This recipe for lemon asparagus pasta combines tender asparagus and grilled chicken with pasta in a lemon cream sauce. It’s a delicious and hearty entree that everyone will want seconds of!
I am a huge fan of easy chicken dishes. Some of my all time favorites include baked chicken wings, chicken parmesan pasta, chicken and broccoli pasta and this chicken asparagus pasta.
Spring has sprung here in California – the trees are full of blossoms, the temperature has been around 70 degrees and spring produce is starting to pop up in stores. When I saw that asparagus was on sale I had to pick up a bunch to have for dinner, and that’s how this lemon asparagus pasta with grilled chicken came to be.
Lemon Asparagus Pasta Ingredients
To make this recipe you’ll need cooked chicken, asparagus, linguine pasta, heavy cream, butter, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest and parmesan cheese.
How do you make lemon asparagus pasta?
Start by bringing water to a boil in a large pot, then add your pasta. During the last few minutes of the cooking time, add your asparagus. Make sure to reserve some of the pasta cooking water for later use. In a small pot or skillet, mix together the cream, butter, salt and pepper. Let the sauce thicken, then take it off the heat and stir in lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix the pasta, asparagus, chicken, sauce and parmesan cheese together and toss to coat. Add pasta water as needed to thin the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley if desired, then serve and enjoy.
Tips for the perfect dish
- I like this recipe with grilled sliced chicken, but really any cooked chicken will work. When I’m short on time, I buy a rotisserie chicken and dice up the meat to add to the pasta.
- It’s very important to remove the pan from the heat before you add the lemon, otherwise the sauce could separate.
- I find that lemon asparagus pasta is best when served immediately, as the pasta will continue to absorb the sauce as it sits.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Recipe FAQs
Start by snapping the tough woody ends off the asparagus. Next, you’ll want to cut your stalks into 1 inch pieces. You do not need to peel asparagus, as the peel is thin and tender.
Asparagus is great with lean protein such as chicken, shrimp or fish. It also goes nicely with cheese, including parmesan and feta. It is a great addition to many dishes including pasta, pizza, stir fries and even sandwiches.
Flavor Variations
This pasta is great as-is, but you can customize the ingredients to suit your tastes.
- Protein: Try a different type of protein such as salmon, scallops or shrimp. For a vegetarian meal, you can use a can of white beans.
- Pasta: Any long pasta will work including spaghetti, angel hair pasta and fettuccine. Just make sure to adjust the cook time accordingly. I’ve also had success with penne, farfalle and shell pasta.
- Vegetables: No asparagus on hand? This dish works well with lots of other types of veggies including green beans, broccoli, peas and zucchini.
Once you try lemon asparagus pasta with chicken, you’ll find yourself making it on a regular basis. It’s just that good!
More great pasta recipes
Lemon Asparagus Pasta Video
Lemon Asparagus Pasta with Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts grilled and cut into strips
- 1 pound asparagus ends removed, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 10 ounces linguine pasta (spaghetti or fettuccine will also work)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
- Optional garnishes: Lemon slices and chopped parsley
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Add the asparagus to the pot during the last 3 minutes of cooking time.
- Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta cooking liquid.
- In small pot, combine the heavy cream, butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice.
- Place the pasta and asparagus back into the pot you cooked it in along with the chicken.
- Pour the cream sauce over the pasta mixture and toss to coat evenly, adding pasta water if needed to thin the sauce. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Alternatively, you can toss just the pasta with the sauce and arrange the chicken and asparagus over the top of the pasta.
- Add more salt and pepper to taste if needed. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon slices if desired.
Notes
- I like this recipe with grilled sliced chicken, but really any cooked chicken will work. When I’m short on time, I buy a rotisserie chicken and dice up the meat to add to the pasta.
- It’s very important to remove the pan from the heat before you add the lemon, otherwise the sauce could separate.
This was wonderful, I didn’t have heavy cream so I added two tbl butter and 3/4 cup non-fat milk. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
This looks like spring and I’ll bet it tastes like heaven!
This meal was light and awesome! My picky 13 year old loved it! I will be making this again!
This sounds great but you didn’t say what to do with the chicken!! Do we just assume it’s grilled? Not being rude, seriously just curious. Thank you for sharing! I am going to make this tonight, thawing my chicken now 🙂
Yes, the recipe assumes that you have chicken that’s already cooked – you can use grilled chicken, shredded chicken or even rotisserie chicken!
This was an awesome recipe. Only alteration I made was the addition of some minced garlic. I added it to the sauce when it began cooking. Boyfriend and I loved this dinner. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This was amazing!!! Really easy to make also, thank you!!!
