Peas and Pancetta is a delicious and easy Italian side dish that comes together fast! Made with frozen peas, diced pancetta, and sliced shallots.
This is the perfect side to dish to serve with your Italian dinner. Peas and Pancetta is a traditional Italian side dish that’s so easy to make and such a crowd pleaser.
If you’ve never had Peas and Pancetta, the name says it all! It’s simply fried pancetta and shallots tossed with peas and seasoned with salt and pepper.
This is an excellent recipe to serve for a brunch – it’s great at room temperature. Or serve it on the side of your favorite Italian dinner, like Stuffed Shells or Italian Turkey Sausage Meatballs. Or, save it for a special occasion and serve with this Italian Roast Turkey recipe!
So next time you are looking for a quick and delicious Italian side dish, be sure to try this recipe. Read on to see how quick and easy this recipe is.
Peas and Pancetta Recipe
This simple side dish comes together in minutes and is so simple to make. Plus, you only need a few ingredients for this recipe: frozen peas, diced pancetta, a shallot, and olive oil.
Firstly, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Then, add in the olive oil, diced pancetta, and sliced shallots. With the pancetta, you can often find it already diced in the deli section of the grocery store. You could also buy a 4 ounce slice of it from the deli and cube it yourself.
Cook the pancetta and shallots until the pancetta crisps up and the shallots soften. Then, add in the peas. They can be frozen or thawed. If using frozen, just add to the cooking time slightly.
Lastly, add kosher salt and black pepper to taste. The pancetta can be salty so wait before adding salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Substitutions
Pancetta may be difficult to find depending on where you live. However, it has become more common place at the grocery store. I like to use the pre-diced variety you can find in the deli section. Trader Joe’s also has sells diced pancetta in their stores.
If you can’t find pancetta, diced bacon or thick prosciutto would be a good substitute. To make dicing these meats easier, freeze them for about 10 minutes before cutting.
As for the shallots, you can always substitute about ½ cup of thinly sliced onion. Use sweet, white, or red onion if you have it.
More Simple Side Dishes
Be sure to check out these other simple side dishes that are great for any occasion:
Broccoli Cranberry Salad with Greek Yogurt Dressing
Pinwheel Bread Rolls with Bacon and Parmesan
Mashed Potato Casserole with Ricotta and Parmesan
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic
Hope you love this recipe! Be sure to comment if you try it.
Peas and Pancetta
Equipment
- skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 ounces pancetta, diced
- 1 large shallot, peeled and sliced thin
- 16 ounce bag frozen peas
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add in diced pancetta and sliced shallots and cook until pancetta is crispy and shallots are browned; about 5 minutes.
- Pour in peas (frozen or thawed work). Continue cooking until peas are warmed through. Season with salt and pepper.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
I made this last Christmas for 24 people and it is so easy and fast to do and so delicioius…….I hated peas my entire life but these are truly wonderful. Making them again for Thanksgiving this year and Christmas. I will try to make ahead of time and serve at room temperature. Thanks for the great recipe !
I had everything on hand, except my shallot had seen better days, so used thinly sliced onion. Then I had some cauliflower and spinach gnocchi in the freezer I needed to use, so cooked that and sautéed it in when it was done. It was delicious both ways.
Flavorful snack and delicious combination. Would love to make this platter for a party.
Thanks! It’s great for parties because you can serve at room temperature.
What a healthy and delicious side dish for dinner. Thanks for sharing.
This is the best combo ever for a simple, yet tasty side! Loved the flavors and will definitely make pretty often.
What a colourful dish and I like that you used shallots.