Easter

Creamy Asparagus, Lemon, and Walnut Pasta

Name: Creamy Asparagus, Lemon, and Walnut Pasta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 7 ounces dried spaghetti (or pasta of your choice); 1 pound asparagus spears; 1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped; 1 garlic clove, peeled; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; Zest of one lemon; Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

by: Flirty Foodie

May 6, 2014

4.4

20 Ratings

Creamy Asparagus, Lemon, and Walnut Pasta

Photo by James Ransom

Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 15 minutes
Serves 2

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

After making and photographing my recipe for pasta with creamy walnut sauce (another contestant in the contest), I was hungry for dinner. I opened my semi-bare fridge and threw together this dish. It was so delicious, I decided to submit this recipe as well! —Flirty Foodie

Test Kitchen Notes

This is a perfect Sunday evening supper for spring, and makes the most of seasonal asparagus. The lemon keeps things fresh and zesty, while the walnuts contribute the “crunch” factor. The dish takes a mere 15 minutes to make, so you have no excuse not to! It’s so delicious, you’ll want to double the recipe so you have leftovers. —Amelia G

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

7 ounces dried spaghetti (or pasta of your choice)
1 pound asparagus spears
¹/₄ cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of one lemon
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a strong boil. Season with salt, then add pasta. Cook according to package directions for "al dente." Set aside about 1 cup cooking water, then drain pasta.
While water is coming to a boil, cut off and discard the tough ends of the asparagus. Cut the remainder into 1/3-inch rounds, leaving the tips intact. Heat olive oil and garlic in a large pan over medium heat for five minutes. Add asparagus, salt, pepper, and 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water. Cover pan and cook asparagus for 4 to 8 minutes, until tender to the bite. Turn off heat and discard garlic.
Once pasta is finished, purée 1/3 of the cooked asparagus and 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water in a food processor, blender, or immersion blender until smooth. Try to avoid blending the asparagus tips, for aesthetic reasons.
Add puréed asparagus back to pan, along with sliced asparagus. Mix in cooked pasta, lemon zest, and more pasta water as needed to keep the sauce loose. Heat on low for a minute or two to allow pasta to absorb some of the sauce. Serve immediately, topped with chopped walnuts.

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51 Reviews

Marlene L. April 29, 2023

Very good! I did like some other folks and puréed the garlic with the asparagus, and served with a little Parmesan cheese garnish in addition to the nuts. Good call on both. Note: The portions would have been way too large if we made just 2 servings as suggested; it’s really 3 or 4.

We also had an entire zested lemon, so I did the mise en place then we had whisky sours at cocktail time before dinner :-)

panania May 30, 2022

This was good, and now that fresh asparagus are available its the perfect time for it. But it's a bit arduous. I made it twice and the second time skipped the emulsion skip. It wasn't as creamy, but the flavor was still there. BTW, you definitely do need a full pound of asparagus. It sounds like a like but it works.

jaimeleigh May 24, 2022

I really enjoyed this! I made a few tweaks after reading some comments. Nothing crazy. I added crushed red pepper flakes and puréed the garlic with the asparagus. I wanted to use up a lingering piece of parmsean so I grated in about 10g. I don’t think it needed it but it doesn’t hurt. If you’re vegan you won’t miss it. I also tossed in some fresh parsley at the end, because why not.

I would definitely make this again.

Leil July 24, 2021

This was quite good.

Tricia D. March 26, 2021

This was a hit! I smashed the garlic cloves and simmered them in the olive oil with strips of prosciutto and a dash of red pepper flakes. I also added the garlic clove about half of the chopped walnuts when I puréed the asparagus. Like others we served with cheese – I used Romano.

Stacey September 3, 2020

Winner Winner Pasta Dinner! My husband is allergic to most nuts so I took another reviewers idea and sauteed crimini mushrooms sliced super thinly and added them at the end. I also added some sauteed pancetta (which I really didn't need with the meatiness of the mushrooms), Parmesan cheese and home grown cherry tomatoes during the final re-heat. Topped it off with some fresh oregano that I had left over from the night before and a bit more Parmesan cheese and VOILA! Delicious!!! My husband told me to add it the Top 5 list.

Elizabeth M. May 26, 2020

This was really good! My whole family enjoyed it. I added Parmesan cheese when I served it!

Elizabeth M. May 26, 2020

This was really good! My whole family enjoyed it. I added Parmesan cheese when I served it.

