Ham and Mushroom Pasta

This creamy Ham and Mushroom Pasta is the perfect quick fix for a weeknight dinner. With a creamy cheesy sauce, chunks of ham and chestnut mushrooms, and vibrant peas, this whole dish is ready in 15 minutes. Serve with gluten free pasta for the perfect quick meal.

I do love a quick and easy pasta dish and this creamy ham and mushroom pasta recipe is just the absolute dream.

What’s more, it’s the perfect meal to use up any leftover ham from a Sunday Roast or Christmas Dinner.

I’ve made this ham pasta with with both leftovers from my Slow Cooker Gammon in Ginger Beer and my Air Fryer Gammon recipes and it works so well each time.

This gluten free pasta recipe only uses a few ingredients for the easy, creamy sauce using garlic, double cream, parmesan cheese and lots of cracked black pepper.

You can use anything from gluten free penne to rigatoni – or even make a creamy ham and mushroom tagliatelle if you prefer.

And if you love this ham and mushroom pasta recipe, check out some of my other favourites, like my Cheeseburger Pasta, my Pesto and Ricotta Pasta or Penne Puttanesca.

Ingredients

There’s a printable recipe card for these gluten free ham and mushroom pasta below. But for the shopping list you will need…

• Gluten Free Pasta: Any pasta shape will work for this – I used the Rummo Gluten Free Rigatoni which I am currently obsessed with. It’s a bit price but SO worth it – and newly available in Sainsbury’s too. Of course if you’re not gluten free you can use normal pasta instead.
• Butter: You can use olive oil if you prefer but butter gives the sauce a richness.
• Chestnut Mushrooms: I used baby chestnut mushrooms and halved them to keep them chunky. You can also finely chop or slice them if you prefer.
• Garlic: I use frozen chopped garlic but you can swap for garlic paste or use a fresh minced garlic clove.
• Dried Thyme: Mushroom and thyme is the dream combination! Tarragon works well in this dish too if you’re a fan of its aniseed flavours.
• Cooked Ham: You can buy cooked ham or ham hock, but I used the leftovers of my air fryer gammon joint in this recipe.
• Frozen Peas: You can add any veg you like to this, swap for spinach leaves or even finely slices Brussels Sprouts if you’re having this as a Christmas leftovers meal.
• Grated Parmesan Cheese: This not only adds a lovely cheesy flavour to the sauce, it also helps it to thicken.
• Double Cream: You cannot beat heavy cream in this creamy pasta sauce. But you can use a low fat cream cheese for a lighter version.

How to make ham and mushroom pasta

There’s a printable recipe card below with the method. But here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy this creamy mushroom and ham pasta is to make.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the gluten free pasta as per the pack instructions. Meanwhile make the sauce.

Chop the mushrooms into halves/quarters (or slice, depending what you prefer). Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat.

Add the garlic, mushrooms and thyme and fry on a low heat for 4-5 minutes.

Next, add the chopped ham and frozen peas, mix well and fry for another 1-2 minutes.

Finally, add the parmesan cheese and double cream. Scoop half a cup (120ml) of the starchy water from the pasta pan and add to the sauce.

Mix well and keep on a low heat while the pasta finishes cooking, it should thicken a little.

Drain the cooked pasta, add to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve with extra parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

Storing and Freezing

I find gluten free pasta is definitely best eaten freshly cooked. It tends to break up or go mushy when reheated, unless you buy a good quality pasta.

Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge and reheated but they would be better eaten when still hot from cooking. I don’t recommend freezing this ham and mushroom pasta.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some FAQs about this easy pasta recipe. But if you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!

If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.