder & stir the peas into the sauce. They will breaks apart and thaw quickly.

Boil the pasta in salted water an let the sauce simmer.

Add a ladle of pasta water to the sauce. This will help to thicken it up.

Now add the pasta to the sauce and stir to combine.

Reseason it if you need to.

Finally transfer it to a serving dish and enjoy!

Creamy pancetta and peas pasta recipe video

What’s a good appetizer?

Now that you’ve got dinner taken care of, here are a few great appetizer ideas if you’re looking for some inspiration.

• Garlic cheesy bread
• Hot artichoke dip
• Classic knorr spinach dip
• Copycat Applebees spinach and artichoke dip