Peas and Pancetta – 20 Minute Side Dish

Peas and Pancetta is the simplest Italian side dish yet it's packed full of good flavours from the salty cured pancetta, sweet peas, garlic and fresh parsley. Serve this easy side with almost any main dish or with an Italian roast dinner.

Recipe overview

• Flavour and texture: sweet and good peas with salty, crispy pancetta, garlic and fresh parsley.
• Total time: 20 minutes
• Servings: 6
• Suited to: a quick and easy side dish for busy weeknights, Sunday dinners or holidays.

Peas and pancetta is such a simple and classic Italian side dish. Sweet peas are tossed with onion, garlic, crispy pancetta and fresh parsley; it's simple yet full of flavour.

We like to serve it with roast meats like our Italian Roast Beef with Marsala and Onions on weekends or crispy chicken cutlets or chicken spiedini on busier weeknights. It's incredibly versatile and also good served with fish.

See our full recipe below, including step-by-step photos, tips and a helpful video. Enjoy!

Ingredient notes

See the photo below that shows you everything you need to make this recipe, plus some important tips on ingredients!

• Peas – we use frozen peas because they're convenient and can be used all year round. If you use fresh peas, you'll need to add liquid (water, wine or stock) to cook them.
• Pancetta – use good quality diced pancetta if you can. As it cooks, the fat renders in the pan, adding lots of good flavour. You can use good-quality bacon instead or even guanciale, although you may want to drain some excess if using guanciale.
• Garlic – fresh garlic is a must; don't use garlic powder.
• Onion – a finely chopped onion adds good flavour. You could use 1-2 shallots instead.
• Parsley – fresh herbs are so important (don't use dried). If you don't have fresh parsley, you can use fresh basil or mint or a mix of them.

How to make Peas and Pancetta (visual walk-through)

Add the pancetta to a hot pan and fry until crispy (if your pancetta isn't fatty enough, you might need to add 1 tbsp of olive oil).

Once crispy, remove from the pan and set aside. Add 1 tbsp olive oil if needed and fry the chopped onion for a few minutes until soft and translucent . Once soft, add the sliced garlic and fry for 1 minute until fragrant (photos 1-4).

Next, add the frozen peas straight to the pan and cook until defrosted and cooked all the way through, stirring often. This should only take a few minutes (photos 5 & 6).

Once cooked, turn off the heat and stir through the cooked crispy pancetta and fresh parsley. Serve (photos 7 & 8).

Serving suggestions

Peas and pancetta is such a versatile Italian side dish and will go well with most roast meats such as our Italian Roast Beef with Marsala & OnionsLemon Roast Chicken or chicken cutlets and it's also good served with fish.

Other side dishes that go well with this are roasted potatoessautéed green beansbroccolini or roasted carrots.

Recipe tips

• Peas cook fast – don't overcook the peas so they shrivel up and lose their colour. Make sure they are cooked (taste one to check) and remove from the heat.
• Olive oil – you may or may not need olive oil depending on how fatty your pancetta is. You can use the pancetta fat to fry the onion and garlic if there is enough.
• Adding salt – pancetta can be salty, so taste the peas at the end of cooking and add salt as needed.
• Fresh vs frozen peas – for convenience, we use frozen peas (it also means you can make this recipe all year long), which have excess moisture in them so no liquid is needed. If you use fresh peas, you will need to cover them with liquid (water, wine or stock) to cook them.

More Italian side dishes you might like

• Fagioli all'uccelletto – Beans in Tomato Sauce
• Italian Green Beans In Tomato Sauce
• Parmesan Roasted Potatoes and Broccoli
• La Peperonata – Bell Peppers in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

Makes 6 servings

• 3 cups frozen peas ((460g))
• 1 cup pancetta ((125g))
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 1 clove garlic (finely sliced)
• 1 small bunch fresh parsley (chopped)
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil ((as needed))
• salt and pepper (to season)

Method

1. Add the pancetta to a hot pan and fry until crispy (if your pancetta isn't fatty enough you might need to add 1 tbsp of olive oil).

2. Once crispy, remove from the pan and set aside. Add 1 tbsp olive oil if needed and fry the chopped onion for a few minutes until soft and translucent.

3. Once soft, add the sliced garlic and fry for 1 minute until fragrant.

4. Next, add the frozen peas straight to the pan and cook until defrosted and hot all the way through, stirring often. This should only take a few minutes.

5. Once cooked, turn off the heat and stir through the cooked crispy pancetta and fresh parsley. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed (some pancetta can be really salty so you may not need additional salt). Serve.

Kitchen notes

• Fresh vs frozen peas for convenience, we use frozen peas (it also means you can make this recipe all year long), which have excess moisture in them so no liquid is needed. If you use fresh peas, you will need to cover them with liquid (water, wine or stock) to cook them.

• Storage and freezing leftovers will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be reheated. You can also freeze them in suitable containers.