This was so yummy… company worthy for sure…would be awesome with Salmon also…
My husband is lactose intoletant. Is there anything I could sub for the heavy cream? This looks devine!
I haven’t tested it without the cream but here’s an article that gives some dairy free alternatives that might work: http://www.culinaryone.com/vegan-alternatives-to-dairy-milk-and-cream/
Thanks much! I’m going to hang onto that site.
I accidentally put the lemon in when i put everything else in…. and i used milk instead of whipping cream…. it’s more liquidy is that why
Yes, the cream will thicken up into a sauce as it simmers, but milk doesn’t have enough fat to thicken properly. You could try adding a bit of cornstarch next time to thicken if you use milk, or try half and half.
Is heavy cream butter?
Hi, heavy cream is also sometimes called whipping cream, you can find it in small cartons in the dairy area next to the milk. Here’s a little more information: http://www.food.com/about/heavy-cream-361
Hello, currently making it and my sauce is not thick at all!
I’m sorry, I’m just seeing this now – I hope it turned out ok in the end!
I just made it with a bechamel sauce base using a margarine substitute and almond milk instead of the cream, only added the parmesan at the table for the rest of the family 🙂
The cream sauce curdled when I added the lemon zest and and lemon juice. Would not put the chicken in with the pasta and asparagus if I make it again. The asparagus cooked nicely with the pasta, however,
This recipe looked easy and good. It was very easy to make and was as delicious as it looked. My presentation wasn’t as pretty, since the recipe tells you to add all the items together and mix. But it still tasted great. My husband and I had pretty good sized helpings, but if we backed off some, there would be enough to serve 3 adults and they would be filled or maybe 2 adults and 2 children. I will be making this again.
Tried this dish tonight and got 4.5 stars from my taste tester! It was delicious AND easy, thank you!
Does anyone know the calorie count?
IT’S POSTED UNDER THE RECIPE
We’re feeling the heat here in Phoenix, too, so this will be PERFECT for us. So ready for summer (and more summer dishes like this!)
I’m loving this dish, it sounds and looks amazing. Perfect for a weeknight dinner or date night in!
This looks like a comfort meal, light, fresh and full of flavour.
You had me at lemon cream sauce! What a hearty and delicious meal this is!
Oh my goodness, that looks fantastic! And your photos are beautiful! Now…I’ll just take that forkful, please.
Scrumptious looking dish! perfect for dinner.
I love this combo of flavors and ingredients–it is exactly what I want in the spring. Mind you spring won’t be here for another month or so, but I can dream while staring at your gorgeous photos…
This looks delicious, the sauce is so creamy!
This was really a good,quick dinner
Why doesn’t it say anything about the chicken? And if we mix it all together how does the picture show the chicken on top?
The recipe assumes that you’ve started with chicken that has already been cooked, and the instructions say you can either toss everything together or place the chicken and asparagus on top. Hope that helps!
My daughter-in-law and I made this for dinner yesterday…DELICIOUS!!
The flavors are perfectly matched, light, creamy and will be great for the summer menu 🙂
Read #5
I keep going back to this recipe. It’s so easy and delicious. I’ve even served it with shrimp instead of chicken. You can add grilled chicken, packaged fajita chicken or even cut up roasted chicken.
So glad to hear you love it, what a great idea to use shrimp!
It says ‘skinless chicken breasts, grilled and cut into strips’. Mixing the chicken in or serving on top would just be your preference in presentation.
You can buy precooked frozen Tysons chicken breast slready cut in strips.
Is the chicken tender and can you cut it smaller? I have a Sister who had throat surgery and has a difficult time swallowing dry meats or big pieces of anything .. Is the Asparagus tender as well with the cream sauce? I was thinking of letting everything sit in cream sauce longer in smaller pieces?
You can cook the asparagus for longer if you want it to be softer. Typically grilled chicken is not always that tender, but you could try chicken tenderloins instead!
If you would read number 5 under instructions it tells you the answer to your stupid question
Do you feel beeter for bring so fecking rude?
Wow. That was harsh!
Geez, chill out. I’m guessing you’ve never asked a question with an obvious answer before. I have, as most other people have. Be nice.
I love you1
Do I really need to comment? Probably not, but here goes…
Don’t be an ass
At the beginning it does talk about chicken also in the ingredients. It even tells you that you can use rotisserie chicken in the very beginning.
#5. States that you can either toss it all together “OR” toss the pasta and cream sauce.. plate on a platter with chicken, asparagus on top.. garnished with lemon slices and fresh parsley… Guess you didn’t read the whole thing!
What sauce do you use?
Lol.