Pasta with Peas and Prosciutto

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Pasta with Peas and Prosciutto is the perfect spring meal. Fresh asparagus, mushrooms, a splash of crisp white wine, salty Parmesan shavings, and a few slices of savory prosciutto complete the 30-minute meal.

Pasta with peas and prosciutto on two plates with a glass of white wine.


 

Recipe ingredients

Labeled ingredients for pasta with peas and prosciutto.

Ingredient notes

  • Penne: Farfalle (AKA bowtie), rotini, campanelle, gemelli, cellentani, or any short-cut pasta will also work. Orecchiette is also ideal for catching the peas and sauce.
  • Asparagus: To trim, simply line up the spears in a row on a cutting board, then use a knife to cut where the stalks change in color from white to green. This removes the woody, tough-to-chew ends.
  • Frozen peas: If you’re lucky enough to have access to fresh peas, this pasta recipe is a great vehicle.
  • Prosciutto: I love the naturally-thin slices and the cured flavor prosciutto provides in this pasta recipe, but you can swap in bacon or pancetta if desired.
  • Mushrooms: Can’t find baby portobellos? Try white button mushrooms instead.
  • Dry white wine: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, or Sauvignon Blanc all taste incredible. Substitute with more chicken broth if you prefer to omit the wine.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. In a large pot, bring 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a rapid boil. Add pasta and cook 9 minutes. Add asparagus and peas and cook 3 minutes longer, 12 minutes total. Drain and do not rinse.
Pasta, peas, and asparagus in a silver colander.
  1. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add prosciutto and cook until crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a small bowl.
Prosciutto in a silver skillet.
  1. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the large skillet over medium-high heat and heat until shimmering. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add mushrooms to skillet and a pinch of salt and cook until all water had been released, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and wine (if using), scraping up any fond from the bottom of the pan. Cook until reduced by half, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in cream and Parmesan cheese until the cheese is melted.
Primavera sauce in a skillet.
  1. Stir in pasta, asparagus, peas, butter, and prosciutto, and toss until uniformly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish individual servings with additional Parmesan cheese and chives.
Pasta with peas and prosciutto in a silver skillet.

Recipe tips and variations

  • Yield: This recipe makes 8 veggie-packed servings with 2 ounces of pasta each.
  • Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
  • Make ahead: The pasta and asparagus can be cooked the day before. Store covered in the refrigerator (it’s okay to package them together). The vegetables and herbs can also be prepped 1 day ahead.
  • Primavera: For a similar meat-free entree, try Pasta Primavera. It has the same cream sauce and a lovely mix of vegetables including carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms, and zucchini.
  • Make it a meal: Build a spring menu around this pasta entree: Pour the adults glasses to finish the rest of the white wine, then add an Easy Garden Salad, Pesto Cheese Bread or Risotto, and Lemon Bars to complete the seasonal dinner.
Pasta with peas and prosciutto on two plates with a glass of white wine.

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A plate of Pasta with Peas and Prosciutto.

Pasta with Peas and Prosciutto

Pasta with peas and prosciutto is the perfect spring meal. Fresh asparagus, mushrooms, a splash of crisp white wine, salty Parmesan shavings, and a few slices of savory prosciutto complete the 30-minute meal.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Calories 604
5 from 10 votes

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • In a large pot, bring 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a rapid boil. Add pasta and cook 9 minutes. Add asparagus and peas and cook 3 minutes longer, 12 minutes total. Drain and do not rinse.
  • Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add prosciutto and cook until crisp, about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a small bowl.
  • Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the large skillet over medium-high heat and heat until shimmering. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  • Add mushrooms to skillet and a pinch of salt and cook until all water had been released, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and wine (if using), scraping up any fond from the bottom of the pan. Cook until reduced by half, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in cream and Parmesan cheese until the cheese is melted.
  • Stir in pasta, asparagus, and peas, butter, and prosciutto, and toss until uniformly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish individual servings with additional Parmesan cheese and chives.

Notes

  1. Penne: Farfalle (AKA bowtie), rotini, campanelle, gemelli, cellentani, or any short-cut pasta will also work. Orecchiette is also ideal for catching the peas and sauce.
  2. Asparagus: To trim, simply line up the spears in a row on a cutting board, then use a knife to cut where the stalks change in color from white to green. This removes the woody, tough-to-chew ends.
  3. Frozen peas: If you’re lucky enough to have access to fresh peas, this pasta recipe is a great vehicle.
  4. Prosciutto: I love the naturally-thin slices and the cured flavor prosciutto provides in this pasta recipe, but you can swap in bacon or pancetta if desired.
  5. Mushrooms: Can’t find baby portobellos? Try white button mushrooms instead.
  6. Dry white wine: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, or Sauvignon Blanc all taste incredible. Substitute with more chicken broth if you prefer to omit the wine.
  7. Yield: This recipe makes 8 veggie-packed servings with 2 ounces of pasta each.
  8. Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
  9. Make ahead: The pasta and asparagus can be cooked the day before. Store covered in the refrigerator (it’s okay to package them together). The vegetables and herbs can also be prepped 1 day ahead.
  10. Primavera: For a similar meat-free entree, try Pasta Primavera. It has the same cream sauce and a lovely mix of vegetables including carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms, and zucchini.
  11. Make it a meal: Build a spring menu around this pasta entree: Pour the adults glasses to finish the rest of the white wine, then add an Easy Garden Salad, Pesto Cheese Bread, and Lemon Bars to complete the seasonal dinner.

Nutrition

Calories: 604kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 23gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 722mgPotassium: 509mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1197IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 391mgIron: 3mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @culinaryhill on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! #culinaryhill
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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Comments

    1. The nutrition information is for one serving of the recipe (assuming you divide it into 8 portions). Nutrition information is never perfect either as there are tons of variations among ingredients. Just consider it an estimate/guide and not absolute fact. Thank you! – Meggan

    1. Hi Maurice, you can substitute it with grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy! – Meggan

  1. I love this recipe, I made it came out really good but I didn’t have any parmesan in the house or prosciutto, believe it or not I used hamburger made that in to Alfredo on the side and for the cheese I used mozzarella instead a little sticky, and parsley instead of chives all in all it came out pretty good the family loved it.

  2. This was excellent, and very satisfying! I had no small pasta, so used spaghetti instead, and it worked fine. I did add garlic while frying the mushrooms. I also added chicken base (bouillon) instead of salt while boiling the pasta, which I always do for more flavor. I reserve some of the pasta water and added It to the dish in order to keep it from being to dry.
    My husband loved it!5 stars

  3. I use diced pancetta instead of the prosciutto, then when cooking the mushrooms, I use about half the olive oil and the pan drippings from the pancetta. Family loves this recipe (oh and I use Parmesan as I can’t find Roth’s near me)

  4. What kind of cheese is used? Is it a gouda? Mozzarella? Parmesan? I only see a name brand.  5 stars

    1. Hi Becki, sorry about that! This post was sponsored by Roth Cheese so I listed only their brand name. And the Grand Cru isn’t any particular kind of cheese such as mozzarella or gouda. However, I’ve eaten it in spades and I can confidently say it most closely resembles Parmesan. I’ll add that to the recipe notes. Great question! Thank you! -Meggan