Willh5080 April 29, 2020

This is one of the best paste recipies i ever cooked! It's SO tasty that i forgot about everything!)
Also try this pastarecipe https://food52.com/recipes/20605-pasta-piselli

Adrienne L. August 4, 2019

Agree with others that it needs just a little something more, or else used as a side dish. I added red pepper flakes, but if I made this again I would add some cheese component to it and leave the garlic in for a stronger flavor. It also makes a lot more than two servings, at least three and maybe even four (even as a main).

Amy M. April 22, 2018

What other nut could be used instead of Walnuts?

Darlene April 23, 2018

I think this would be very good with almonds, maybe pistachios. This recipe is actually on my menu for this week. It's a great weeknight recipe and a perfect springtime meal.

Rick B. May 27, 2020

Pine nuts are always a good choice.

macfadden June 20, 2017

Tasty. Check your asparagus before 4 minutes if it's thin, though; mine was a bit overdone by then.

Meg June 4, 2017

Great, easy, quick. I added some fresh basil along with the walnuts and I think I'll add it to the puree next time.

Darlene July 8, 2016

This recipe is simple, quick and delicious. It's similar to a lot of pasta recipes I use, but the puree of asparagus is a very complimentary component. We love garlic so I use more and leave it in. The second time I made it I added sauteed chicken sausage and that was delicious too.

T July 5, 2016

This was bland and underwhelming. Definitely will not be making again. I'm disappointed because usually food 52 recipes are pretty spot on.

Bastien April 24, 2018

I agree with you. Very disappointing. Thanks for the Parmigiano reggiano that added some flavor.

Jenny June 28, 2016

Also added 1/3 of an avocado in the asparagus purée, following NancyFrom Kona's comment, I added the pasta water after the puree was almost fully blended. This green sauce was amazing.
I also tossed some cherry tomatoes into the pasta in the end with shaved Parmesan :) Thanks for the recipe!

robyn May 16, 2016

This is a recipe very close to Gourmet or Bon Aperit recipe I have been using for many years.

Tom May 6, 2016

Geez, that sounds good. I would be tempted to cook the non puréed asparagus (in larger pieces) with the pasta

NancyFromKona March 24, 2016

This is a very tasty, easy recipe. I had several #'s of asparagus from The Big Box Store and was weary of grilling them again. Because my husband has a severe garlic allergy, I used a medium sized shallot instead and elected to purée that along with the asparagus. Instead of adding the pasta water immediately, I sauted it until the veggies were lightly browned and then as I puréed the mix, added the pasta water to the pan. The amount of food to be puréed is so small the Vitamix could not do it and I resorted to the mini food processor. I really liked the mouth feel provided by the finely chopped walnuts. Going into my favorites collection. I think with a sturdy pasta could be made ahead and reheated. Next time I may try adding a little pancetta.

Anna April 28, 2015

My boyfriend is allergic to nuts, so instead of walnuts we used chopped cremini mushrooms. Also, the advice to add parmesan and crushed red peppers was spot on.

Beverly I. April 15, 2015

This pasta dish sounds wonderful! I can't wait to try it

Audrey M. July 21, 2014

has anyone ever tried this recipe with spaghetti squash?

EllenFWilliams July 17, 2014

Can you prepare everything but the pasta ahead of time?

Flirty F. July 18, 2014

I don't see why not. Maybe you can make a thicker sauce, or just use normal water instead of the pasta water.

cholula July 13, 2014

I have made a similar recipe for years. I got the idea for seeing a favorite recipe of Danny Kay, the comedian. Only that recipe uses broccoli instead of asparagus. Today I made another version with what I had in the fridge and it was super. I used broccolini. First I carmelized half an onion in butter (had no garlic, what?!) while the broccolini was boiling in the pot for the future spaghetti. Then I added the blanched broccolini to the carmelized onion and the cooked pasta along with juice of a lemon and red pepper flakes. While the pasta was still hot, I thinly sliced string cheese (mozzarella) and added that to the pasta along with the toasted walnuts. It turned out surprisingly very tasty.

Lorraina R. June 30, 2014

Delicious!

Flirty F. June 30, 2014

Thanks Lorraina!

