20-Minute Prosciutto Pasta (With Broccoli & Ricotta)
on May 29, 2023, Updated May 07, 2025
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This Prosciutto pasta recipe has it all. It’s light and fresh tasting, but it’s also creamy and comforting. With ricotta and lemon as the ‘sauce’, it’s like a lighter version of carbonara. There’s plenty of broccoli thrown in, too, so no need for any fussy side dishes.
This 20-minute dinner is great for spring and summer, but I’d eat it any time of year!
Why you’ll love it
- So quick, easy and versatile. On the table in just 20 minutes – making prosciutto pasta perfect for busy weeknights. But it’s elegance also makes it perfect for date night, or a simple but tasty meal for guests.
- Creamy comfort food… on the lighter side! A pasta sauce made with ricotta cheese is a lighter alternative to heavy cream. If you like this, you’ll love this authentic carbonara recipe, too!
- Fresh & light, yes, but also tasty. You’ll love the mild creamy lemon ricotta ‘sauce’, but also the flavorful kick from the tasty prosciutto.
- Family-friendly elegance. This should appeal to even the fussiest eaters. Just call it ham and cheese pasta if it’ll help them to try it!
- Use any green veggies you like! Don’t love or don’t have broccoli? If it’s spring, use asparagus, or if not go for another green vegetable such as green peas instead.
About the ingredients
You’ll find a full list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But here’s a summary of what you need to know.
Pasta: I really like to use farfalle (or bow-tie pasta) for this recipe. Common in Northern Italy, it goes well with creamy sauces, holds its shape well when cooking, and looks great too, don’t you think?
But let’s be honest here, you can use any type of pasta in this recipe – even spaghetti! Try rotini or fusilli (spiral-shaped pastas), casarecce or gemelli (‘twisted’ shapes) or penne (tube shaped). All of these shapes hold sauces well.
Broccoli: I find ‘baby broccoli’ or ‘tender stem broccoli’ works particular well. I throw in the broccoli stems as well. Not keen on broccoli? Go with asparagus, peas (use frozen, and no need to defrost first), or another green vegetable instead.
A lemon: Use both the zest and the juice for the best flavor.
Prosciutto: Prosciutto is very thin slices of Italian dry-cured ham. Its rich, salty, and savory flavor adds beautiful depth to this dish. It’s usually widely available in delis, or supermarket deli or fridge sections.
Parmesan cheese: I do sometimes buy parmesan ready grated to save time. Just don’t use parmesan that you find in the non-refrigerated section. Pecorino Romano or Grana Padano are great alternatives.
Ricotta cheese: I would recommend using whole milk ricotta for a smooth and creamy sauce. You can usually find it in a tub in the supermarket cheese aisle, or from a deli counter.
If you can’t find ricotta or would rather use something else, cottage cheese makes a great replacement. It has a similar creamy, smooth texture and mild flavor. Mascarpone or even cream cheese would work, too.
Basil: Grab a fresh bunch, preferably on the day you’re going to make this meal. It complements the other salty and savory flavors perfectly!
How to make prosciutto pasta
There are just a few simple steps to making this delicious pasta with prosciutto in just one pan (plus a saucepan for cooking the pasta!).
Firstly, prepare all of your fresh ingredients. Wash and chop the greens, grate some parmesan, zest and squeeze the lemon, and rip up the prosciutto and basil.
While the pasta is cooking, stir-fry all of the green vegetables – quickly and on a fairly high heat.
Next, add all of the other ingredients – cooked pasta, ricotta, parmesan, lemon, basil and prosciutto.
Stir well, then loosen up the sauce by adding a little reserved pasta water.
Serve immediately with more fresh basil and parmesan sprinkled on top. Don’t forget to season with pepper.
Helen’s Top Tips
- Use a big frying pan or wok style pan so that you can stir-fry the vegetables and make the whole dish in that one pan.
- Before you drain the pasta, do as the Italians do and scoop out a cup of the starchy cooking water. Stirring just a little of this into the dish will help to bind the sauce and pasta together beautifully.
- Don’t wait to serve this. Prosciutto pasta is best served when just made when the ricotta sauce is hot, smooth and velvety.
- Don’t add any extra salt until you’ve tasted the sauce. Remember that parmesan and prosciutto already taste quite salty. You may not need to add any at all.
Recipe FAQs
No, prosciutto doesn’t need to be cooked before using it in a recipe. It’s a dry-cured ham, which means it’s ready to eat as is. However, it’s also delicious crisped up for a couple of minutes in a pan! You’ll see it start to curl and brown at the edges quickly, so keep a close eye on it so that it doesn’t burn.
If you can’t find prosciutto, you can use similar Jamón Serrano (a Spanish dry-cured ham), some really good quality cooked ham, bacon or pancetta, German speck, or chopped Italian sausage. You could even try smoked salmon for an interesting but just-as-delicious twist!
Yes you can, but go easy. Heat gently with a little extra water or milk. The leftovers happen to be quite nice cold, too, so you could transform them into a school or work lunch very easily.
More light and easy pasta recipes
- This chicken mushroom pasta is so creamy and easy – ready in about 20 minutes!
- You really won’t miss the meat in this pasta alla norma recipe!
- This tuna pasta recipe is so far removed from the tuna pasta of your student days!
- This creamy green pea pasta is perfect in spring, and so easy since it’s made with frozen peas.
- Chorizo pasta is a real crowd pleaser, and takes barely 20 minutes to make.
- This classic carbonara recipe is so creamy, but doesn’t actually contain any cream!
20-Minute Prosciutto Pasta (With Broccoli & Ricotta)
Ingredients
- 4½ ounces pasta, I like bow tie (farfalle) pasta but any is fine
- 7 ounces broccoli, washed and chopped into pieces, including the stems (or use any greens: asparagus, snow peas/mange tout, frozen peas…)
- 1½ ounces prosciutto, torn into pieces (this is cured Italian ham; or use good quality ordinary ham)
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- 1 lemon, (zest of all of it, juice of half of it)
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 bunch fresh basil
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook your pasta according to the cooking ingredients.4½ ounces pasta
- Meanwhile, pan fry broccoli in a wok or large frying pan for 3 or 4 minutes until lightly browned and slightly tender. Turn off the heat.7 ounces broccoli
- Drain the pasta and reserve some of the water. Add the pasta to the broccoli in the pan along with the prosciutto, ricotta, the lemon zest and juice, and most of the parmesan and basil. Stir well.1 lemon, ½ cup parmesan cheese, ½ cup ricotta cheese, 1 bunch fresh basil
- Add a little of the cooking water you reserved to loosen up the sauce and grind in some black pepper to taste. Then heat and stir for about 30 seconds or until the pasta has warmed through again.freshly ground black pepper
- Serve immediately. Top with the rest of the parmesan and basil.
Another amazing recipe, have shared details with a neighbour’s friend enjoyed so much
Thank you so much, Kathy! And thanks also for passing it on to your neighbour – I love that you liked it enough to do that! 🙂
Another delicious recipe Helen, yum! Wasn’t my most attractive plate-up😱but it was really tasty! Doubled the recipe and it fed 5 big adults, thanks, will definitely be making again!
Hi Rana! As long as everyone enjoyed it, that’s all that matters 😉 So glad to hear this is a keeper!