Creamy Pasta with Bacon and Peas

Creamy, cheesy, and made with two types of peas plus bacon, this creamy bacon and pea pasta is a simple weeknight meal that's super fast to make and everyone will enjoy!

It's a fun one when you're craving pasta but want something quick and easy and that has a few sneaky veggies inside!

Creamy Pea and Bacon Pasta

Our garden has been severely ravaged by wandering chickens. The little buggers ignored it for weeks and then one day just discovered that it existed. I walked outside to find all of my beet tops, spinach, and lettuce eaten to the ground and some serious pecking to the cabbage and pea plants.

Ever since, I've been leaving the birds in their coop unless I'm outside to chase them out of the garden. The kids have been pretty sad about not having the chickens out, and my oldest asked me the other day when they will "be out of timeout." I decided their timeout will end when the peas are done producing. I just love garden peas and can't sacrifice them to the chickens. They can have their run over the garden after I can eat some peas.

Fresh peas are nothing like you've ever eaten. They are sweet as peaches and just as soft. They are so delicious. I rarely have enough peas to cook with because we eat them raw, straight off the vine. In my future garden life, I hope to plant lots and lots of peas. Here is a fantastic recipe using both round green peas and snow peas. I loved how well this recipe came together. The rich and cheesy cream sauce, sweet pop of peas, with pieces of crunchy, salty bacon dripping over hot pasta is the kind of thing foodie-dreams are made of. This was so very good. Please make it. Tonight. Pasta with peas and bacon was just meant to be.

What kind of peas are in this pasta?

This pasta is made with freshly shelled green peas and roughly chopped snow peas. If you can't find fresh green peas, you can use frozen. If you can't find snow peas, just double the green peas.

How do you cook bacon for pasta?

Chop up the raw bacon with a sharp knife into small pieces, about ¼ to ½-inch in size. Add the bacon to a skillet over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until it's crispy and darker brown in color, but not black. Remove the bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess grease.

What kind of pasta do you use?

You can use any pasta you like for this dish! We had great luck using fettuccine noodles -- it always goes great with a creamy sauce (similar to fettuccine Alfredo).

How can you tell pasta is done cooking?

You cook most past for about 8 to 12 minutes, but consult the instructions on your pasta package. You can test the pasta for doneness by tasting it -- it shouldn't be hard, but it shouldn't be so soft it's mushy either.

How to make creamy pasta with peas and bacon:

1. Chop the raw bacon and add to a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until crispy.
2. Move the bacon to a plate. Leave bacon drippings in pan.
3. Add onion and garlic to bacon grease and cook over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes.
4. Whisk in cream cheese, cream, and cheeses.
5. Add chopped snow peas, green peas, salt, and pepper. Let the mixture simmer 10 minutes.
6. Serve the hot cream mixture on top of hot cooked noodles.
7. Sprinkle some of the cooked bacon on top of each serving and salt and pepper to taste.

 

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Other Great Pasta Recipes

• Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Pasta
• One Pot Cheesy Sausage Pasta
• One Pot Pasta Primavera
• Skillet Taco Pasta
• Steak and Mushroom Marinara

 

This post was originally published in 2012, and has been updated and rephotographed in February 2020.

Creamy pasta with peas and bacon is a delicious and satisfying meal with everything you could ever want: simple directions, a creamy sauce with bacon, and a crunch of green veggies!