This creamy ham and pea pasta comes together in a flash and is a perfect recipe for using up leftover ham.
If you have leftover Easter ham or just leftover ham any time of year, this creamy ham pasta with peas is a great way to use it up. This is a quick and easy pasta that’s ready in just about the time it takes to cook the pasta.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Ham – Start with leftover cooked ham or slice up some ham and cook it a little longer in the skillet. I love to cut it into a lardon or matchstick shape, but you can cube it, if you like.
Peas – Either fresh or frozen peas are fine to use here. You can use frozen peas from frozen.
White wine – A splash of white wine adds great flavour to this sauce, but if you don’t have wine on hand or if you prefer not to use wine, substitute chicken broth.
Cream – Use heavy whipping cream for the thickest, richest sauce. If you only have a lighter cream on hand you may want to thicken the sauce a bit with a cornstarch slurry of 1 Tablespoon cornstarch to 1 Tablespoon of cold water added to the finished sauce and cooked until thickened.
Cheese – I’ve used a bit of finely grated Gruyere in the sauce as it’s a favourite, but freshly-grated Parmesan or Pecorino is a good substitute.
Pasta – I love a long pasta for this dish, such as spaghetti or linguini. A short pasta is fine, too, if you prefer.
How to make creamy ham and pea pasta
This is a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Always refer to the complete instructions in the Recipe Card below when making the recipe.
- Add the chopped ham to a skillet and cook briefly over medium-high heat to brown a bit. Remove to a bowl.
- Melt the butter then add the garlic and Dijon mustard to the skillet.
- Add a splash of white wine (or chicken broth) to the skillet.
- Add the cream to the skillet and bring the sauce to a simmer. Add the cheese and simmer the sauce briefly to melt the cheese into the sauce. Turn off the heat under the sauce for now.
- Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook to al dente.
- Turn the heat back on under the skillet and return the ham to the skillet, together with the frozen peas.
- Use tongs to transfer the cooked pasta to the skillet.
- Stir the pasta into the sauce.
- Add some hot pasta cooking water to the skillet and cook everything together for a couple of minutes until the sauce thickens up nicely and coats the pasta. Season with some freshly ground pepper and serve immediately.
Recipe tips!
- This base sauce for this pasta is a great one to use for any creamy pasta. Cook up the sauce and add whatever is in your fridge to the skillet.
- There are a lot of variations for this pasta recipe. Substitute cooked chicken for the ham. Add some mushrooms. Substitute cooked asparagus for the peas. Switch up the cheese from Gruyere to Parmesan.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
This pasta is best enjoyed freshly made but in a pinch, you can make it ahead and gently reheat in a skillet with a splash more cream if needed to loosen it up.
Store leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Freezing isn’t recommended as the creamy sauce tends to change texture after freezing.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email and I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Seasons and Suppers.
You can unsubscribe at any time.
Get the Recipe: Creamy Ham and Pea Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz spaghetti or linguini
- 2 cups cooked ham, cut into matchsticks or cubed
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup white wine, or chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup Gruyere or Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
- 1/2-3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup pasta cooking water
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.
- While the water is boiling, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the ham and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown. Remove the ham to a bowl and set aside.
- Once the water is boiling, generously salt the water and add the pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions to al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, start the sauce by melting the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, about 30-45 seconds. Add the Dijon mustard and stir in, then add the wine. Allow the wine to cook off for a minute or two. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Add the cheese and stir in to melt. Season the sauce with some salt and pepper.
- Add the ham and peas to the skillet with the sauce.
- When the pasta is ready, do not drain the pasta. Instead, use tongs to transfer the cooked pasta to the skillet. Use the tongs to toss the pasta with the sauce. Add the pasta cooking water to the skillet to loosen up the sauce, then cook everything together over medium heat, about 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens and coats the pasta well. Add additional pasta cooking water or a splash more cream, if necessary.
- Serve immediately with additional cheese on top if you like.
Notes
More creamy pasta recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I adjusted this to 1 serving and it came out perfect. Didn’t have any peas so subbed shiitake mushrooms. Was beautiful.
Sounds lovely, Gwen :) Thanks so much!
My Mother used to make this recipe with spiral noodles when I was a child.
Spiral noodles would be great, too!
I have leftover ham, and lo and behold into my inbox comes the perfect recipe to use it up! Thank-you so much for all of your recipes. Everything I’ve made has been beyond delicious! I hope you had a Happy Easter with your family! :-)
Thanks so much Susan :)