Lemon Asparagus Pasta with Grilled Chicken

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!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 653kcal

Author Sara Welch

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.

Video

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.

Nutrition