Wide pasta, tender leeks, sweet cream and salty bacon come together in this easy and elegant recipe for pasta with leeks and bacon!
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why we love this recipe
I’m currently in the midst of a love affair with leeks. If you haven’t fallen head over heels for them like I have yet, leeks are tall green and handsome vegetables that are in the same general family as onions.
They seem to be available pretty much all year round, and when they are sliced thin and sautéed up in a little butter or olive oil or bacon drippings they are both sweet and tangy all at the same time.
I’ve totally abandoned my trusty basket of yellow onions to carry on with leeks, and my current favorite leek dish is this glorious mixture of pasta, bacon, parmesan cheese, cream and you-know what.
Yep, we are basically talking about a cross between fettuccine alfredo and pasta carbonara with leeks.
This is a rich and glorious supper and you only need a small serving in a warm bowl to make you feel pampered and deliciously full.
ingredients you need to make this recipe
ingredient notes and substitutions
- Leeks: These sweet members of the onion family can be found in the produce section, usually in groups of two or three. Need a recipe for any leftover leeks? Try this recipe for roast beef sandwiches with leeks and Boursin cheese. YUM.
- Pasta: You can use any long pasta you like, but we find that fettuccine and pappardelle work best with this creamy sauce
- Parmesan cheese: If you can, use freshly grated parmesan. It makes SUCH a difference!
how to make this recipe
(Scroll down for the handy complete printable recipe with nutrition info!)
STEP 1: Grab your leeks, cut off the bottom bit with the roots and the tough dark green top – you’ll be left with about 4-5 inches of white and pale green leek.
Now cut that part in half length-wise and give it a good rinse under running water, letting the water get into the layers. Leeks are famously for hiding sand in their nooks and crannies – don’t ask me why. I don’t hold it against them.
Now slice your clean leek into 1/4 inch slices cross-wise – they will look like little pale green half-moons – and set them aside.
STEP 2: Cook up some chopped bacon in a nice big skillet.
STEP 3: Once the bacon is nice and crispy, scoop it out and sauté your leeks in the bacon drippings until they are just tender, about 3 minutes.
STEP 4: Now pour in some cream and a little fresh chopped thyme and simmer it just until the cream thickens up the teeniest bit.
STEP 5: In the meantime you want to be cooking up your pasta. Make sure you save some of the pasta water before you drain it.
STEP 6: Add the hot cooked pasta to the sauce in your skillet along with some grated Parmesan and your cooked bacon.
Toss it all together with tongs, and if the sauce looks like it needs a little thinning, drizzle in some of the pasta water until it loosens up.
STEP 7: Now scoop it onto your serving plates (and if you have heated up your plates in a 200 degree oven while all this is going on the pasta is going to stay nice and warm and creamy for the entire meal, so heat those plates!).
Make sure everyone gets their fair share of leeks and bacon.
recipe FAQs
Leeks are part of the onion family, but they grow in large stalks instead of the onion’s round shape. They are available in your produce section all year long, but they are most wonderful in the early spring when they come into season.
When pasta cooks, it releases starch into the water (that is what makes it a little cloudy. And since hopefully you have thoroughly salted your water, at the end of the pasta cooking time you have a starchy, salty water that is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT for making or loosening up a light pasta sauce. It’s truly magical.
Technically yes…but regular heavy or whipping cream gives this dish a silky texture that lighter creams won’t…and you’re worth it!
Pop your question in the comments section below and I will answer pronto!
want to round out your meal?
While leeks are a great first step in terms of veggies, we like to round out the veggie portion of this supper with this recipe for a nice green bean and cherry tomato salad.
And whenever I make a pasta recipe, it’s hard for me to resist making this super easy recipe for sheet pan focaccia. It’s just a match made in heaven!
And after all of this deliciousness, how about a nice light strawberry sherbet recipe for dessert?
OTHER LEEK RECIPES WE LOVE!
You’re thinking of running out right now and getting some leeks, right? Do it!
could you leave us a review?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section. Your thoughts and advice will help both us and your fellow readers. 🥰
PrintPasta with Leeks and Bacon
Wide pasta, tender leeks, sweet cream and salty bacon come together in this easy and elegant recipe for pasta with leeks and bacon!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, cut into one inch pieces
- 2 leeks, trimmed to just the white and pale green parts, cleaned and sliced lengthwise and crosswise
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (or one teaspoon dried thyme)
- 8 ounces pappardelle or fettuccine
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a large skillet until done. Remove and drain on paper towels.
- With heat turned to medium high, sauté leeks in bacon drippings until tender, about 3 minutes. Add cream and thyme to skillet and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Meantime, cook pasta according to package directions (make sure to salt that pasta water!). Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain.
- Add drained pasta, cheese and bacon to sauce in skillet and toss to coat. Add pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce (you might not need all of it). Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve at once on warmed plates.
Notes
Leeks: Leeks are a thick long veggie that is part of the onion family and are available year round in your produce section. They have a gentler taste than regular white onions. Leeks are famous for catching sand in dirt in their layers as they grow, so when you are ready to use them, chop off all but the light green and white part and cut them in half vertically. Now rinse them under water to get any of that grit out.
Bacon: We love thick cut bacon for this recipe (because the more bacon the merrier!) but regular bacon works just fine as well.
Angela says
I’m always trying to figure out what to do with extra leeks – thanks for the inspiration! This was great!
My pleasure! I never can seem to keep up with those ever-present leeks – good thing they are scrumptious!
tom says
I used half and half instead of cream, mixed with some homemade chicken broth. And,, I added a cup of green peas near the end. Delicious!
Love those variations, Tom – thanks for stopping by to share them!
Winnie says
I can’t wait to try this! I love leeks and bacon and just recieved a gift last week of 4 lbs of bacon from my brother! I love to use leeks in a rice dish I learned from Penzeys Spices. It comes out like risotto without the work. Great tip about the warm plates, I do that now all the time as my stepson went to the CIA and used to tell me not to serve hot food on my cold dishes. Thank you for this recipe!!
Kate says
The warm plate approach is the best – isn’t it great how simple things can make such a great difference? :)
Rachel says
Am eating a lot of leeks as well. This looks great. I have been doing bacon, leeks, onions and cabbage with apple cider vinegar.
Kate says
Oh my goodness, that sounds FABULOUS! Yay, leeks!
Theresa M. says
I recently got a pasta machine. This will be the perfect application to try with some homemade pasta! Keep the great ideas coming, Kate!
Kate says
Pasta machine, how fun!! This will be a great one for that!
Joanne says
I’m a leek lover as well! Can’t get enough….they just so buttery but without all the calories…and how could you NOT love that!
Kate says
They are the perfect veggie! We should form a leek-lovers society!