Garlic Confit Pasta with Pancetta and Lemon

Name: Garlic Confit Pasta with Pancetta and Lemon
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 Cup Whole Garlic Cloves (about 2 large bulbs); 4 Ounces Diced Pancetta (or Bacon); 1/3 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil; 3 to 4 Sprigs of Thyme or Rosemary; 1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes; 1/4 Teaspoon Salt & Black Pepper; 9 Ounces Pasta; 1 Cup Reserved Pasta Water; Zest of 1 Large Lemon; Juice of 1/2 a Lemon, or to taste; 1/4 Cup Chopped Basil; 2 Tablespoons Chopped Chives; 1/2 Cup Grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan; 8 Ounces Burrata Cheese

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This Garlic Confit Pasta with Pancetta and Lemon is dangerously addictive and extremely easy to make! It's LOADED with caramelized garlic, crispy pancetta, lemon, fresh herbs and topped with creamy burrata cheese. A must try for any garlic or pasta lover!

Close up of garlic confit pasta in a shallow bowl.

I am a huge fan of quick, easy and delicious meals and this AMAZING Lemon Garlic Pasta dish is no exception! What is "confit" anyway? Confit (pronounced "kon-fee) is a cooking method in which food is cooked at a really low temperature for many hours, as a way to preserve it.

However, we don't have time for that!! So I develop a recipe that would decrease the cooking time significantly, while ensuring depth of flavor, and I couldn't be any happier. The bake time is just 25 minutes and during that time, we cook our pasta and prep our herbs. It's that simple!

If you're looking for more meals that are delicious and ready in 30 minutes, check out my Tomato Basil Puff Pastry Tart and my popular Cheesy Pumpkin Pasta! You can easily replace the pumpkin with sweet potato, making it perfect for any time of year.

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Why you will love this Garlic Confit Pasta with Pancetta and Lemon!
Ingredient Notes
Step By Step Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Storage
Expert Tips
FAQ
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📖 Recipe

Why you will love this Garlic Confit Pasta with Pancetta and Lemon!

SO easy to make! The garlic confit is baked in one baking dish and then cooked pasta and aromatics are added to the same baking pan. It doesn't get any easier than that!
A Flavor Bomb. The roasted garlic cloves gets sweet and caramelized. The fat from the pancetta renders out and imparts so much flavor. Bright and lemony, along with a ton of herbs and cheese to complete the dish.
For Garlic Lovers. We are using 2 large bulbs of garlic!
Ready in about 40 minutes. Making it the perfect weeknight meal. You can used pre-peeled garlic cloves to save even more time!

Ingredient Notes

Here are some notes about all the ingredients used. Quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card below!

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Use a good quality and robust flavored extra-virgin olive oil!
Garlic - We're using 2 large bulbs of garlic in this pasta! You can save time by purchasing pre-peeled garlic cloves.
Pancetta - Also known as Italian bacon and is not as smoky as American bacon.
Fresh Thyme - For favor.
Red Pepper Flakes - Adds a bit of spice. You can use as much or as little as you'd like.
Salt + Pepper - To season the pasta.
Pasta - I used gemelli shaped pasta, but feel free to use any shape.
Pasta Water - The starchy pasta water will help create a sauce for the pasta.
Lemon Zest + Lemon Juice - The zest adds bright lemony flavor and the acidity of the lemon juice will cut the richness.
Fresh Basil + Chives - Adds freshness and A TON of flavor.
Grated Cheese - I used parmigiano reggiano, but any hard nutty cheese is perfect.
Burrata Cheese - Adds creaminess.

Step By Step Instructions

Here are step-by-step photos and instructions on how to make this addictive Garlic Pancetta Lemon Pasta! Please find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.

A shallow baking pan of garlic, thyme, pancetta, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

Step 1. To a shallow baking dish, add garlic cloves, diced pancetta, extra-virgin olive oil, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper. Bake for 25 minutes, uncovered.

Step 2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente.

Tip! Reserve 1 cup of starchy pasta water. We won't be using all of it, but you can save the extra pasta water to heat up any leftover pasta you may have.

