Pasta with Peas

This pasta with peas recipe is the perfect blend of simplicity and fresh flavors, making it an ideal meal for busy weeknights. In just 20 minutes, you can have a delicious, comforting dish on the table—whether served warm as a satisfying entrée or chilled as a refreshing rotini and pea pasta salad. With tender pasta, sweet peas, and a light, flavorful sauce, this dish delivers bright, vibrant flavors in every bite. It’s easy to customize, making it perfect for meatless meals, potlucks, or even meal prep. Get ready to enjoy a quick, hearty, and absolutely delicious pasta dish!

Using seasonal veggies is one of the best ways to elevate flavors in any dish. Whether it’s ripe summer tomatoes for a rich pan fried meatballs or sweet peaches for our Bisquick peach cobbler, cooking with fresh ingredients makes a difference.

This pasta with peas recipe is no exception! It highlights spring peas and fresh basil, bringing vibrant flavors to your plate in just 20 minutes. Made with pantry staples, this easy pasta recipe is perfect for a quick meal. Plus, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese at the end adds a savory, cheesy touch, making this pasta with peas and Parmesan a simple yet irresistible dish.

Why We Love This Pasta with Peas Recipe

• Adaptable and versatile.
  You can make a fantastic pesto salad dressing with it or brush it onto a pesto cheese bread twist.
• Easy meal prep recipe.
  Because it can be made in 20 minutes, it’s easy enough to make after a busy day. It can also be made ahead and refrigerated for up to a week, so it’s super easy to have ready for lunches during the week.
• Delicious, hot or cold!
  This is a wonderful light meal on its own, or add chicken strips for a protein-packed warm dinner.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

For the Pesto

• Toasted pine nuts: This is the base of our pesto, and we also use it as a garnish to add some crunch to the dish. If you can’t find toasted pine nuts in the grocery store, you can toast raw nuts yourself. *See our tips section, below for instructions.
  
• Garlic: Don’t skip this, because it adds a boost of flavor to the pesto pasta with veggies. If you need a substitute for fresh garlic, garlic paste is super convenient.
  
• Lemon juice: Citrus adds a bright freshness to the pasta with peas. Using fresh lemon juice is really important. Bottled juice is concentrated, but the flavor is dull. If you need a substitute, white wine vinegar and freshly squeezed lime juice are both good choices.
  
• Fresh basil : Be sure the basil is fresh, with bright green leaves, not wilted or brown.
  
• Parmesan: Adds a salty nuttiness. Grated pecorino is a great substitute. If you want a vegan option, use a non-dairy cheese or nutritional yeast. Or, make this vegan pesto recipe.
  
• Olive oil: We recommend using high-quality, extra virgin olive oil. Its richness will enhance the flavors of the basil and parmesan.

For the Pasta

• Rotini: We use a twisty rotini to give the sauce something to cling to, but you can use any small shape you like.
  
• Frozen Peas: If you can’t make your pasta with veggies straight from the garden or farmer’s market, that’s fine. Frozen vegetables are a great way to get the flavor of fresh.
  
• Toasted pine nuts: These add crunch and nuttiness to the top of the dish. They can be expensive, so feel free to use chopped walnuts, almonds, or just some sunflower seeds instead.

Recipe Variations

• Make it gluten-free: Swap traditional pasta for your favorite gluten-free pasta to enjoy this dish without the wheat while keeping all the delicious flavors intact.
• Creamy: Stir in a splash of heavy cream for a rich, velvety texture. You can also blend part of the peas in a blender with cream for a silky, pea-infused sauce.
• Add some heat: Sprinkle in red pepper flakes for a touch of spice that balances the sweetness of the peas.
• Upgrade with bacon or pancetta: Stir in crispy bacon or pancetta for a savory, smoky twist that pairs beautifully with Parmesan or Pecorino Romano.
• Switch up the pasta shape: While rotini works well, try using ditalini, orecchiette, or even spaghetti for a different texture and bite.
• Boost the flavor with onion & garlic – Sauté finely chopped onion or garlic in olive oil before adding the peas to enhance the dish’s depth of flavor.

Equipment Used in this Recipe

• Food processor – for pesto sauce
• Large saucepan – for pasta
• Colander
• Large serving bowl

How to Make Pasta with Peas and Parmesan

Making pesto sauce for the pasta with peas is simple. But, there are some important tips to create the right consistency:

1. Wash, but do NOT soak the basil leaves.
   It’s important to remove any dirt or debris, but do not immerse the leaves in water. Just give them a quick rinse, then immediately pat them dry with paper towels.
2. Avoid over processing.
   Add the basil and parmesan to the bowl of a food processor and pulse just until the basil is chopped into small pieces. You want the pesto sauce to have some texture. If you process it too much, you’ll end up with baby food.

3. Add the oil very slowly.
   Have you ever heard the saying, “oil and water don’t mix”? Well, creating the pesto for this pasta salad requires a special technique, called an emulsion. This is because there is water in the fresh basil that we need to combine with the olive oil.
   Creamy sauces like homemade mayo, hollandaise, and pesto all require creating an emulsion so the water and fat molecules “stick” to one another.

