Crème Fraiche Pasta Recipe with Peas and Bacon
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Crème Fraiche Pasta with Peas and Bacon is an easy weeknight pasta dinner that’s ready in 30 minutes or less. Packed with flavor, requiring few ingredients, it’s a pasta standby recipe you’ll love.
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This simple-to-make pasta dish combines beautiful flavors of smoky bacon and slighted charred green onions that lend a slight sweetness.
Then it’s brought together with a creamy, velvety sauce, brightened with lemon zest, and beautiful with green peas.
Crème Fraiche Pasta Recipe Ingredients
Ingredient measurements are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here’s what you’ll need to make this easy weeknight pasta:
- Pasta
- Olive oil: I prefer extra-virgin olive oil
- Green onions
- Garlic cloves
- Bacon
- Red pepper flakes
- Parmesan cheese
- Crème Fraiche
- Lemon
- Frozen peas
Pasta Recipe Ingredient Notes
There are a few substitutions easy to make with this pasta recipe.
Let’s begin with the pasta.
Pasta: I’ve used orecchiette pasta from the southern region of Italy called Apulia. However, a medium shell pasta or even tube pasta would work as well.
Crème Fraiche: While Crème Fraiche is my preferred ingredient due to its richer and less tangy flavor, sour cream is an easy substitution.
How to Make Crème Fraiche Pasta Recipe with Peas and Bacon
To begin, cook the pasta to al dente, according to 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 green onions on the diagonal and chop the bacon. Set a few aside of each to garnish the finished dish.
Step 1: Cook Green Onions and Bacon
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 cooked and the green onions are beginning to brown; about 6 to 7 minutes total.
Step 2: Make the Sauce
While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce. In a large bowl, add the Parmesan, creme fraiche, and lemon zest, stir to combine. Then stir in 1/2 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.
Step 3: Stir it all together
Once the pasta and peas have been cooked. Add the pasta and peas; toss until fully combined. Add additional pasta water if desired to loosen the sauce.
To Garnish
Plate the pasta and add reserved sliced green onions, crumbled bacon, and additional Parmesan and red pepper flakes.
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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 to 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 to 5 strips bacon chopped
- ¼ to 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 1/2 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.
Video
Notes
TO GARNISH
Plate the pasta and add reserved sliced green onions, crumbled bacon, and additional Parmesan and red pepper flakes.Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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.