With just three simple ingredients and a few minutes, my Pasta With Pea Pesto Recipe will be on your dinner table tonight! This delicious vegetarian pasta recipe will quickly become a family favorite dinner.
Get ready for a simple recipe that is oh so delicious and will take just minutes to make for dinner tonight.
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Pasta and Peas
My Italian grandma called it pasta e piselli and this recipe brings back delicious memories of her.
Pasta and peas cook together in the same pot!
Drain the peas and pasta and toss with pesto.
That’s it folks! I mean, really now, can it get any easier than that?
And if you are feeding a hungry group you can easily double the recipe.
Now you can always jazz things up a bit and add chopped sundried tomatoes, halved grape tomatoes, a dollop of ricotta cheese or burrata.
You can even top your pesto pasta with cooked chicken or shrimp.
Maybe add a sprinkle of gremolata topping, lemon zest or shaved or grated Parmesan cheese over the pasta before serving. Oh yum!
The perfect recipe for busy weeknights, this pasta and peas recipe is so simple and yet you can easily dress it up when you want to.
Any way you serve it, you have to agree that this is one delicious pasta dish!
And while we're talking about pesto, you'll want to read all about pesto!
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How to make a recipe for pasta and peas
Scroll down for the full recipe instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below
- Step 1: Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook pasta according to the package directions, adding the frozen peas during the past 3 minutes of the cooking time.
- Step 2: Drain the pasta and peas in a colander.
- Step 3: In a serving dish, toss the drained pasta and peas with the pesto.
Hint: Be sure to add the peas during the last 3 minutes of the cooking time for the pasta. If you add the peas sooner they will get overcooked.
Expert recipe tips
- Top with a dollop of ricotta cheese.
- Add burrata on top of the pasta.
- Stir in chopped sundried tomatoes or halved grape tomatoes.
- Top with thinly sliced fresh basil.
- Sprinkle with gremolata before serving.
- Turn this easy pasta recipe into a hearty pasta dish and top it with cooked chicken or shrimp.
- This recipe doubles easily to feed more people
- If you want a saucy pasta add some of the pasta cooking water when tossing the pasta, peas and pesto together
Substitutions
- I used my pea pesto with mint to make this recipe but you can always use a storebought pesto instead.
- Make this pasta recipe with your favorite shape of pasta instead of the rigatoni that I used.
- You can substitute whole wheat pasta or chickpea pasta for the pasta
- Want more veggies? Substitute frozen peas and carrots for the frozen peas.
- Baby peas or fresh peas can be used in place of frozen peas
Variations
- Creamy Pasta- Add a splash of heavy cream
- Pasta with Pancetta - Top the pasta with crispy pancetta or cooked bacon
- Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes - Stir in sundried tomatoes, chopped vine-ripened tomatoes or halved grape tomatoes
- Pasta with Almond Basil Pesto - You make this recipe with my homemade basil pesto too!
Equipment
- Pasta pot
- Colander
- Kitchen scale
- Measuring cups
- Wooden spoon
Storage
- Store any leftover peas and pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- The pasta and peas will stay fresh for 2-3 days.
- As always, I find it helpful to visit the FDA website for food storage guidelines
Ingredients
Pasta with peas ingredients:
- Rigatoni pasta
- Frozen peas
- Pesto with peas
Easy Pasta Recipes
Looking for more easy pasta recipes? Give these a try!
What to serve with
These are my favorite dishes to serve with pesto pasta and peas:
Pasta With Pea Pesto Recipe
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Ingredients
- 8 ounces rigatoni pasta
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
- 1/2 cup pesto with peas
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Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Cook pasta according to the package directions, adding the frozen peas during the past 3 minutes of the cooking time.
- Drain the pasta and peas, transfer to a serving bowl and toss with the pesto.
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