Creamy bow tie pasta is a fast and easy weeknight dinner staple that is perfect for using up leftover ham from the holidays. It's a family favorite and will soon be yours too.
Looking for other recipes to use up your holiday ham leftovers? Check out our best leftover ham recipes and our ham and bean soup.
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Ingredients
The ingredients for this creamy bow tie pasta recipe are all basic pantry staples which are easy to find at your local grocery store. Let's talk about the key ingredients.
- Spices: We used freshly ground nutmeg, salt and black pepper.
- Dairy: We used butter, cream, mascarpone cheese, and freshly grated Parmesan.
- Meat: We used ham that we cut into ¼ inch strips.
- Aromatics: We used spring onion and garlic cloves.
- Vegetables: We used frozen peas, but you can also use fresh.
How to Make
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat, then cook the spring onion for 3 minutes until it's softened. Add the minced garlic and saute until it's fragrant.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute.
3. Reduce the heat to medium, then gradually pour in the heavy cream while whisking constantly to make the creamy bow tie sauce smooth.
4. Whisk in the mascarpone cheese.
5. Whisk in the Parmesan cheese, and the dry mustard. Pour in ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water. Add the ham and peas. Stir and heat through, roughly 5 minutes.
6. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice, zest, parsley, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Whisk the creamy bow tie sauce until it's well mixed.
7. Pour the creamy sauce over the cooked bow ties and stir to coat. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
8. Garnish our creamy bow tie pasta recipe with reserved parsley and Parmesan cheese.
Recipe FAQs
Farfalle is an Italian pasta that is shaped in a bow tie. It means butterfly in Italian and was first made in the 16th century in Northern Italy. It is commonly used with cream and tomato based sauces and as a base for salads. Larger variations are called farfalloni and smaller variations are called farfalline.
The directions on the box say it takes 10 minutes, but its best to start checking it 2 minutes before and then every minute until it's done.
The only way you'll know is to taste it. Pasta should be cooked al dente which means firm to the bite. Remove some with a fork, and let it cool by blowing on it. Bite into it with your front teeth. The center should have a thin white ring in the middle, and it should have a springy bounce.
Pasta water acts as a binder and thickener.
Serve
To round our your meal, we suggest serving a good crusty bread like our rosemary bread. If you feel more like having a crunchy salad, try our bell pepper salad. If you are looking for a colorful side dish, try our roasted grape tomatoes.
Store
Make ahead: Our creamy bow tie pasta recipe tastes best when made fresh. If all the ingredients are prepped ahead of time, this dish comes together in only 20 minutes.
Leftovers: If you have leftovers, store in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
Reheat: Reheat leftovers on the stovetop over medium low heat while whisking until heated through. Don't bring to a boil, or the creamy sauce will separate. Don't reheat in the microwave, or the sauce will separate.
Freeze: Unfortunately, our creamy bow tie pasta doesn't freeze well because of the dairy used in the sauce. When dairy freezes, the cream breaks apart and looks curdled.
Variations
- Can't find mascarpone cheese? Use Neufchatel or cream cheese.
- Need this vegetarian? Use caramelized onions, mushrooms, and spinach.
- Want a different green veggie? Try artichoke hearts, eggplant, red bell peppers or mushrooms.
- Want a different meat? Try chicken, shrimp or pancetta.
- Need a substitute pasta? Use fusilli or conchiglie
Expert Tips
- Sauce too thick or too thin? Thin with pasta water or thicken with Parmesan cheese.
- Use the pasta water to help bind the creamy sauce to the bow ties and to thin the sauce.
- Reheat any leftovers of the creamy bow tie sauce on the stovetop over medium low heat while whisking. Watch carefully so the sauce doesn't separate.
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Recipe
Creamy Bow Tie Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound bow tie pasta, 5 cups dried
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ⅓ cup spring onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon garlic cloves, minced
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup mascarpone cheese
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 cup ham, cut into ¼ inch strips
- 1 cup peas, frozen or fresh
- 4 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish)
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Equipment
Instructions
- Cook the bow ties in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain. Place the pasta in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons reserved water.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat, then saute the spring onion for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute one minute, until fragrant.
- Sprinkle the flour on the veggies, whisking constantly, and cook for one minute to get rid of the raw flour taste. Gradually add the heavy cream while whisking until smooth. Continue to whisk in the mascarpone, Parmesan, and the dry mustard to get a smooth sauce. Add ¼ cup of the reserved water.
- Add the ham and peas, and heat through, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
- Pour sauce over the pasta and mix well to coat. Adjust the seasonings to taste.
- Garnish with reserved parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve warm.
Notes
- Make the sauce with pasta water to help bind the sauce to the bow ties and to thin the sauce.
- Thin the sauce with pasta water or thicken with Parmesan cheese to get the texture right.
- When reheating leftovers, watch carefully so sauce doesn't separate. Stir the sauce in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium low heat.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Our creamy bow tie pasta recipe was originally published on November 23, 2017 and updated on December 26, 2019 with updated photos and content and again on June 17, 2022 with resized photos and fresh content.
Just Me
We really enjoyed this version of ham & bowtie pasta. The lemon zest and juice gave it a fresh taste unlike similar recipes which tend to be heavy. I had no marscarpone cheese, so substituted with cream cheese. Because we wanted more protein in this dish, we doubled the amount of ham. No other changes were made and we liked it well enough to have it again someday.
Emma
That's wonderful to hear! We're so happy that you enjoyed this recipe.
Alex
The sauce is creamy, and I love the soft ham with it. The bow tie pasta is chewy and the peas add lots of flavor. It also smells delicious!
Emma
I'm so glad that you liked this recipe, Alex!
Beth
The creamy sauce, cheese, and pasta are tasty, and when the ham and peas are added, this becomes dangerously good. I love ham and I love peas, so this is really amazing. This dish smells so yummy! It tastes creamy with the ham and peas and the amazing lemony sauce.
Emma
Thank you, Beth! Ham and peas taste so great together.