Crème Fraiche Pasta Recipe with Peas and Bacon
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This easy crème fraiche pasta recipe with peas and bacon comes together in about 30 minutes. A silky crème fraîche sauce, smoky bacon, sweet peas, and lemon zest create a simple pasta dinner that's rich, balanced, and perfect for busy weeknights.
If you love simple pasta recipes, try this reader-favorite one pot pasta too.
What I Love About This Crème Fraiche Pasta
There's something wonderfully simple about a pasta sauce made with crème fraîche. It melts into a velvety sauce that coats the pasta beautifully without needing a lot of ingredients.
This pasta combines a few favorite flavors:
- smoky bacon for depth
- sweet peas for freshness
- bright lemon zest for balance
- creamy crème fraîche for a rich but light sauce
The result is a pasta dish that feels cozy enough for cooler evenings but still fresh enough for spring dinners.
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Key Ingredients
Ingredient measurements are listed in the recipe card below, but here are the key ingredients that make this creamy crème fraiche pasta so flavorful and easy to prepare.
- Pasta - Orecchiette is my favorite for this recipe because the small cups catch the creamy sauce, but shells, penne, or rigatoni also work well.
- Green onions - These provide a gentle sweetness and mild onion flavor that pairs beautifully with the creamy sauce.
- Garlic - Adds depth and aromatic flavor to the pasta.
- Bacon - Crispy bacon brings smoky richness that balances the creaminess of the sauce.
- Red pepper flakes - Just a pinch adds subtle warmth and balances the richness.
- Parmesan cheese - Freshly grated Parmesan melts into the sauce and adds a savory, nutty flavor.
- Crème fraîche - The star ingredient. Crème fraîche creates a silky, slightly tangy sauce that coats the pasta beautifully.
- Lemon zest - A little lemon zest brightens the entire dish and keeps the sauce from feeling too heavy.
- Frozen peas - Sweet peas add color, freshness, and a gentle sweetness that complements the bacon and cream.
How to Make Crème Fraiche Pasta
To begin, cook the pasta al dente according to the package instructions in salted water. During the last minute of cooking, add the frozen peas. Also, reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining. This helps make the sauce.
Trim and thinly slice the green onions on the diagonal, then chop the bacon. Set a few aside of each to garnish the finished dish.
- Step 1: Sauté green onions and bacon. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and saute the green onions until softened. Add the bacon, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook until the bacon is crispy. Meanwhile, cook the pasta.
- Step 2: Make the sauce. In a large bowl, combine the Parmesan, crème fraîche, and lemon zest. Stir in ½ cup of reserved pasta water until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the green onion and bacon mixture.
- Step 3: Stir together. Toss the cooked pasta and peas until fully combined. Add additional pasta water if desired to loosen the sauce.
To Garnish
Plate the pasta and garnish with the reserved sliced green onions, crispy bacon, and extra Parmesan cheese. A pinch of red pepper flakes adds gentle heat, while a bit more lemon zest brightens the creamy sauce just before serving.
Easy Variations
This pasta is very adaptable, making it a great base recipe for experimenting with ingredients you already have in the kitchen.
- Add chicken: Stir in shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover roasted chicken for a heartier meal.
- Use pancetta instead of bacon: Pancetta adds a more traditional Italian flavor and works beautifully with the creamy sauce.
- Add greens: Baby spinach or arugula can be stirred in at the end of cooking for extra freshness.
- Make it vegetarian: Skip the bacon and sauté mushrooms instead for a rich, savory flavor.
- Try different pasta shapes: Orecchiette works well because it catches the creamy sauce, but shells, rigatoni, or penne are also excellent choices.
If you enjoy creamy pasta dishes like this one, try this spring one-pot ground turkey and asparagus pasta, or this easy and creamy salmon dill pasta, also made with creme fraiche.
Recipe FAQ's
Crème fraîche creates a rich, silky sauce that coats pasta beautifully. Unlike cream or sour cream, it has a slightly nutty flavor and higher fat content, which prevents it from curdling when heated.
Yes. Sour cream can be substituted, although it has a tangier flavor. To prevent curdling, remove the pan from heat before stirring it into the pasta.
