Pasta with Bacon and Peas

Pasta with Bacon and Peas

from budgetbytes.com
25 min

Pasta with Bacon and Peas is a quick, satisfying, and inexpensive meal that you can make with ingredients that you can keep on hand.

Ingredients

  • 8 oz. pasta*
  • 6 oz. bacon
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

Directions

  1. 1

    Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to boil until the pasta is tender (7-10 minutes). Reserve about a half cup of the starchy pasta water before draining the pasta in a colander.

  2. 2

    While the pasta is boiling, cook the bacon. Add the bacon to a large skillet and cook over medium heat until brown and crispy. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate with a slotted spoon. Drain most of the bacon grease from the pan, leaving about 2 Tbsp.

  3. 3

    While the bacon is cooking, finely dice the onion. Add the diced onion to the remaining bacon grease and sauté until tender (about 5 minutes).

  4. 4

    Add the frozen peas and about ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water to the skillet. Continue to cook and stir until the peas have heated through.

  5. 5

    Add the drained pasta to the skillet, stir to combine, and remove from the heat.

  6. 6

    Top the pasta with Parmesan, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and crumbled bacon. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking.