Bacon, Shrimp and Peas Pasta with Butter and Parmesan

This bacon, shrimp and peas pasta with butter and parmesan is sure to satisfy your craving for something salty and comforting that even your kids will enjoy.

We arrived back from fourth of July weekend in the LA area late Sunday night after a grueling 10 hour (yes, that’s 10 hours) drive home. The drive was only supposed to take 6 hours but the traffic was insane! It was a good reminder to get on the road much much earlier next time, especially after a long weekend.

I didn’t have time to go grocery shopping the next morning but had to make lunch for Emilia. She is usually famished when I pick her up from her summer camp at school. Before stocking it up, I thought it would be a good time to clean out the fridge and whip something up with whatever ingredients I had on hand. I saw bacon, shrimp, and peas and had some penne pasta in the pantry so I decided to make Bacon, Shrimp and Peas with Butter and Parmesan and OMG you guys, it was delicious!!!! It was a different take on a pasta dish I made previously I called Date Night Pasta. You can find that recipe here.

This bacon, shrimp and peas with butter and parmesan pasta dish is so insanely easy and yet so good. The kids devoured this when they got home and asked for seconds.

Oh, and don’t be scared about all the butter this recipe calls for. I read that butter is good for brain development in children so this is actually good for them and I’m sticking with that!

I hope you enjoy this simple bacon, shrimp, and peas with butter and parmesan pasta recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a cup of butter cut in 3 parts
• 3 pieces of medium sized shallots
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 6 slices of bacon
• 12 pieces of shrimp
• 1 package of Penne pasta
• 1 cup Frozen peas
• 1 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup of pasta water
• Kosher Salt
• Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta per package directions and reserve about a cup of pasta water
2. Finely mince the garlic and set aside
3. Finely chop the shallots and set aside
4. On medium to high heat, fry the bacon and set it aside on a plate that’s lined with paper towel to soak up the grease
5. Discard 1/2 of the bacon grease and leave the rest in the pan
6. Once the bacon has cooled, cut it up into bite size pieces
7. Add part 1 of the butter to the pan
8. On medium heat, cook the shrimp until it’s halfway done about 2 minutes per side or until you see it turn pink. Set it aside.
   (The shrimp will finish cooking when you add it back to the pan later.)
9. Add part 2 of the butter to the pan
10. On low to medium heat, sauté the garlic for about 2 minutes making sure it doesn’t burn
11. Add the shallots and sauté for another 2 minutes
12. Add the cooked pasta in batches while mixing in the garlic and shallots
13. Fold in the rest of the butter as you are mixing the pasta
14. Season generously with salt and pepper
15. Add the frozen peas and mix well
16. Add the parmesan cheese and fold it in the pasta adding pasta water a little at a time to break up the noodles
17. Add the bacon and shrimp that you set aside earlier and mix it all together
18. Serve on a deep dish and top with more parmesan cheese