This One Pot Pea and Bacon Pasta recipe is super quick and easy to put together – even the pasta gets cooked right in the creamy sauce!
“That’s just something I’ll never do!”
Sound familiar? Well, I guess most of us have been there.
We insist on totally not being that girl who runs after every trend but then we cave and buy alll the PSLs our Starbucks has to offer during fall.
We claim we will not ever let our boyfriend see us without makeup, even after getting married. Riiight.
And I’ve been known to shout it from the rooftops – nope, I’m not going to make one pot pastas.
No, that’s not exactly what I said. It was more along the lines of “yeah sure, I’ll continue cooking seven course meals, three times a day with a baby. She’ll sleep all day long anyways.”
And do you know what happened next? This One Pot Spinach Pea Pasta, that’s what.
Even though I struggled with coming to terms with the fact that motherhood also meant not cooking fancy oyster and caviar concoctions (I’m exaggerating) – secretly I SO fell in love with the beauty of simple cooking.
I mean, did you see the amount of dishes there’s to wash after a one pot meal? It’s like a dream come true.
I’ve made this particular pea and bacon pasta a few times now and this is definitely my favorite version I’m sharing with you today.
I tried cooking it in cream, I tried adding lemon zest and chili and I tried various amounts of cheese.
While I do encourage you to try the lemon zest/chili thingy if you like your food with a punch, the recipe works pretty much perfectly otherwise and you will end up with a lovely pot full of fragrant, creamy bacon pasta.
And all you’ll have to wash up is one pot.
OK, maybe a chopping board and knife as well.
Now one more thing: I know not everyone appreciates a post full of process pictures and a lot of people want to get to the recipe straight away without too much scrolling.
For those who still like the guidance of process pictures, you can download a PDF of the one pot pea and bacon pasta recipe with step-by-step pictures here. For everyone else – I’ll be quiet now 🙂
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- 12.5 ounces uncooked mini pasta shells, 355g
- 3 cups chicken stock, 700ml
- 1 1/4 cups whole OR low-fat milk, 295ml
- 1 cup frozen peas, 140g
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup sour cream, 110g, reduced fat is fine
- 1.5 ounces parmesan, shredded, 42g
- Parsley, chopped
- Extra cheese and parsley, optional
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium high heat and cook the bacon until it’s browned and crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside. Leave as much or as little bacon fat in the pot as you like.
- Pour the stock and milk into the hot pan (carful about splattering!) and add the pasta shells, peas and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook for about 7 minutes or until the pasta is ready.
- Take the pot off the heat and quickly stir in the sour cream.
- Add the cheese, parsley and crispy bacon to the pasta and combine.
- Serve immediately with extra cheese and parsley if you like.
