A vibrant spring recipe, this Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta with Asparagus will bring smiles around the table. Sautéed asparagus and chicken are tossed with pasta and a zesty lemon cream sauce.
*Today I’m partnering with Sharp Home USA ~ Sharp creates quality home appliances that make life easier!
Contents
A Vibrant Spring Pasta Recipe
A dreamy lemon cream sauce + asparagus + pasta = Spring dinner perfection!
There’s so much to love in this lemon pasta dish. If you’ve never made a lemon cream sauce, you’re in for a wonderful surprise!
Make this soon, while asparagus is at it’s best! I love tossing this pasta with sautéed chicken as well, but feel free to omit it if you’re looking for a vegetarian pasta dish.
Cream sauces are not difficult to make! If you’ve felt intimidated by them in the past, let that go, and dive in with this delicious pasta recipe. It’s as simple as sautéing a few ingredients together with a thickener, and then adding the cream in and gently simmering it. Toss with cooked pasta and sautéed asparagus and chicken, and an impressive, family-friendly dinner is ready in 30 minutes!
What You’ll Need
- Pasta (I use gluten free shells, orecchiette in the photos, but use whatever pasta you love!)
- Asparagus
- Chicken (boneless breasts or thighs work here!)
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
Creamy Lemon Sauce
- Pastured Butter
- Garlic
- Arrowroot (or use regular flour, if not gluten free)
- Lemon Juice & Lemon Zest
- Chicken Stock (or use vegetable broth)
- Pastured Heavy Whipping Cream
- Parmesan Cheese
- Salt and Pepper
Mastering the Dinner Game
Dinnertime is a great way to bring the family together. I love this part of the day, when I get to slow down and take care of the ones I love.
Mastering some family favorites is a great way to remove some of the stress getting dinner on the table every night.
This recipe comes together in less than 30 minutes! The sauce is made with simple ingredients that are easy to have on hand, and the variations are endless (see notes on how to mix up this creamy lemon chicken pasta)!
Another pro tip: My Sharp Induction Cooktop allows me to cook meals perfectly, even if I am distracted by my son’s spelling homework or trying to work in loads of laundry at the same time.
The Power Boost brings water to a boil in no longer than a few minutes, meaning I can toss the pasta in much faster. I love setting the burners to the exact temperature I know food cooks the best. I use level 4 to cook things slowly, so if I step out of the kitchen for a few minutes, the chicken won’t burn or overcook.
The simmer enhancer feature is perfect for recipes with creamy sauces! I set the burner to level 3 to bring the sauce to a low simmer, and short pulses of heat are sent through my cookware. The sauces simmer gently without burning.
Hop on over to the Sharp USA website to see if this incredible Induction Cooktop is a good fit for your dream kitchen!
How to Make a Creamy Lemon Pasta
Step 1: Boil the pasta per package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, and then drain pasta. Set aside until the rest of the pasta recipe is ready.
Step 2: In a skillet, add olive oil and chicken, and season generously with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken on both sides, and cook for about 10 minutes until cooked through.
Step 3: Add the asparagus, and continue to saute along with the chicken until softened, for about 5 minutes.
Step 4: Set the chicken and asparagus aside. In the pan, add the butter, garlic, and arrowroot. Allow the butter to melt and stir into a thickened sauce.
Step 5: Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, heavy whipping cream, and parmesan cheese into the skillet. Stir until smooth and bring to a low simmer. Continue simmering for about 2 minutes until the cheese has melted and the sauce is very smooth.
Step 6: Add the drained pasta, chicken, and asparagus into the skillet with the sauce, and toss to combine. Use the reserved pasta water
Step 7: Garnish pasta with parmesan cheese, red chili flakes, or chopped parsley, as desired.
How to Store and Reheat Pasta
Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
To reheat, add to a sauce pot along with 1/4 cup of water over medium heat. Stir to thin the sauce as the pasta reheats.
Variations
- Make this Vegetarian: Omit the chicken and using vegetable broth in the cream sauce.
- Make this Gluten Free: Use your favorite gluten free pasta, or even zoodles, to complete this dish.
- Mix up the Veggies: Instead of the asparagus, use small pieces or broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, bell peppers, or spinach. Whatever veggies are in season will work here!
Other Pasta Recipes to LOVE
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Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta with Asparagus
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pasta (gluten free, if necessary) Orchiette or other favorite sharp, cooked to package directions – reserve 1/2 cup pasta water
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 pound organic boneless chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 pound asparagus ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
Lemon Cream Sauce
- 1 tablespoon pastured butter
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot or sub organic corn starch or tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup chicken broth sub vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- lemon zest from 1 lemon
- 3/4 cup pastured heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water to thin creamy sauce as necessary.
- In a large skillet, add avocado oil and cook chicken over medium high heat. When the chicken has begun to brown, flip it to cook all sides.
- When chicken is cooked through, add in asparagus, and continue to cook for about 3 minutes to soften. Leave asparagus crisp. Remove chicken and asparagus from pan.
- Once the lemon cream sauce has been prepared, add in the pasta, chicken, and asparagus, and toss to coat. Serve hot, with extra parmesan or chili flakes to garnish.
Lemon Cream Sauce
- In the same skillet, add butter and garlic, and reduce heat to medium low. Allow the butter to melt.
- Add the arrowroot to the melted butter and garlic, and stir it in. Add in the chicken broth, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and mix to combine.
- Once the mixture has come to a low simmer, add the heavy whipping cream and parmesan. Stir the sauce until it begins to bubble.
- Taste the sauce, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Thin the sauce as necessary with reserved pasta water.
Video
Notes
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT PASTA
Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to 3 days. To reheat, add to a sauce pot along with 1/4 cup of water over medium heat. Stir to thin the sauce as the pasta reheats.VARIATIONS
- Make this Vegetarian:Â Omit the chicken and using vegetable broth in the cream sauce.
- Make this Gluten Free:Â Use your favorite gluten free pasta, or even zoodles, to complete this dish.
- Mix up the Veggies:Â Instead of the asparagus, use small pieces or broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, bell peppers, or spinach. Whatever veggies are in season will work here!
Yummy. A really great dish. Thanks for the recipe.