This lemon asparagus pasta recipe has a buttery parmesan sauce and only 5 ingredients! It's ready in about 30 minutes and makes for an easy vegetarian dinner. It's the best way to take advantage of the joys of asparagus season!
Lemon and asparagus love each other, as you well know if you've made my Lemon Asparagus Risotto with Parmesan. So for this pasta recipe, we're going to make lemon a key component of the sauce to keep it light and bright!
A bit of parmesan cheese, butter, and the pasta water form a light and luscious sauce, and that's about all you need for this simple, satisfying dinner.
Keep the asparagus love flowing all spring and summer long and make my Asparagus Gruyere Quiche, an Asparagus Puff Pastry Tart, or try Baked Asparagus with Parmesan.
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Ingredients for lemon asparagus pasta
- Fresh asparagus: Choose asparagus that is firm, not limp. The tips should be tight, and dark green or purple in color. Any yellow or brown means it's gone bad. Thick or thin asparagus spears will work for this recipe, and thicker ones also work especially well to make Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus.
- Pasta: I make lemon asparagus pasta with spaghetti, because the noodles have a hefty bite and chew, and it's the perfect vehicle for the parmesan sauce. Other pasta shapes that work include linguine, farfalle (bowtie), fusilli, rotini, and cavatelli. I don't recommend hollow shapes like penne or rigatoni, those are designed for pasta recipes with heftier sauces, so it can get up inside the opening.
- Lemon: We'll use the lemon zest and lemon juice, I love citrus zest in a savory recipe. Asparagus and lemon love each other and this combo will give our pasta amazing flavor!
- Parmesan cheese: Use real parmigiano reggiano. We only have 5 ingredients, so let's make sure they are the best!
- Butter: Butter will be the base of our light, lemony parmesan sauce.
- Kosher salt: To season the pasta water.
*Ingredients with measurements are listed in the recipe card below.
How to make lemon asparagus pasta with parmesan
Step 1: Grate the parmesan
Use a box grater to grate the parmesan cheese and set aside.
Step 2: Zest and juice the lemons
Use a microplane grater to zest both lemons and set aside. Slice the lemons and juice them, removing the seeds.
Step 3: Trim and cut the asparagus
Trim the asparagus by bending it gently near the bottom of the stalk. It will naturally break in the right place.
Cut the asparagus into short pieces on a bias. This gives a nice texture and helps it to nestle into the spaghetti noodles once it's all put together.
Step 4: Start cooking the pasta
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook until just shy of al dente.k
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Debra says: Never break the spaghetti noodles!
We want those nice long noodles! To avoid sticking, hold the spaghetti perpendicular to the pan and drop in vertically, allowing the noodles to fan out in a circle around the pan. Once they soften they'll sink in and won't be stuck together on the ends.
Step 5: Cook the asparagus and assemble the pasta
- Once the pasta is almost al dente, melt the butter in a skillet over medium low heat. Add the asparagus and cook for about 1 minute, until it turns a bright green, add lemon juice and stir.
- Use tongs to transfer the spaghetti directly from the boiling water into the skillet with the asparagus. Add about ยผ cup of the pasta water. Stir to coat with the lemon butter sauce. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
- Turn off the heat and gradually add the parmesan, stirring constantly. Add a little more pasta water if necessary. You might need another ยผ cup or so. We want all of the cheese to melt and coat the spaghetti which will continue to absorb the liquid and cook a bit more. We don't want gloppy cheese, but we also don't want it swimming in sauce.
- Add ยพ of the lemon zest and stir. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with remaining lemon zest and a bit more parmesan for serving.
Expert tips
- This asparagus pasta recipe goes FAST! It's important to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking.
- I always prefer to grate my own cheese: Pre-grated cheese loses its moisture quickly. We want freshly grated cheese so it will melt readily, as soon as we add it to the pan.
- Don't drain the pasta! We need pasta water for the lemon parmesan sauce, so we want to keep that pasta water that's already clinging to the noodles.
- Don't overcook the asparagus in the butter. It's going to continue cooking when we add the pasta, so it really only needs a minute. We want to keep that bright green color!
- Don't add too much pasta water to the pan before you add the cheese. If you do, the cheese will not melt and create a sauce, it will just glop together in melted blobs. Start with ยผ cup and then see if you need more.
- You don't have to cut the asparagus on the bias, but it really looks pretty and means better overall texture if you do.
Ways to serve lemon asparagus pasta
Honestly, a big bowl of lemon asparagus pasta makes a perfect light meal on its own, but here are some ideas for sides, starters and added protein.
- Start with an appetizer: This easy Crostini with Peas has all that spring vegetable flavor, substitute sun dried tomatoes for the 'nduja to keep it vegetarian.
- Try a salad on the side: While strawberry and asparagus seasons are colliding, try it with this Strawberry Salad with Fresh Basil and Mint, or keep it super Italian and try an Insalata Mista.
- Add some protein: Top with grilled chicken or Garlic Shrimp.
Debra's Details: Asparagus pasta is lemony, light, and easy to make in 30 minutes!
- We'll cook asparagus very lightly in lemon butter, so it retains its beautiful color and texture.
- We'll use spaghetti for our pasta noodle for a great al dente bite.
- Fresh lemon juice + lemon zest = maximum lemon flavor!
- Parmesan cheese adds umami and creaminess, while keeping the sauce light.
- It's vegetarian!
More vegetarian pasta recipes
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Recipe
Lemon Asparagus Pasta with Parmesan
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese about 3.5 ounces
- zest of two lemons divided
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 pound spaghetti
- kosher salt for the pasta water
Instructions
- Put a large pot of salted water on high heat and bring to a boil while you are prepping the other ingredients.
- Use a box grater to grate the parmesan cheese and set aside. Use a microplane grater to zest both lemons and set aside. Slice the lemons and juice them, removing the seeds.
- Trim the asparagus by bending it gently near the bottom of the stalk. It will naturally break in the right place. Cut the asparagus stalks on a bias into 1-inch long pieces.
- Add spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until just shy of al dente.
- Once the pasta is almost al dente, melt the butter in a skillet over medium low heat. Add the asparagus and cook for about 1 minute, until it turns a bright green, add lemon juice and stir.
- Use tongs to transfer the spaghetti directly from the boiling water into the skillet with the asparagus. Add ยผ cup of pasta water. Stir to coat with the lemon butter sauce. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
- Turn off the heat and gradually add the parmesan, stirring constantly. Add a little more pasta water if necessary. You might need ¼ to ½ cup or none at all. We want all of the cheese to melt into the liquid and coat the spaghetti. We don't want thick gloppy cheese all over the noodles, but we also don't want it swimming in sauce. You should have just enough sauce to coat all the noodles. Add ¾ of the lemon zest and stir to combine.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and top with remaining lemon zest and a bit more parmesan for serving.
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Notes
- This asparagus pasta recipe goes FAST! It's important to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking.
- I always prefer to grate my own cheese: Pre-grated cheese loses its moisture quickly. We want freshly grated cheese so it will melt readily, as soon as we add it to the pan.
- Don't drain the pasta! We need pasta water for the lemon parmesan sauce, so we want to keep that pasta water that's already clinging to the noodles.
- Don't overcook the asparagus:. It's going to continue cooking when we add the pasta, so it really only needs a minute. We want to keep that bright green color!
- Don't add too much pasta water to the pan before you add the cheese: If you do, the cheese will not melt and create a sauce, it will just glop together in melted blobs. Start with ยผ cup and then see if you need more.
- You don't have to cut the asparagus on the bias: but it really looks pretty and means better overall texture if you do.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated as an estimate. Calorie accuracy is not guaranteed.
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