Pasta with Salami and Ricotta

This easy pasta with salami and ricotta combines spicy salami, creamy cheese and tender pasta for a flavorful supper that’s ready in just 20 minutes!

Some of my favorite suppers begin with me gazing hopefully into the refrigerator, wondering what on earth I can make from the bits and pieces currently living in there. And every once in a while, the refrigerator answers with something unexpectedly scrumptious!

That’s exactly how this easy pasta supper came to be. Tender pasta, salty little bites of salami, sweet baby peas and creamy dollops of ricotta come together in a light buttery sauce for an impromptu match made in heaven. It’s quick, cozy and proof that sometimes getting refrigerator-lucky is the very best kind of dinner planning! 🍝🧀

Jump to:

• 🔎 A quick look at this recipe
• ⭐️ Why this recipe works
• 🍅 Ingredients you need
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
• Here’s How You Make Pasta With Salami and Ricotta!
• Recipe FAQs
• Pasta with Salami and Ricotta

🔎 A quick look at this recipe

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⭐️ Why this recipe works

• ⏱️ It’s wonderfully quick: This satisfying pasta supper is on the table in just 20 minutes.
• 🥓 Salami adds loads of flavor: Salty, savory bites of salami give the simple buttery sauce a deliciously spicy kick.
• 🧀 Ricotta makes it creamy: Gentle stirring leaves soft pockets of ricotta throughout the pasta instead of turning everything into one heavy sauce.
• 🫛 Peas bring sweetness and color: Sweet baby peas balance the salty salami while adding a cheerful pop of green.
• 💧 Pasta water works its magic: A splash of starchy cooking water combines with the butter to create a light sauce that clings to every bite.
• 🍝 It’s delightfully flexible: Use your favorite short pasta and whichever salami happens to be waiting in your refrigerator.

🍅 Ingredients you need

📝 Ingredient notes

• Pasta: Any short pasta shape will work beautifully. Campanelle, penne, ziti, rigatoni and bow ties are all good choices because they catch the peas, salami and creamy ricotta.
• Salami: I like Genoa salami for its mild, savory flavor. Buy it in one thick piece and cut it into small chunks rather than using thin sandwich slices.
• Baby peas: Frozen baby peas are perfect here—just thaw them before adding them to the pasta. There is no need to cook them separately.
• Ricotta: Use whole-milk ricotta for the creamiest flavor and texture, and let it come to room temperature before adding it. Stir it in gently so some delectable little ricotta pockets remain.
• Butter: Salted or unsalted butter will work. If you use salted butter, taste the finished pasta before adding any extra salt because the salami is salty too.
• Black pepper: Freshly ground black pepper adds just the right finishing touch. Add as much or as little as you like!

💡 Ingredient substitution ideas

Missing something or want to swap in something different? Check out the links below to find more ingredient substitution ideas. 👇🏻

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.

Here’s How You Make Pasta With Salami and Ricotta!

Once again, this starts with a pot of freshly cooked pasta.  (So many good things start with those very words, don’t they?)  Make sure you save a cup of the pasta water just before you drain it.

Side note: pasta water is magical stuff.  It’s a little salty, a little starchy, and can loosen up or create or fix so many other-wise too-dry pasta sauces.

Anyway, save a little of it, and then toss the cooked and drained pasta back into the pot with a little bit of butter, the peas and the salami.  Stir stir stir, dribbling a little pasta water in there to make a teeny tiny light sauce.

Now ever so gently, stir in spoonfuls of the ricotta.  You don’t want it totally broken up – you want pockets of nice ricotta dollops all throughout.

Now ladle it into warmed dishes and serve it up.

Oh, and here comes my usual pitch for you to try making your own ricotta cheese – it takes ten minutes and it is SO dang good!

Recipe FAQs

So in conclusion, remember how just 30 minutes earlier, you were gazing into the refrigerator hopefully.  You never know when you’re going to get refrigerator-lucky!