Transcendancing June 25, 2014

This was a great recipe, I made it for a dinner party tonight. I had a much greener sauce than in the picture, but I pureed more than 1/3 of the asparagus mixture. I made it for six and wasn't sure I had enough asparagus, so I added some peas as well. I loved the creaminess of the dish especially without the dairy added - though I cheated a little and added some butter to the pot when the asparagus was cooking. I also finished it off with some parmesan which went very well. I used the zest of two lemons in my efforts to expand the recipe and that went well too. The texture of the pasta with the asparagus spears, rounds and peas I saved with the lemon zest and walnuts was fantastic and I'll definitely do this again! My housemate who loves asparagus declared this a definite win. Will definitely do this as a proper vegan version for friends where this will be welcome, thanks so much!

Flirty F. June 25, 2014

Hi Transcendancing. I'm ever so happy to hear that this recipe turned out well for you. Even though I realize that the recipe for two is small for most. At the moment there is just two of us in my household and besides I always think it's easier to multiply by two or three, than to divide by the same amounts. But that could just be me... I also love the peas and asparagus combo. Great way to make the recipe your own!

Transcendancing June 27, 2014

I definitely found it easy enough to expand for the number of people for dinner - I found it to be a very flexible recipe.

Barb June 9, 2014

I really like the technique of pureeing the asparagus as a basis for the sauce. I did think it needed a little jazzing up though, I added some parmesan, basil, and crushed red pepper and I could have used more of all of those.

Steph June 6, 2014

This is a great simple, spring recipe. I added the juice of half a lemon to the asparagus while it was sauteeing instead of the pasta water--it kept the garlic from burning and allowed the lemony flavor to fully soak into the asparagus. Thanks for sharing!

4skiski June 3, 2014

I puréed half the asparagus with half a cup of warm cream and a tablespoon of melted butter. Definitely not vegan ;) but being pregnant I have been craving creamy pasta sauces. Finished it with some freshly shaved parm and toasted pine nuts. It did not disappoint! Will be trying the creamless version when the baby weight needs to come off!

Susan T. June 4, 2014

I just made and happily consumed your version of the recipe and it was delicious! Even the carnivore hubs was happy! We topped it with minced chives (as I had no lemons!) for a nice finish.

Flirty F. June 4, 2014

I'm really glad you and the carnivore hubs liked it!

Flirty F. June 9, 2014

4skiski, I was laughing so hard when I read your comment. Maybe I too will be that too when pregnant too. And Congrats!!!

Horto June 3, 2014

yeah, makes you just want to through a little cream or creme fraiche in....creamy did catch my attention!

Flirty F. June 3, 2014

lol. I'm trying to eat 2-3 vegan meals per week. For me this was a guilt free compromise free option. But if you want to add cream please do so. I think it would taste really good.

jedi May 31, 2014

this was very good-light, but satisfying. I took a tip from another comment and added some mint and basil to the puree, and also added some lemon juice which was delicious. also, topped with some grated parm (so, not vegan for me).

Flirty F. June 3, 2014

grated parm really should count as vegan... ;-)

vrunka May 30, 2014

loved this! simple and delicious. And quick, too! I added some fresh mint at the end which made it very bright and springy.

Flirty F. May 30, 2014

Love that you added mint! I think recipes should be just that, a starting point on which you can add your own personal twist

Katie May 27, 2014

This was delicious. The ultimate taste of spring: clean, bright and simple. Can't beat the colour, too.

Only change I made was to add the garlic clove and a handful of basil to the blended ingredients.

Flirty F. May 27, 2014

Hi Katie! So glad you liked it. The blended garlic and basil sound like great additions.

Bonny May 26, 2014

Nice idea. Not enough flavor for my taste. Nothing stands out to make this special.
Good not great.

Flirty F. May 27, 2014

Hi Bonny, being of Trinidadian origin I grew up on bold flavors like curries (that simmered in coconut milk) and meats that marinated in herbs and spices for hours if not overnight.

Now that I have spent several years living in Northern Italy, I've come to appreciate more simple uncomplicated flavors as well. Those were the individual beauty of quality natural ingredients shine through, like the asparagus in this dish.

Or as I tell my Italian friends that complain that they don't like cilantro, cumin, spicy things in general...

Food is a Matter of Taste.

I_Fortuna May 25, 2014

Creamy suggests that cream is used in the recipe but I did not see it on the list of ingredients. I also like my pasta al dente so I don't think it will absorb much of the sauce. Nice recipe though, looks good.

Flirty F. May 25, 2014

Hi "I Fortuna", You're right no cream involved. In fact, I thought about adding vegan to the title to emphasize that... Ultimately decided to keep the word "creamy" to emphasize the added smoothness from the blended asparagus. I hope you enjoy.