Easy Pastina and Peas! If you’re craving a nostalgic, pantry-friendly dish that still feels special, this pastina and peas recipe checks all the boxes for cozy weekday cooking and crowd-pleasing comfort food.
Creamy, savory, and heartwarming, this Easy Pastina and Peas dish is the epitome of cozy, comforting weeknight meals. Each spoonful delivers a light, wholesome flavor profile—rich creaminess swirled with garlicky depth, bright pops of sweet peas, and a kiss of vegan parmesan that ties everything together. The result is a comforting bowl that’s truly family-friendly, easy on the palate, and irresistibly delicious.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients.
Hi there, Ameera here!
This dish is pure comfort food and one of my family’s go-to weeknight staples. My kids loves it—the creamy, velvety sauce clings to every tiny pastina shape, while the peas add a burst of bright, garden-fresh color. It’s fast, affordable, and incredibly versatile, which makes it perfect for busy families or anyone craving a cozy, nourishing meal.
You gotta give this one a try if you’re hunting for a quick, kid-approved dinner that still feels special—tonight, we’ll be serving up bowls of this irresistible pastina with peas, and I bet it becomes a proud staple in your meal rotation too.
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Easy Pastina and Peas dish is perfect comfort food. It is savory, creamy, and hearty. The flavor palate has a light flavor, yet savory, wholesome, and delicious, filled with tasty peas.
- Amount of Sauce: This dish is a cross between a risotto and porridge. It has a creamy texture that is just perfect. There is typically a tiny bit of sauce left that has not been absorbed. The longer the dish sits, the more it will absorb any liquids. If refrigerated and all the broth is gone and you are looking for a little broth, feel free to add several tablespoons (or so) of water, stir well, then reheat.
- Tenderness of the Minced Onions and Celery: Make sure to dice the onions and celery very finely. Sauté until perfectly soft before going to Step 3.
- Pastina (Acini de Pepe) Substitutions: You can substitute the pastina with pearl couscous or orzo; however, please note that you may need to add or subtract liquids based upon the pasta selected. You can easily add liquids as needed near the end of the cooking period.
- Boiling the Pasta: Once you add the acini de pepe, the sauce should be a very low perking boil. Do not do a rolling boil or the acini de pepe will stick to the bottom of the skillet.
- Stir Frequently to Avoid Sticking: Stir the dish semi-frequently to avoid the pastina from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Gluten-Free Pasta: Feel free to use gluten-free pasta. However, please note that gluten-free pasta tends to release a lot of starches resulting in a much thicker broth. You may need some additional vegetable broth to thin it out.
- Almond Butter: The almond butter tempers the acidity and creates a smooth texture.
- Almond Butter Substitutions: You can substitute the almond butter with cashew butter or other nut or seed butters with the understanding that the flavor and texture will be impacted accordingly.
- Seasonings/Salt/Pepper: Our family heavily disputed the amount of seasonings, salt, and pepper that was needed to properly season this dish. Feel free to add, subtract, etc. the poultry seasoning, salt, and/or pepper needed to suit your personal preferences.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
This dish can be frozen.
Pantry Products:
- Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients. Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth.
- Almond Butter: We used Artisana Organics Raw Vegan Almond Butter. Feel free to use your favorite raw almond butter in this recipe. Read the label, make sure the only ingredient is raw almonds. Do not use a salted or sweetened almond butter.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large skillet with lid
If you try this comforting dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Easy Pastina and Peas
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Total Time: 35 Minutes
- Yield: 5.5 Cups 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Creamy, savory, and heartwarming, this Easy Pastina and Peas dish is the epitome of cozy, comforting weeknight meals.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, fine chop *
- 2 celery ribs, fine chop *
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth *
- 1 ¼ cups water
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon poultry seasoning (+/-) *
- Pinch to 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt (+/-) *
- Pinch to ½ teaspoon black pepper (+/-) *
Other Ingredients:
- 1 cup dry acini de pepe (pastina) *
- 2 Tablespoons almond butter *
- 1 to 1 ½ cups frozen peas, thawed *
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Toppings:
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Place all the Spice/Herb Ingredients into a small bowl, whisk, set aside.
- Place the finely chopped onions and celery into a large skillet, sauté over medium-high heat for 7 to 10 minutes (or longer), until tender, add a splash of water, if needed to avoid burning.
- Then lower the heat to medium, add the minced garlic, sauté, stir constantly for one minute.
- Next add all the remaining Base Skillet Ingredients, the Spice/Herb Mix, stir well, then bring to a boil, then stir in the almond butter, stir well until the almond butter is dissolved into the broth.
- Stir in the acini de pepe (pastina), thawed frozen peas, and lemon juice, stir well. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until the pastina is tender.
- Remove from the stove, cover with a lid, and allow to sit for 4 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. Stir in the chopped fresh parsley and serve or generously sprinkle the chopped fresh parsley over individual servings.
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.Â
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings: 4 (makes 5 ½ cups)
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