Pasta with Pea Sauce

Why We Love This Recipe

• Great use of seasonal produce: This pasta uses some of our favorite spring flavors, like peas, leeks, mint, lemon and dill.
• Vegan and gluten free friendly: This dish is easy to make dairy free and can be made gluten free with an easy swap of your favorite gluten free pasta.
• Easy weeknight dinner: Perhaps the best part about this recipe is that it comes together in just about 30 minutes, perfect for an easy weeknight meal!
• Creamy, flavorful sauce, without cream or butter! The pea pasta sauce is super creamy and rich, but surprisingly light, as we use vegetable broth in place of cream. Lemon juice and zest pack a punch of flavor, and fresh herbs really take things to the next level.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this pea pasta:

Ingredient Notes

• Pasta: We used fusilli in this recipe but feel free to swap it out with rotini or any shape you prefer. Use gluten free if needed!
• Peas: We recommend using frozen peas in this recipe since they're typically easy to find year round and more cost effective. If using fresh peas, the proportions change slightly, so use 2 ¼-2 ½ cups of the fresh peas. Additionally, most frozen peas are flash-steamed before they're frozen, meaning they're already ready to eat. Fresh peas, however, will need to be steamed first or sautéed for longer, adding extra (unnecessary steps) to this recipe.
• Pasta water: Make sure to salt the water prior to boiling (we add 1 teaspoon of salt for every quart of water). We then save some of the pasta water for later use (we ended up using about ¼ cup), which makes the sauce extra creamy and helps loosen it up if it thickens up too much.
• Lemon juice and zest: Freshly squeezed is always best! And don't skip the zest - it adds a TON of flavor.
• Parmesan: You can sub with a vegan alternative if needed to keep this recipe dairy free.
• Herbs: We wouldn't recommend subbing in dried herbs in this recipe – fresh are really needed to flavor the pea sauce.

Step-by-step Instructions

PREP: Cook pasta according to package directions in salted water. Reserve ~1 cup of pasta water in case you need to use it in the sauce. Drain pasta.

(1) Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook for additional 2-3 minutes.

(2) Add one cup of the peas, mint, dill, lemon zest, salt, and pepper to the leek mixture. Stir well and cook for 6-7 minutes, until vegetables are softened.

(3 & 4) Add pea and leek mixture to a blender with the vegetable broth and lemon juice. Blend until smooth and creamy.

(5) Add 1 tablespoon oil to the same skillet with remaining peas and sauté for 5 minutes, until softened.

(6) Add the cooked pasta, pea sauce and parmesan to the skillet and remove from heat. Stir well to coat. If the sauce is too thick, add in a few tablespoons of reserved pasta water as needed. 

(7) Garnish with more parmesan and fresh dill and serve warm.

Expert Tips and FAQs

• Top it with burrata: For an extra delicious pasta, top the finished dish with burrata and a drizzle of olive oil, pea shoots and red pepper flakes.
• Salting your pasta water: Adding salt to your pasta water is the best way to season the pasta. As a general rule of thumb, we add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per quart of water. Add the salt before boiling. (It may sound like a lot, but most of it gets poured out when you drain the pasta!)
• Don't overcook the pasta: Make sure to cook your pasta al dente, as it continues to cook slightly after it comes off the stove. If overcooked, the pasta may be too soft and mushy, which isn't ideal for this recipe.
• Storage: While this pasta with pea sauce is served best hot, leftovers will keep well for up to 4 days in the fridge.
• Reheating: Reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stovetop. You may need to stir in a little bit of water or vegetable broth to loosen it up.
• Freezer: While we haven't tried it, we don't think this pea pasta will freeze well, as the texture of the pasta will change when defrosted.
• Customize it: While this pasta is filling and delicious on its own, feel free to add additional vegetables like broccoli, green beans, zucchini, corn, or anything else you have on hand. You can also top it with a protein of choice! For a vegan option, I like adding in some white beans.

More Easy Pasta Recipes

Tried this recipe? Leave a comment with a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ below. You can also snap a photo and tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram. We can't wait to see what you're cooking!