Lemon Asparagus Pasta

Name: Lemon Asparagus Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 12 oz. gluten-free casarecce pasta; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided; 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, washed, and cut into bite-sized pieces; 3/4 cup finely chopped shallot; 2 large cloves garlic, minced; 2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour; 1 cup chicken broth; 1 cup heavy whipping cream; 3 oz. soft goat cheese, plain or herbed, plus more for topping; zest and juice of 1 lemon (about 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice); salt and pepper to taste; 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

This Lemon Asparagus Pasta is an easy 30-minute meal perfect for any night of the week! Pasta is tossed in a creamy, silky, lemony sauce with sautéed asparagus, shallots, & toasted almonds. It's a simple dinner recipe that everyone will love!

Creamy pasta with asparagus in a black skillet.

Creamy, lemony, therapeutic pasta with sautéed asparagus, shallots, and toasted almonds. Spring is finally here...I think. At least that's what I'm hoping because I think we're all about to go mental if the rain doesn't agree to a truce.

But even if the sun doesn't come out tomorrow you can bet your bottom dollar that we will still have this dreamy pasta to pull us through.

Meet your new favorite pasta recipe!

Fun, twisted casarecce pasta is tossed with fresh, perfectly sautéed asparagus in a silky, creamy sauce finished off with a bright splash of lemon. What more do we need? Not much, except maybe a glass of wine to go with it.

This creamy lemon asparagus pasta is an awesome dinner to keep in your back pocket for:

A quick and easy 30-minute weeknight meal that the whole family will love
A fancy-ish stay-at-home date night meal, oooh-la-la
A springtime holiday meal (perfect for Easter or Mother's Day)
When you're on the hook to entertain and need a tasty, simple dinner idea that the whole gang will love. Your book club may end up wanting you to host every time, so just be ready.
It's truly perfect for any occasion!

It's a springtime pasta that definitely gets all the likes and heart emojis.

Recipe ingredients and suggestions

Ingredients for lemon asparagus pasta are spread out on a marble counter.

Gluten-free pasta: The shape, and the type of pasta, is really up to you but casarecce pasta is definitely a good place to start. This short, twisted pasta with its curled edges and groove down the middle makes it perfect for the creamy lemony sauce to adhere to. Brand suggestion: Jovial Gluten-Free Casarecce
Gluten-free all purpose flour: Used to create a roux that serves as a thickening agent for the dreamy, creamy lemon sauce. Brand suggestion: Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
Sliced almonds: Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan and stirring until just golden brown. They add the perfect finishing touch to this pasta. If you're allergic to nuts, the pasta will still be tasty without them.
Soft goat cheese: Also known as chèvre. I LOVE using this cheese when making a creamy sauce. It easily melts into a perfect sauce-like consistency and is mild in flavor with just a slight tang. Herbed or plain goat cheese are both delish options for the sauce. Brand suggestion: LaClare Family Creamery or Montchevre
Unsalted butter: I always use unsalted butter in my recipes so that I can control how much salt is in my food, and avoid the risk of my food being too salty.

Step by step instructions for this creamy lemon pasta

Boiling pasta and saving some pasta water.

Step 1: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente.

Step 2: Reserve a cup of the pasta water in case you need to thin the creamy lemon sauce out at a later point.

Melt butter in a skillet and sauté asparagus, shallots, and garlic.

Step 3: Melt butter in a large skillet.

Step 4: Sauté the asparagus and shallots for just a few minutes. Toss in some garlic and sauté for a couple more minutes. Then remove the asparagus mixture from the skillet and set it aside.

Butter and flour are combined and whisked in a skillet.

Step 5: In the same skillet used to cook the asparagus mixture, melt some butter and add some gluten-free all purpose flour.

Step 6: Then whisk, whisk, whisk, breaking up all of those little buttery flour clumps.

Broth and cream are added and whisked, followed by soft goat cheese.

Step 7: Add broth and heavy cream, whisking all the while. Things are starting to get fun now.

Step 8: Add the goat cheese, whisking until smooth, silky, and creamy, and you begin to feel that inner pull to just dunk your face in it.

lemon are added to the cream sauce. Cooked pasta is stirred into the sauce.

Step 9: Finish it off by adding a big splash of fresh lemon juice. The lemon gives the sauce a bright and cheery zing bringing some balance to the rich, creamy sauce.

Step 10: Add the cooked pasta and stir it all around until you go weak in the knees from excitement.

asparagus mixture is stirred into the creamy lemon sauce then topped with almonds.

Step 11: Add the asparagus mixture and give it all another stir, until everything is coated in creamy bliss.

Step 12: Top with toasted slivered almonds. Eat and be happy.

A large skillet of creamy lemon pasta is served with a wooden skillet.

Recipe tips

Save the pasta water! Reserve just a cup or so of the pasta water in case you need it for later. Some like their creamy pasta sauce thicker and some like it thinner. Pasta water is the key to helping the cream sauce reach the perfect consistency. If the sauce is a little too thick after you've added the pasta and asparagus mixture to it, just add a few tablespoons of pasta water at a time until it reaches the perfect silky consistency that you enjoy.
Don't overcook your pasta! Mushy pasta is not very tasty. Make sure you follow the cooking duration specified for 'al dente' pasta listed on your pasta packaging. Different shaped kinds of pasta require different cooking durations. It can also vary from brand to brand. The pasta will also continue cooking just a bit when added to the hot creamy lemon sauce which is another reason why we want to avoid overcooking it. ('Al dente' simply means that the pasta is cooked so as to be still firm to the bite but not undercooked.)

