Asparagus Pasta
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This delicious asparagus pasta makes a fabulous spring pasta dish filled with seasonal asparagus, peas and bright lemon.
It’s beautiful, fresh, green, and ready in 15 minutes!
I love this time of the year. The daylight, the blooming, the birds chirping, and the beautiful vegetables that this amazing season has to offer.
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And I LOVE when asparagus is fresh, cheap and abundant, perfect to make this simple asparagus pasta that requires about 8 ingredients and minimal prep time.
In this recipe, I cook quickly the asparagus and the peas with a touch of pasta water in a large skillet until crisp-tender but still bright green.
And to maximise the fresh flavor of the ingredients, I add the extra virgin olive oil, garlic and seasoning in the last minutes of the cooking time, not at the beginning.
Finally, I toss the drained pasta in the skillet along with the veggies, lemon zest, juice, parmesan cheese until well coated and juicy!
And… that’s all. This light and delicious spring asparagus pasta is ready!
List of the ingredients
- Asparagus
- Peas, fresh or frozen
- Pasta
- Parmesan cheese
- Garlic
- Lemon
- Parsley or basil (optional)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & pepper
How to make this asparagus pasta
(Note: this a quick explanation, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Cook pasta until al dente.
- Saute’ asparagus, peas, and a touch of pasta water over medium-high heat.
- When asparagus is fork tender, stir in oil, garlic, and seasoning.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet.
- Add lemon zest, parmesan cheese, toss until well combined and serve.
What to serve with this lemon asparagus pasta recipe
- A light side like my lettuce salad or spinach arugula salad would be great.
- If you want to get more protein, a chickpea salad, white bean salad, or an easy frittata with arugula would make a lovely, balanced meatless meal.
Pasta leftovers
Asparagus pasta leftovers keep well in the fridge, in airtight container, for 3 days. But I wouldn’t recommend freezing pasta.
Looking for easy pasta recipes?
If you look for more pasta recipes, I’ve got you covered: from easy one-pot pasta recipes to these delicious quick pasta recipes and meatless pastas packed with vegetables or beans like:
- Quick spinach pasta
- Pasta with peppers
- White bean pasta
- Creamy penne pasta
- One-pot tomato pasta
- Arugula pasta
- Sun dried tomato pasta
- Creamy tomato pasta sauce
Lastly, If you make this asparagus pasta, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram.
I would love to hear from you!
Recipe update: originally posted in April 2021, the post has been updated with new recipe notes.
Asparagus pasta
Ingredients
- ½ lb asparagus, woody ends snapped off
- 1 ½ cup Fresh or frozen peas, fresh or thawed
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese, plus more to serve
- 1 unwaxed lemon, zest and juice
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves, chopped (optional)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Pasta
- 8 oz pasta (orecchiette, penne, fusilli..)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salty water to the boil and cook your pasta until al dente following the package's directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, wash and cut the asparagus into max 1-inch pieces. If the asparagus are thick, you might cut it lengthwise into halves.
- Place asparagus and peas into a large pan, cover with about ½ inch of pasta cooking water, cover with a lid, and bring the water to the boil. Cook the vegetable over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Drain the remaining water and return the pan to the stove.
- Add olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper to the vegetables and saute' for a further 2 minutes or until they are still crisp but fork tender. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and turn the heat off.
- Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water, drain and put the pasta into the pan along with the sauteed vegetables.
- Add parmesan, lemon zest, half of the lemon juice, and toss well to combine. Add a touch of the pasta cooking water gradually (you don't need all of it) and stir well to combine until the pasta is nicely coated.
- Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil if you wish. Enjoy.
