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.
How many pounds of pasta would I need to double this recipe? I have 8 to ten people for dinner tonight.
Can’t wait to try this looks amazing!
The recipe serves 4 people, with about 2.5 ounces of uncooked pasta per serving. So you’d need 20 ounces (1 lb 4 oz) to serve 8 and 25 ounces (1 and 1/2 lb) to serve 10. Hope that helps, enjoy!
I notice the recipe doesn’t say where to add the cheese. Is it added to the cream sauce? All it says is to stir the cheese. Am I missing something?
I stir in the parmesan cheese at the end after I toss the pasta with the sauce!
Can I do whipping cream instead of heavy cream?
Yes, that will work!
WHIPPING CREAM IS HEAVY CREAM
I pounded the chicken fillets and dredged them in flour, salt and pepper, then browned them in butter. I set them aside and deglazed the pan with white wine, did 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream and followed the rest of the recipe. Delish!!!
This was really good. Too bad can’t post pic.
Love this, I used my own version of low fat hollandaise sauce( made with cream of chicken soup,lemon juice ,1T of lite Mayo and a touch of mustard…which I already had made up…..instead of the cream mixture,but also added the lemon zest and juice. I also used rheemes froz. egg noodles for the pasta..very chewy and satisfying.I also added in some grape tomatoes,halved…it was delicious…thanks …this will be one of my staple recipes!
Has anyone made this with half and half or a lighter substitute for the heavy cream?
You could try making this recipe with a lighter white (bechamel) sauce like the one here: http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/techniques/how-to-make-bechamel-sauce/simmer-milk-mixture
Hope that helps!
Yes, I made it with half cup cream and half 2% milk…it still was excellent!
Made this tonight after drooling over the recipe for the past several weeks. I must say it was better than I imagined it would be. The lemon, the cream, the cheese, and the perfectly tender asparagus..oh my! I could probably eat this everyday for the rest of my days and be content with that. My guys enjoyed it too. This one is a keeper! Thanks so much for such yumminess!! This was well worth the drool!!
Made this meal tonight and we couldn’t have been more pleased. I grilled the chicken after marinading in soy sauce for 15 minutes and from there followed the recipe.
The cream sauce put it over the top. The flavor was something we found missing in so many chicken recipes. Glad we found yours.
We made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! We swapped the asparagus for broccoli since my grocery store was out. I used 2/3 cup parmesan cheese as well! We also used rotisserie chicken!
So glad to hear you liked it!
This was fantastic. I don’t always have the best luck with cream sauces, but this was perfect. I added a bit more lemon juice (juice of a whole lemon) and a bit less zest (just the zest of the whole lemon). Grilled up the chicken with a balsamic marinade and served it on top. Excellent!
This was amazing! Thank you!
Hi there! Would this freeze well?
I don’t think so as the cream sauce might curdle!
What prevents the lemon juice from curdling the cream? thanks
The lemon juice is added off the heat, which prevents it from curdling because it doesn’t come to a boil.
There is nothing better after a long day to be able to toss together a quick, delicious meal with simple ingredients that I had in the fridge. This received rave reviews from the family, so even better. The only thing I would change next time I make it, is I’ll probably toss a minced garlic clove and a diced shallot in to the sauce just to give it a little extra kick of flavor. Aside from that, it was fantastic.
This was easy and delicious! I thought I would need more cream sauce but it was the perfect amount. My husband and I loved it! Thank you for sharing.
This was delicious! My husband, who is super picky, loved this too. Perfect amount of lemon, and how smart to cook the asparagus with the pasta. This recipe is going into my recipe box. Thanks!
Is there any way you could make this in a crock pot? Adding the cooked chicken last and for a few minutes, long enough to heat up?
Hi Linda, I can’t think of a way that this would work in the crock pot since the cooking time is so short!
It’s so easy and delicious!!
My boy friend and I made this for dinner tonight. Very easy and very yummy. Other than a few personal tweeks, we wouldn’t change a think. Thank you.
this was so good! I added broccoli and peas for a pasta primavera – will definitely make again!