Lemon pasta with asparagus is served on a white plate with a gold fork.

Recipe frequently asked questions

How do I cut asparagus?

The end of an asparagus stalk is woody and fibrous, not something that is tasty to eat. The easiest way to remove the tough asparagus ends is to simply snap them off. Asparagus will naturally bend at the spot that should be removed. However, if you don't feel like snapping the ends, you can always just cut the ends off with a knife. Then, with your knife, continue cutting the asparagus into smaller bite-sized pieces.

Can you cook the asparagus with the pasta?

Everyone loves a good time-saving hack but I wouldn't recommend cooking the asparagus with the pasta. The flavor gained from sauteeing the asparagus with the shallots, garlic, and butter will far exceed anything you'll get from boiling it with the pasta and it will maintain a crisp bite versus a potentially mushy bite.

What other pasta shapes would be tasty in this recipe?

Penne or farfalle (also known as bow-tie or butterfly pasta) would also be tasty short pasta options to try. If you prefer a long pasta, my recommendation would be linguine or fettuccine. Keep in mind that the sauce will adhere to different pasta shapes in different ways based on how 'groovy' the pasta is and whether or not bronze dies were used to cut the pasta into shape. Bronze die cut pasta gives the pasta a course texture allowing the sauce to better grip or coat the pasta.

What else would be tasty served with this lemon asparagus pasta?

Grilled salmon, shrimp, or chicken would be amazing. If you'd like to keep your meal vegetarian, this Arugula Spinach Salad with Winter Citrus would be divine as well.

A plate of lemon pasta topped with sautéed asparagus, shallots, and toasted almonds.

When I'm stuck with a day that's grey and lonely I just stick up my chin and grin and say, oh...hey dreamy, creamy, lemony pasta! That's how the song goes right? ♡

More tasty pasta recipes!

One Pot Creamy Cajun Sausage Pasta a luxuriously creamy 30-minute meal with a spicy kick
Amazing Gluten-Free Classic Lasagna a popular crowd-pleaser!
Date Night Gnocchi creamy, dreamy, and sure to impress
Chicken Piccata with Gnocchi - perfect for date night or a simple weekday supper

Did You Make This Recipe?!

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment and a star rating below! I greatly appreciate your feedback and it is also so helpful for other PMST readers who are thinking about making the recipe. Remember to snap a photo and tag @passmesometasty on Instagram so I can see!

Lemon Asparagus Pasta

5 from 8 reviews

Author: Shannon Emery
Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 20
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 4-6 1x

Print Recipe

Description

This Lemon Asparagus Pasta is an easy 30-minute meal perfect for any night of the week! Pasta is tossed in a creamy, silky, lemony sauce with sautéed asparagus, shallots, & toasted almonds. It's an over-the-top tasty dinner recipe that everyone will love!

Ingredients

Scale

12 oz. gluten-free casarecce pasta
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, washed, and cut into bite-sized pieces
¾ cup finely chopped shallot
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 oz. soft goat cheese, plain or herbed, plus more for topping
zest and juice of 1 lemon (about 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice)
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted

Instructions

Cook pasta: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente (still firm to the bite but not undercooked), reserving a cup of the pasta water. Once the pasta has finished cooking, drain pasta and set aside.
Sauté veggies: Meanwhile, add 2 tablespoons butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and shallots and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Transfer the asparagus mixture from the skillet to a bowl and set aside.
Make a roux: To the same skillet used to cook the asparagus, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add flour to the melted butter and whisk to combine.
Add liquids to the roux: Begin slowly adding the broth in a steady stream to the roux while whisking continuously, breaking up any clumps of flour. Continuing to whisk, gradually add the heavy cream until the mixture becomes smooth and silky.
Add cheese and lemon to the sauce: Add goat cheese to the sauce and continue stirring until the goat cheese has completely melted and the sauce is smooth once again. Finally, add lemon zest and lemon juice and stir to combine. Allow the sauce to simmer on low heat for a few minutes just until the sauce thickens to a desired consistency. If the sauce becomes too thick, thin it out by adding some of the reserved pasta water a little bit at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Put it all together: Add the cooked pasta and asparagus mixture to the lemony cream sauce and stir to combine. Top with toasted almonds and serve!

Equipment

Notes

Wondering what a roux is? It's simply flour and fat (in this case butter) cooked together and used to thicken sauces.

You may find different spelling variations for this particular shape of pasta. Even between Italian pasta companies, one will spell it "casarecce" while the other spells it "caserecce." Either way, when your mouth takes a bite of this creamy lemon pasta the importance of its spelling will just fade away.

Category: Dinner
Method: Boil, Sauté
Cuisine: Italian
Diet: Gluten Free

Keywords: lemon asparagus pasta, dinner recipe, asparagus, gluten-free recipe, creamy lemon pasta

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Update Notes: This post was originally published in May 2017, but was re-published with updated photos, step-by-step instructions, recipe tips, and FAQs in May 2022.

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