Pasta, bacon, peas, and a creamy lemon sauce come together in 20 minutes with this Lemon Bacon Pasta! Fast and yummy for the win. This crowd-pleasing, throw-together meal will not disappoint when you need something quick and light. Originally posted March 29, 2013.
It’s so great having a new baby at home. I just love recovering from childbirth by waking up every few hours in the middle of the night to try to get a screaming infant to eat.
I shouldn’t complain, really. Truman’s a fabulous baby, all things considered. He does eat eventually. And he sleeps. And he looks like the 5th member of a boy band. Move over Justin Bieber.
Eric and I are learning all sorts of new things this time around. We took Truman in for a second bilirubin test yesterday (he’s fine) and that’s when Eric told me that this whole time he thought everyone was saying “Belly Ribbon Test.” Yes! I love that I have a medium for making Eric’s mispronunciations public.
How to make Lemon Bacon Pasta
This stuff is goooood. We ignored everything else in our fridge until it was gone. It has a really light flavor, which makes the bacon and peas stand out. Oh and did I mention that this takes 20 minutes to throw together? If you have an infant and a toddler, make that 30 minutes. Still though. Not bad!
It’s a great weeknight dinner that you can throw together in minutes while you’re juggling small children, soccer practice and home work. Or if you’re just coming home from work and want to say you cooked while putting in the bare minimum amount of effort. With bacon (protein), peas (vegetables), cream (dairy), and pasta (grains) you’ve got all the major food groups you need! At least the ones I was taught in school…
Preparing bacon in the oven for this pasta
So the original recipe for this pasta calls for half the amount of bacon. That’s one slice per serving. Uhhhh, yeah right. Pretty much anytime I cook bacon I make extra because it’s impossible not to sneak some of it. So I went ahead and doubled it. Bacon’s good for you, right?
You can do it however you want, but for easiness of clean-up and saving time I prefer to bake it in the oven. (For my top 10 reasons why baking bacon is better and all the tips on how to do this go to my post How to Bake Bacon in the Oven).
For now, Here’s a quick overview of how to do it:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line your pan with aluminum foil (optional).
- Lay out your bacon in one layer on the ungreased pan. Arrange the strips as close to each other as you can.Â
- Bake at 400 on the middle rack for 10-14 minutes depending on thickness and your desired crispiness level.
- When the bacon is done, remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
This the bacon laid out on a foil-lined pan:
And this is the end result ready for chopping up into crispy pieces for this pasta!
More great pasta recipes
- Best Chicken Alfredo Recipe >> For great pasta decadence try my version of this classic!
- Asparagus & Poached Eggs Over Pasta >> I love the runny egg yolk in this one!
- Easy BLT Pasta Salad >> More bacon & pasta!!
- Old Fashioned Beef Stroganoff Recipe >> This is pure comfort food right here – and impressive too.
- Minestrone with Sausage and Pesto >> Pasta in an amazing soup!
- Greek Pasta with Chicken (and Zoodles) >> I love the Mediterranean flavors (plus I walk you through low-carb noodle replacement from Zucchini)
Creamy Lemon Pasta with Bacon and Peas
Ingredients
- 1 pound linguini
- 8 strips bacon
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 teaspoons lemon zest, divided (1 lemon)
- 2 cups peas, fresh or frozen
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cook the bacon until crispy. Bake, fry it, whatever you want. I like to cut mine into pieces and then cook it in a pan. Remove with a slotted spoon, set on a plate lined with paper towels, and set aside. Check out my complete instructions on How to Bake Bacon in the Oven.
- Meanwhile, combine the cream and 2 teaspoons of the lemon zest in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over the lowest heat, stirring occasionally.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. A minute or two before the pasta is done, add the peas. Make sure the peas are warmed through, then drain the pasta and peas and return to the pot.
- Add the cream to the pasta and toss to combine. Add the last teaspoon of lemon zest, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve the pasta topped with crumbled bacon. If you have leftovers, store the bacon separately from the pasta so that it doesn’t get mushy on you.
I have made this recipe but instead of bacon, I used a rest of cooked ham. It also have the smoked taste like bacon. I’m sure it also tastes lovely with bacon.
The kids LOVE it..
I think the lemon makes all the difference for the taste😊
Love from DenmarkÂ
I think you’re right Henriette, the lemon does make all the difference! The cooked ham sounds like a good idea. Thanks for coming back to leave a review! :)