One Pot Ham and Pea Pasta

4.67 from 3 votes

A savory, creamy one-pan pasta dish featuring smoky diced ham, sweet green peas, and a delicious Garlic & Herb Boursin cheese sauce!

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: servings

Calories: 483kcal

Author: Nora from Savory Nothings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
1.5 cups diced ham or more if you like (Note 1)
3 cloves garlic minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dried parsley
6 cups chicken broth plus extra as needed (Note 2)
1 (12-oz) box uncooked pasta I either like using long, thin shapes here, like Linguine; or a very short shape like shells
1.5 cups frozen peas
1 (5-oz) package Boursin cheese with garlic and herbs OR 4oz regular cream cheese plus some extra seasoning
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Sauté ham and garlic:
Melt butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Sauté ham for 1-2 minutes, then stir in garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant.
3 tablespoons butter, 1.5 cups diced ham, 3 cloves garlic
Roux:
Reduce heat to low. Stir in flour and parsley for one minute (Note 3). Then, stir in the broth while stirring continuously; making sure no lumps remain. Bring to a boil once, then reduce to a simmer.
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 6 cups chicken broth
Cook pasta and peas:
Add the uncooked pasta to the skillet, making sure to submerge it in liquid (break in half if needed). Simmer over medium heat until pasta is almost done, stirring a few times (Note 4).
1 (12-oz) box uncooked pasta
Finish cooking:
Stir in the peas and finish cooking for 4-5 minutes, or until pasta is done and sauce is creamy. Take off the heat.
1.5 cups frozen peas
Finish:
Stir in Boursin (or cream cheese) and parmesan and serve immediately. I like sprinkling a little chopped parsley and grated lemon zest on my portion, my husband likes some red pepper flakes on his!
1 (5-oz) package Boursin cheese with garlic and herbs, ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Video

Notes

Note 1: Use diced ham, or dice your own leftover ham. You can also buy thick ham steaks and dice them. Very thin deli ham might not work well.
Note 2: Chicken broth is my favorite here, but vegetable broth works just as well. I would personally not recommend beef broth.
Note 3: Only cook the flour for a few seconds. Don't let it get brown, or the sauce will look and taste off.
Note 4: Make sure the pan doesn't get too hot when simmering the pasta; otherwise it could start sticking to the bottom.

Leftovers

If you have a lot of leftovers, they taste great as a pasta bake! Add to a buttered dish with ½ cup of broth (to keep from drying out), sprinkle with cheese and bake at 400°F for around 20 minutes.

Nutrition