Short pasta shapes like orecchiette, shells, penne, or rigatoni work best because they hold the creamy sauce well.
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Crème Fraiche Pasta with Peas and Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 bunches green onions chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 4-5 strips bacon chopped
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup creme frache
- 1 lemon zested
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Cook pasta to al dente, according to package instructions, in salted water. During the last minute of cooking, add frozen peas. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
- Trim and thinly slice green onions on the diagonal and chop the bacon. Set a side a few of each to garnish the finished dish.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped green onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the bacon, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes. Continue to cook until the bacon is done and the green onions are beginning to brown and char; about 6 to 7 minutes total.
- While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce. In a large bowl, combine the Parmesan, creme fraiche, and lemon zest; stir to combine. Then stir in ½ cup of reserved pasta water until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the green onions and bacon mixture.
- Once the pasta and peas are cooked. Add the pasta to the sauce; toss until fully combined. Add additional pasta water if desired to loosen the sauce.
Notes
- Salt the pasta water well. Properly salted water helps season the pasta from the inside and makes the finished dish more flavorful.
- Reserve the pasta water. The starchy pasta water helps loosen the crème fraîche sauce and allows it to coat the pasta smoothly.
- Don't overheat the crème fraîche. Stir it into the pasta off the heat or over very low heat to maintain its silky texture.
- Use freshly grated Parmesan. Pre-shredded cheese doesn't melt as smoothly and can affect the sauce texture.
- Pasta options: Orecchiette works beautifully because it catches the sauce, but shells, penne, or rigatoni are great alternatives.
- Substitute for crème fraîche: Sour cream can be used in a pinch. For best results, stir it off the heat to prevent curdling.
- Make it vegetarian: Omit the bacon and sauté sliced mushrooms instead for a savory alternative.
- Leftovers: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat gently with a splash of milk or pasta water to loosen the sauce.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
More Recipes You Might Like to Try:
- Crockpot Buffalo Mac and Cheese
- Crispy Gnocchi Caprese Salad
- Shrimp Pasta Recipe with Tomatoes and Spinach
- Creamy One Pot Pasta with Chicken
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Hello, what is the equivalent of 1 Cup in grams or milliliters. I'm in the UK and we don't use cups as measurements anymore. Google said 1 cup could mean 240g or 250g of liquid but if it's 1 cup of flour it's 120g. I'm very confused. Please help. Many thanks 😊
Thank you, Jade, for your question. For the dry pasta, it should be about 450g. The crème fraiche metric equivalent would be about 177g and the peas would be 145g. Let me know if you have any more questions!
What a delicious and light pasta! I used roasted garlic I had on hand and yellow onion that I let caramelize a bit. We don't each much pasta in my home but we love hearts of palm "pasta" and the angel hair version worked perfectly.
Hello Stephanie I would like to do this recipe with jumbo pasta shells as I love all the ingredients but I do not like ricotta, and wondered what I could use instead. Any ideas please? Thanks KT (UK)
Sorry Stephanie, my post doesn't make sense. I meant to say that most recipes with stuffed shells use ricotta. Oops!
It made sense to me, Katie! I love the idea of making this dish with jumbo shells. And I completely understand not loving ricotta. The best substitution is cottage cheese (it has a milder flavor but a similar texture). But Greek yogurt and sour cream are also good options. Both of these, as you know, have a more tangy flavor. I've not substituted the ricotta in this recipe, if you make it, I'd love to hear how it turned out!
This was really delicious and super easy to make. My teenager devoured it!
Hi Michelle! I'm so glad your family loved it. It's wonderful when they love recipes that are easy to make! I have a 20-year-old that loves it too.
Do you cook the bacon before adding to the green onion mixture? Do you pre-cook bacon and chop to add in?
Hi Caroline, I usually begin by cooking the green onions in a skillet for a couple of minutes before adding the bacon. I then continue to cook both the green onions, garlic, and bacon together until it is crispy. I do chop the bacon quite small though, which speeds up the cooking time. If you are using larger pieces of bacon, I would recommend adding them with the green onions.
Can this be served cold?
Yes! I love it as a salad too. You may need to add a bit more creme fraiche before serving if the pasta has absorbed too much of the sauce.