One-Pot Pasta with Peas and Bacon
Pasta with peas and bacon is an easy and delicious one-pot pasta dinner recipe and a great way to use that bag of peas in your freezer. We make ours with healthy yogurt, lots of peas, a squeeze of lemon, and just enough bacon so this recipe feels like a treat.
Why we love pasta with peas and bacon
- It's a creamy, cozy pasta dinner that we never tire of eating. It's like getting a hug from your dinner.
- Similar to alfredo only this recipe is much healthier.
- We make it with kitchen-staple ingredients so we can count on a tasty meal without a trip to the grocery store. If you keep some bacon and peas in your freezer and some yogurt in your fridge, you can make this.
- Ready in 30 minutes. Put down the phone, this recipe is faster than delivery!
- Using yogurt to make the pasta creamy lightens it up without sacrificing flavor.
- Lots of tasty peas.
- And a little lemon juice at the end to brighten things up.
READ MORE: Smoked Salmon Pasta
Pasta with peas and bacon FAQs
While any type of pasta will work with this recipe, we prefer to use pasta shapes that can help scoop the peas and bacon. In the pictures, we've used cavatappi. Shells, orecchiette, bow-tie, or macaroni all work great. Another option is to use a small pasta shape like orzo so that it's easy to scoop the pasta and peas together.
The pasta will go a little soft when it's reheated, but it is still delicious. We love having leftovers for lunch the next day!
Sure! Simply omit the bacon. For a little crunch, you can some sliced almonds at the end.
Easy pasta recipes
Pasta with Peas and Bacon Recipe
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 4 strips of bacon, sliced into ½ inch pieces
- ½ medium onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 ¼ cups chicken stock
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- A pinch of chili flakes
- 8 ounces dried pasta, any kind will work. see blog post for ideas!
- 2 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup plain yogurt, can sub sour cream
- Zest and juice from ½ lemon, about 2 tablespoons
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pot. If there are more than 2 tablespoons of oil in the pot, remove the extra. If there is less, add a little olive oil.4 strips of bacon
- Add the onion and garlic and cook until they are soft and begin to brown, about 5 minutes.½ medium onion, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the chicken stock, thyme, and chili flakes to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, stir, then cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring the pasta twice while it cooks.2 ¼ cups chicken stock, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, A pinch of chili flakes, 8 ounces dried pasta
- After 10 minutes there should still be a little liquid left in the bottom of the pot. Add the peas and stir. Add the yogurt, lemon zest, and lemon juice and stir one more time. Season to taste with salt and pepper.2 cup frozen peas, 1 cup plain yogurt, Zest and juice from ½ lemon, Salt and pepper
Notes
Serve with Kale Apple Salad or Roasted Greens Salad
Pin this bacon pea pasta recipe to save it for later!
Easy and quick recipe to make. Next time, I’ll probably add more vegetables to the recipe and bump it up with a fee more preferred spices.
Definitely going to save this recipe for the nights I need to throw a meal together on the fly.
Are you saying you do not pre-cook the pasta, that you cook it for only 10 minutes? Really?
That’s right! Most pasta shapes take about 8-12 minutes to cook. The ones that I recommend for this recipe take 10 minutes. 🙂
How do I keep the yogurt from curdling? Was there too much heat? Is there a way to add the lemon juice so it doesn’t curdle the yogurt? Should I use full fat yogurt? I like the idea of the recipe but am not happy with how mine turned out.
We always use full-fat yogurt here – no less than 6% but preferably higher. Dairy products can curdle if the heat is too high so it’s possible that is what happened. I’m sorry that it wasn’t a hit for you.
Made this tonight and it was great! Simple, and yet lots of flavor.
I didn’t have enough peas so I added edamame and corn as well!
Delicious recipe! The sauce is light and so tasty. Love the ease of one pot meals.
Thanks, Bobbi!
I love this recipe. I added a couple extra slices of bacon and topped with grated parmesan cheese.
I love these one pot meals!!
I’m so happy to hear that you loved the recipe!!
This was so simple and so good. Loved leftovers for lunch the next day too. Will make it again!
Yay! That’s so great to hear!
Very good! Made this last week. Substituted a few spoonfuls of mayonnaise for the yogurt and added extra bacon. Delicious!
I’m so happy to hear that the recipe was a hit!