15-Minute Lemon Asparagus Pasta

Whip together this lemon asparagus pasta in just 15 minutes! Minimal effort and simple ingredients are used to create this delicious weeknight meal.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword asparagus pasta, lemon asparagus pasta, pasta with asparagus

Freezer Friendly Yes

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Servings

Calories 302kcal

Author Bethany Kramer

Preheat oven to 400F.
Bring pasta water to boil: first, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
Roast asparagus: arrange asparagus on a sheet pan, toss with 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil, salt, and garlic powder. Bake for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Cook pasta: add noodles to boiling water and cook as box instructs until "al dente" in texture. Note: "al dente" means "to the tooth" – meaning your pasta shouldn't be too soft but should have a slight bite of texture to it!
Reserve pasta water and strain: when pasta is finished, use a ladle to reserve 1/2-3/4 cup pasta water. Set pasta water aside, and strain pasta.
Add ingredients to pasta: add noodles back to pot with 1/2 cup pasta water (use more if needed), lemon juice, zest, red pepper flakes, fresh basil & oregano, garlic powder, and 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil. Then stir in freshly grated parmesan cheese. Season with salt & black pepper to taste. Note: heat pot on LOW heat if ingredients need to be heated to "melt" the flavors together.
Serve with asparagus: immedietly serve pasta with roasted asparagus. Top with extra parmesan cheese and chopped fresh herbs.

Types of pasta to use - you can use just about any noodle for this recipe. But my favorite is farfalle/bowtie, mini shells, orecchiette, rotini, or fussili.
Make it gluten-free - instead of using regular pasta noodles, you can swap for chickpea, brown rice, or your favorite gluten-free pasta.