Garlic confit baked with caramelized garlic and pancetta.

Step 3. Once the garlic confit is cooked, remove from the oven. The garlic should be soft and caramelized and the pancetta is crisp.

A forking smashing the garlic in baking dish.

Step 4. Discard sprigs of thyme and then roughly smash the garlic cloves with a fork.

Pasta, lemon zest, lemon juice, pasta water, chives, basil, grated cheese are added to the baking dish of the garlic confit.

Step 5. Add cooked pasta, lemon zest, lemon juice, at least ½ cup reserved pasta water, basil, chives and grated cheese.

Stirring up pasta with garlic confit in baking dish.

Step 6. Stir well until combined. Taste and season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes if needed.

Step 7. Serve with fresh burrata cheese, more herbs and lemon zest. Enjoy!

Garlic confit pasta with burrata cheese on top.

Substitutions

Pancetta - If you're unable to find pancetta, you can use bacon. If you are vegetarian, you can leave it out.
Fresh Thyme - You can easily substitute for fresh rosemary, oregano or a combination of these herbs. You can also use dried herbs.
Red Pepper Flakes - You can sub for cayenne pepper or omit completely.
Reserved Pasta Water - If you forget to save some pasta water before draining, you can use stock or broth.
Pasta - I'm using gemelli pasta, but any shape will work!
Herbs - Fresh basil and chives is best, but you can also use fresh parsley, thyme oregano and green scallions.
Grated Cheese - You can't go wrong with parmigiano reggiano, pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese.
Burrata Cheese - You can easily sub for fresh mozzarella, not hard shredded mozzarella. The idea is to serve with a creamy cheese. Whipped ricotta or goat cheese could even work but honestly, it's also INCREDIBLE with just extra grated parmesan on top! 😍

Variations

Garlic and Tomato Confit - Add some tomatoes and cook it together with the garlic to create a wonderful tomato sauce.
Heavy Cream - If you like to make the sauce more rich and creamy, add a bit of cream.
Veggies - You can add arugula or fresh spinach to add more freshness. You can add roasted broccoli, asparagus or spring peas!
Make it Vegetarian - Simply leave out the pancetta!
Make it Vegan - Omit the pancetta and cheeses and replace with nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan.

Storage

Refrigerator - Store leftovers in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezer - Freeze individual portions in freezer-safe containers and store for up to 2 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.

Expert Tips

Save time by using pre-peeled garlic cloves. Use the vacuum sealed ones found in the fridge at your grocery store, not brined garlic found in jars.

Don't forget to reserve your pasta water. The starch in the pasta water will help create the sauce. Also don't forget to save extra for reheating leftover pasta.

Do not overcook your pasta! We want it to be al dente as the pasta will continue to cook after it's drained. I usually decrease the cooking time 2 minutes less than what's instructed on the package.

Do not burn the garlic. Keep an eye on the garlic to make sure it doesn't burn. Stir the garlic half way through for even browning.

Two plates with garlic confit pasta in a shallow bowl.

FAQ

What is confit?

Confit (pronounced u0022Kon-feeu0022) refers to a preservation cooking method in which food is cooked in fat at a very low temperature and for really looooooong time. Duck confit is a great example. I used to work at a fine dining restaurant and the duck was cooked in duck fat for 4 hours at 210ºF.

If you want to get technical, we are not really making garlic confit because we are cooking it at a higher temperature, but that is to ensure that we have dinner ready in about 40 minutes.

We really should be cooking food for many hours at 200ºF to 220ºF to truly u0022confitu0022 something.

What's the best way to reheat this Garlic Confit Pasta with Pancetta and Lemon!?

To reheat, add pasta and a bit of reserved pasta water, broth or water to a saucepan and warm over medium-low heat, making sure to stir often. You can also heat leftovers in the microwave. Just remember to add a bit of stock or water and stir every 45 seconds until warm.

Can I make this vegan?

Yes, you can! Omit the pancetta and cheeses and replace with nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan. It's absolutely delicious!