An easy 20 minute pasta with artichokes, asparagus, and a creamy lemon sauce!
This is such a spring-y, summer-y pasta and I am in love with it. Artichokes are one of my favorite foods in the history of ever and I will take them any way I can get them. My mom used to boil whole artichokes and serve them with melted butter – something I like to call death by heavenly heart attack. A whole bowl of butter just for dipping = mayyyyybe not so heart-healthy. But you’re essentially dipping flower petals in the butter. It can’t be that bad for you. (right?)
One of my favorite way to have artichokes is in pasta. In particular, a creamy lemon pasta with asparagus. Mmmmmm. This recipe is incredibly simple, just the way I like it. A few ingredients and only 20 minutes will deliver one of the best pastas you’ve ever tasted!
What people are saying about this Lemon Artichoke & Asparagus Pasta
“Made this tonight and it was fantastic – do not use short cuts from similar pins – this is the real deal. I added extra lemon and garlic, non-fat milk, and whole wheat flour. Next time I’ll use whole wheat pasta. Thanks for the great recipe!” – Kelley
“Made this exactly according to recipe, scaled down to one serving. It was great, however I found that it needed a lot more lemon juice the recipe called for, also some pepper. Other than that, great, I used cornstarch to thicken instead of flour and it worked fine. Will be repeating, I can imagine some meaty portobello’s would also work here alongside the asparagus. Great quick recipe.” – Julie
Lemon Artichoke & Asparagus Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bowtie pasta - cooked according to package instructions
- 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts - drained and rinsed
- 12 asparagus spears - chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons garlic - minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk - (I used fat free half and half, but use whatever you prefer)
- salt and pepper - to taste
- shaved parmesan
Instructions
- Spray a large pan or non stick skillet with cooking spray. Add artichoke hearts, lemon juice, and lemon zest and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Add asparagus and cook another 2-4 minutes until tender, stirring throughout. Remove artichokes and asparagus with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add butter and garlic to pan and stir for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant. Add flour and stir until mixture forms a ball or clump. Slowly whisk in milk until mixture is smooth.
- Add pasta and stir to coat. Stir in artichokes and asparagus. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with parmesan cheese.
This was delicious! I always have to laugh when chefs and professional cooks say 5 mins prep. It takes me that long to pull together the ingredients. Then there’s the chopping and squeezing and zesting, etc. It’s still a bit of a quick dinner – more like 40 mins for me. Like another person I scaled to one serving and felt more lemon juice was helpful.
Can this be eaten cold as a salad?
Yes, it can