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Creamy pasta with chunks of savory ham and tender sweet peas comes together in less than 30 minutes for this pasta night favorite. Whether you start with leftover ham or grab ham specifically to make this, everyone will love it!
Pasta with Ham and Peas
We had a whole lot of ham left over after Thanksgiving and I could hardly wait to make a pasta dish with it. I love the salty bite of ham in contrast with cream and pasta.
While I highly recommend making the entire recipe as written, especially if you have a family of hearty eaters, the recipe can be halved for fewer servings. I’ve listed this as 8 servings, but my teenagers easily polished it off with second helpings.
The recipe can also be tweaked if you don’t quite have 4 cups of ham, three will still work. Have extra of something? Sneak it in, it will be just fine. The only part I stay fairly true to is the cream sauce. You do need the right proportions of cream and butter and broth to make it work as desired.
Ham and Pea Pasta
This easy pasta recipe is a tasty way to use up leftover ham with just a few additional items that are easy to find in most any grocery store. If leftover ham isn’t in the cards, grab a couple ham steaks from the store to dice up and use here.
Leftovers don’t last long with teenagers around, so I’ve started stashing a lunch portion before dinner even hits the table most nights. Thankfully, I managed to stash some for myself this time—and it reheated beautifully. Honestly, with how much my crew loves this, I can’t see myself making a smaller batch anytime soon. Maybe next time I’ll try saving enough for two lunches.
Ham and Pea Pasta Recipe
The simple step-by-step directions here have you building your sauce from a simple base of butter, garlic, and flour. Simmer that with your Italian seasoning and heavy cream before adding the chicken broth. Start with two cups and if it is still too thick add a splash or two more.
Add the pasta, peas, and ham. Stir to combine over the heat just briefly to warm up the peas and ham. Then dinner is ready! It really is that easy.
I originally made this dish with angel hair pasta and the whole family loved it. However, over time, I’ve made it with a bunch of different pastas. It turns out that the smaller bite-size pastas are everyone’s favorite for this dish. So, I’ve reshot it to show how we make it today.
Pasta with Vegetables
Pasta and vegetables are a fast, easy, tasty option for dinner any night of the week. Broccoli Pasta with garlic, lemon, and Parmesan cheese is a light, flavorful main dish or a perfect side with grilled chicken or steak.
Creamy mushroom pasta is cream sauce perfection with sauteed mushrooms, garlic, parmesan cheese, and spaghetti noodles. And this tender pasta with broccoli and mushrooms in a garlicky cream sauce is a quick dinner that my whole family enjoys. If you love mushrooms as much as we do, you’ll want to try both of these recipes.
The rich flavors of butter, garlic, and lemon come together with the earthiness of fresh asparagus to create a dish you will immediately crave again. I have never had leftovers when making this recipe.
Ham and Pea Pasta
Ingredients
- 16 ounces bite-size pasta
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 8 garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper adjust to taste
- 4 cups cooked ham chopped into ½-inch pieces, about 1 pound
- 2 cups frozen peas
- ¼ cup Parmesan OPTIONAL
- 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped
Instructions
- Cook and drain the pasta, according to the directions on the package. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in an extra-large skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant and then sprinkle with flour. Whisk to combine and then drizzle in the chicken broth while continuing to whisk constantly.
- Slowly add the cream and the Italian seasonings. Continue to whisk until incorporated. Continue cooking for about 4-5 minutes, until thickened. If the mixture is too thick, add a splash more chicken broth. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper, adjust the amounts as desired.
- Return the pasta to the sauce and toss well to coat thoroughly. Add the ham, peas, and Parmesan if desired. Stir to combine. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi
This sounds delicious, however, I no longer eat pork or beef. Any thoughts on a replacement protein? Perhaps chicken sausage?
Thank you for sharing!
Rhonda 🙂
Chicken sausage, or any kind of chicken, would be great here.
Made this for dinner and it is FANTASTIC! This will be on our meal rotation! (Next time I may add finely chopped onion and a few red pepper flakes…)
Happy to hear that the pasta has become a staple in your household. It’s a recent favorite in ours as well. Adding some onion and red pepper sounds like a delicious idea.
This looks like a must try dish, even if I have to go buy the ham. I just posted about another of your dishes.