4. Cook the rotini to al dente.
   What cooking to “al dente” means is, you want the noodles to have a little bite to them. This gives the dish some structure. Just cook the noodles for 1 minute less than the time recommended on the box.

5. Reserve some pasta water.
   Before you drain it in a colander, fill a heatproof measuring glass or bowl with the pasta water. We’ll use it to thin the pesto.
   Add the basil pesto and ¼ cup of pasta water to a large bowl. Whisk to combine, then add the pasta and peas to the bowl, and toss to combine.
   If the it is too dry, add an additional ¼ cup of starchy water.

6. Toast the pine nuts for extra flavor.
   Enjoy your salad with a garnish of toasted pine nuts on top. You may be able to find them already toasted. If not, just place the nuts into a dry skillet over medium heat.
   Cook them for a few minutes, tossing occasionally. When you notice a nutty aroma, pull them off of the heat.

Serving Suggestions

Hot Serving Option: For a simple, 20-minute meal, serve this pasta with peas recipe warm. It pairs perfectly with a side of soft garlic sourdough bread or homemade potato rolls for a comforting and satisfying dinner. The warmth of the dish enhances the flavors of the Parmesan or Pecorino Romano, making it extra creamy and delicious.

Cold Serving Option: Serve it chilled for a refreshing summer pasta salad! Add cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese for even more flavor and texture. This cold version is a great choice for potlucks, picnics, or cookouts at the park or beach.

Need some other easy pasta ideas?

Other delicious summertime favorite of ours is tortellini caprese salad.

Another warm dinner that we love is this pasta with meat sauce.

Recipe FAQs

Loving Pesto Sauce? We Have the Best Recipes…

• 15-Minute Pesto Gnocchi
  
• Instant Pot Pesto Chicken
  
• Twisty Pesto Bread Appetizer

If you tried this pasta with peas recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!

Quick Pasta with Peas

Renae Gerhardstein

5 from 14 votes

Pasta with peas is a delicious 20-minute dish with pesto pasta and fresh veggies. Enjoy it warm or chilled as a refreshing rotini pea pasta salad!

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Course: Main Course, Side Dish, Salad

Cuisine: Italian, American

Servings: 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Calories: 478

Equipment

• ▢
  food processor - (for pesto sauce)
• ▢
  large saucepan - (for pasta)
• ▢
  colander
• ▢
  large serving bowl

Ingredients

For the Pesto

• ▢ ¼ cup toasted pine nuts *See notes
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic or 1 tsp garlic paste
• ▢ ½ large lemon juiced
• ▢ 2 cups fresh basil leaves tightly packed
• ▢ ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese or Pecorino
• ▢ ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

For the Pasta

• ▢ 16 ounces rotini pasta (or rigatoni, bowtie, or other small pasta)
• ▢ 2 cups frozen peas

Garnish

• ▢ ¼ cup toasted pine nuts optional

Instructions 

For the Pesto

• Combine the pine nuts, garlic, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the garlic and nuts are broken up into small pieces.
• Add the basil and parmesan and pulse until the basil is broken up into small pieces as well.
• With the food processor on low, slowly add the olive oil. Continue to pulse until the pesto is smooth and lump-free. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Set aside until ready to use.

For the Pasta

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than al dente (check the time on the box as different brands will have different cook times).
• Add the peas and cook for an additional minute, or just until al dente.
• Remove 1 cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta and peas.
• Add the pesto and ¼ cup of pasta water to a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the pasta and peas to the bowl and toss to combine. If the pasta is too dry, add an additional ¼ cup of starchy pasta water. Season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
• Garnish with toasted pine nuts and enjoy. This pasta can be enjoyed warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
• Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

Notes

• If you can’t find toasted pine nuts in the grocery store, you can toast raw nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or just until fragrant.
• Garlic adds a delicious flavor to the pesto. Don’t skip it!
• We are using rotini pasta, but you could use any shape, like bowtie or cellentani – we recommend dried pasta, not fresh pasta.
• Frozen peas are a great shortcut for when fresh peas aren’t in season– if you have access to fresh peas, use those instead!

TFN Pro Tip:

• The key to creating an emulsion is to add the oil VERY slowly. Keep the food processor running while you drizzle in the olive oil.

TFN Pro Time Saving Tip!

• It doesn’t matter if you’re using frozen or fresh peas, just add them right into the pot of boiling water with the rotini during the final 2 or 3 minutes of cooking time.
• This will save you from having to dirty another dish, and save you time, too!

To make Pasta ahead of time:

Because it can be made in 20 minutes, it’s easy enough to make after a busy day. But it can also be made ahead and refrigerated for up to a week, so it’s super easy to have ready for lunches during the week.

How to Store Pasta:

Store leftover pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. To keep it fresh, toss it with a little olive oil before storing to prevent sticking.

For warm leftovers, reheat in a large skillet over low heat with a splash of water or broth to bring back moisture. You can also microwave it in short intervals, stirring in between to evenly warm it up.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 478kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 154mg | Potassium: 376mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 868IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 121mg | Iron: 2mg

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