This Pasta with Peas Recipe is a quick and easy dish that tosses small pasta noodles with a smooth and cheesy green pea sauce. It’s one of those meals you can throw together on a busy weeknight or when you’re too tired to cook. I would even make this dish during my shifts at the restaurant because it’s so easy!
Believe it or not, I crave quick, easy, and cheap meals more than the fancy stuff. I would happily trade the foie gras or lobster for my Tomato Basil Pasta any day. These recipes take almost no effort to make but always hit the spot when I’m too tired to cook anything else.
Pasta e Piselli
Pasta e Piselli, or peas with pasta, is one of my favorite comforting pasta recipes of all time. It combines short-cut al dente pasta with fresh or frozen green peas, vegetable stock, and grated parmesan cheese. These everyday ingredients are cooked together in about 10 minutes to give you a flavor-packed, simple pea pasta for dinner.
I make peas and pasta all the time because my family absolutely loves peas. My version of this Italian recipe blends the peas into an easy green pasta sauce, but you can easily leave some of the peas whole instead. If your family is anything like mine, they’ll love it either way.
If you want to go the extra mile, you can top the pasta with your favorite protein. You can’t go wrong with a sliced chicken breast or seared shrimp. That extra protein is *chef’s kiss* and saves you from having to make a bunch of side dishes.
Ingredients and Substitutions
I tested this recipe with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. There’s even room for a few extras if you’re ready to clean out your fridge.
- Pasta – I like using short pasta, like fusilli, cavatelli, ditalini, or casarecce. Pretty much any pasta that will trap the sauce is a great choice.
- Oil – I used olive oil to sauté the aromatics.
- Aromatics – Just a shallot and garlic cloves.
- Peas – I usually use frozen peas because they’re cheap and in my freezer year-round. Fresh peas are great, too, especially when they’re in season at the farmers’ market.
- Stock – Homemade vegetable stock is my top pick, with chicken stock a close second.
- Herbs – I blended the sauce with fresh basil. 1 teaspoon of dried basil works well, too.
- Cheese – Grated Parmigiano Reggiano is my favorite. It’s salty, savory, and cheesy, but most importantly, it makes this simple pasta feel a little more gourmet. Pecorino cheese works well as a substitute.
- Butter – I added a couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter at the end for just the right amount of body.
How to Make Pasta and Peas
Cook the pasta: I start by cooking the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until it’s al dente.
Sauté: Meanwhile, I heat up the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. I add the diced shallot, lightly season it with salt, and sauté until the edges start to brown. I stir in the garlic and cook it until it’s fragrant.
Add the peas: Next, I add the peas, another pinch of salt, and the vegetable broth to the saucepan. I cook the mixture over high heat for a couple of minutes to take the chill off the peas.
Blend: I transfer the pea mixture to a blender along with the basil leaves. I carefully blend until the sauce is completely smooth.
Combine: I pour the green sauce back into the saucepan along with half a cup of the reserved pasta cooking water. I season it with salt and pepper to taste.
Add cheese: Now that the pasta is cooked and drained, I add it to the saucepan with the sauce and toss to coat the noodles. Then I add some of the grated Parmigiano Reggiano and butter, and stir until the butter is melted.
Serve: Finally, the green pea pasta is ready to eat, topped with extra Parmigiano Reggiano.
Chef Tip + Notes
Believe me, if you have picky eaters at home who run at the sight of veggies on their plate, you’re going to want to blend the green peas. Not all pasta e piselli recipes blend the peas into a completely smooth sauce.
- Don’t drain all the pasta water: I always reserve at least 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before I drain the rest. This super starchy water is what makes simple pasta sauces (like this green pasta sauce) thick, creamy, and luxurious.
- Using fresh peas: I only add frozen peas to the saucepan with the stock for a quick defrost. If you’re using fresh peas or have defrosted them in advance, blend them with the sautéed aromatics and broth right away.
- Blending hot liquids: My Vitamix has a venting lid that allows steam to escape, making blending hot stock and peas much safer. Covering the lid with a kitchen towel is a trick I use to prevent splatter.
- Leave the peas whole: When I don’t want extra dishes to clean, I’ll cook everything in one pot and skip blending the sauce. I’ll start by sautéing the aromatics, then add the peas, stock, and uncooked pasta to the pot. It’s easy from there—just let everything simmer until the pasta is al dente, then finish with cheese and butter.
- Add more veggies: Cooked green beans, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, or spinach can all be stirred into the creamy pasta.
- For a spicy kick: When I want a little heat, I’ll blend the sauce with a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Serving Suggestions
This is exactly what I want for dinner after a long day. One bowl is comforting and filling as-is, but if I’m already at the grocery store, I’ll pick up a rotisserie chicken and serve it on top of the pasta. But, before I usually snack on my pimento cheese dip which is a great appetizer and highly recommend it.
This dish is always a hit for family dinners, too. I like to have some garlic bread on the table and pair the pasta with something fresh and simple on the side, like my panzanella salad.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can blend the aromatics, peas, and stock up to 1 day ahead of time. Keep it covered and refrigerated until you’re ready to stir it into the freshly cooked pasta.
How to Store: Store leftovers for 1 to 2 days in the fridge.
How to Reheat: I’ll usually add the leftovers to a saucepan over low-medium heat with a splash of stock. This loosens the sauce and makes the pasta creamy after it’s heated through.
More Easy Pasta Recipes
Pasta with Peas Recipe (Pasta e Piselli)
Ingredients
- 1 pound fusilli, cavatelli, casarecce, or similar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 peeled small diced shallot
- 2 finely minced garlic cloves
- 1 pound frozen or fresh peas
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 2 torn fresh basil leaves
- ½ cup pasta water
- ½ cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Add the pasta to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook according to the package instructions. For all the pastas listed above, it is 10 to 11 minutes for al dente. Remember to occasionally stir.
- In the meantime, add the olive oil to a large sauce pot or pan over medium heat. Add the shallot, give it a gentle season of salt, and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, or just until the edges start to turn light brown.
- Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 to 40 seconds.
- Then add the peas, season with salt, and pour in 2 cups of stock. Cook over high heat for 2 minutes. You are just looking to take the chill off the peas.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender along with the basil leaves. Add on the lid, and replace the center cap with a kitchen towel. Blend on high speed until it is completely smooth.
- Return the pea mixture to the sauce pot or pan along with a half cup of the pasta water. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
- At this point, the pasta should be done. Strain it and add it to the sauce pot along with the cheese and butter. Toss until everything is coated.
- Adjust any seasonings with salt and pepper and serve with additional finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Pasta with Peas Recipe