Creamy Prosciutto Pasta with Whipped Feta Recipe

This Prosciutto Pasta recipe is a delicious pasta dish that is as perfect for a weeknight as it is for a special occasion. It’s easy, quick, requires only simple ingredients, and is brimming with can’t-stop-eating-it flavor.

I’ve been on a prosciutto kick recently. Case in point: this amazing Prosciutto Wrapped Dates recipe! But, not to take away from the recipe at hand…I love this Prosciutto Pasta Recipe! It’s simple and classy with bold flavors that all go together just splendidly. I mean, have you tried whipped feta yet? It’s incredible. It’s salty, creamy, and super easy to make! Plus, the crispy prosciutto brings the salty flavors as well but in the very best way. Peas and lemon bring a pop of freshness to balance out the saltiness, and savory garlic onion butter pulls it all together. Let’s make it!

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of the items linked in this post, I should earn a small commission. This creates no additional cost to you and helps support the work that goes into running The Fig Jar. Thank you! -Becky 

Ingredients

Creamy Prosciutto Pasta with Whipped Feta Recipe

• Thin spaghetti: but you can really use any type of pasta you want. This is just one of my favorites with this particular dish
• Feta cheese: preferably the more creamy kind that comes in a block rather than the kind that is already crumbled, but if that’s all you have, that’s okay
• Cream cheese
• Prosciutto
• Frozen peas
• Lemon
• Butter: You can also use olive oil if you’d prefer. (I’m one for healthy eating but I prefer butter for this recipe!)
• Onion
• Garlic
• Fresh parsley and basil
• A cup of the pasta water
• Salt and black pepper (optional)

Not too bad for such a delicious and classy meal! Just 10 ingredients, even though you will need to reserve some of the pasta water to add when you finish the dish, not sure if that has to count as an ingredient.

How to make Prosciutto Pasta

Cooking prosciutto

To make perfectly crispy prosciutto, simply place each prosciutto slice on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a crumpled nest sort of shape to help the edges from getting too browned. Bake for about 10-12 minutes (11 minutes is usually the sweet spot for me). Allow it to cool before trying to crumble or chop it into pieces. If you’d like to remove some of the excess fat, place the prosciutto on a paper towel while it cools.

Whipped feta

This recipe does not use a traditional cream sauce, but I guarantee you that whipped feta will not disappoint, and when mixed into the pasta, this might just become your favorite recipe. Whipped feta is just so good. I already love feta and I also really love cream cheese but put these two together to make a salty, cheesy, creamy sauce-like-concoction and you’ve got something for the books. Whipped feta alone on pasta is delicious but paired with the pasta, peas, prosciutto, and lemon it’s just an actual dream. 

To make it, allow both the cream cheese and feta to soften at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. Use an electric mixer to beat until creamy and smooth. That’s it! 

Pasta and peas

We’re almost there! Just cook those spaghetti noodles in a big pot according to the package directions, but make sure you add salt to the boiling water before adding the pasta. You will also need to reserve a small amount of starchy pasta cooking water.

While the pasta cooks, start cooking the garlic onion butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter, add minced onion, then garlic. 

Once pasta is al dente, strain it and add it to the frozen peas, reserved starchy water from the pasta, lemon juice and zest, and toss with tongs. 

Finishing touches

Transfer pasta onto two plates. Top each with chopped prosciutto crumbles and a dollop of whipped feta. Top with fresh herbs and enjoy!

Additions and substitutions

This dish is perfect as-is. It has the taste of home written all over it! But if you don’t have the ingredients for whipped feta, you can surely use fresh parmesan cheese (preferably parmigiano reggiano), mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese or burrata cheese. I like to top mine with some fresh basil and parsley (which I grow in my Aerogarden), but you can also add some fresh oregano or red pepper flakes! If you want to try this recipe with a tomato sauce instead, Rao’s is the easiest way to go. It’s my go-to for easy pasta recipes during the week. You can also try my marinara sauce recipe here. And if you don’t have access to prosciutto near you, italian sausage could be substituted for that as well. If you’d like to add more veggies to this, fresh tomatoes would work with or without the peas.

Tried this Prosciutto Pasta recipe?

If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating below and let me know how it went. I’d love to hear from you!

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Creamy Prosciutto Pasta with Whipped Feta Recipe

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This meal is full of my favorite salty flavors like feta and prosciutto. Fresh peas and lemon balance out the salty richness for a perfectly balanced dish.

• Author: Becky Schmieg
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 2 1x
• Category: Main Course
• Cuisine: American, Italian, Mediterranean

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 3 oz prosciutto
• 2 oz cream cheese (softened)
• 5 oz feta cheese (crumbled and softened)
• 4 oz thin spaghetti
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter (or 3 tbsp olive oil)
• 1/4 cup red onion (minced)
• 2–3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1/4 cup reserved pasta water
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 tbsp each fresh parsley and basil for topping (chopped)
• salt and black pepper (optional)

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Place prosciutto slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment in a crumpled nest shape. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Once cooled, break the prosciutto into small pieces using your hands.
   
2. In a bowl, combine feta and cream cheese. Use an electric mixer to beat until the mixture is very creamy, this will take about 3-4 minutes.
   
3. Cook pasta according to package directions (but make sure to salt the water before adding pasta) and reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
4. In a pan, melt butter oven medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes, until beginning to soften. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds.
5. Add pasta, peas and reserved pasta water to the pan with the onions and garlic. Squeeze juice from 1/2 lemon over the pasta and use tongs to combine the mixture. Turn off heat and add lemon zest.
   
6. Separate the pasta onto two plates. Top each with prosciutto crumbles and a dollop of whipped feta. Top with fresh herbs and serve.