If you're craving a super simple lemony and fresh pasta that comes together quickly and easily, then this one is for you. I love using asparagus and tomatoes but feel free to adapt this recipe to whatever veggies you have in your fridge. This lemon asparagus pasta is light, refreshing, aromatic, and still satiating.
Celebrates the freshness and aroma of lemon & herbs
Ready in 20 minutes
Highly adaptable to the ingredients you have on hand
And chickpeas act as a thrifty protein source!
Ingredients
As mentioned above, I think this simple lemony pasta can be a great way to use up whichever veggies you might have on hand. However, I do love making it with asparagus and grape tomatoes.
The sauce couldn't be simpler. Lemon juice (plus the zest of course) and starchy pasta water. Garlic and red chili flakes punch up the flavour. And the protein source...
Thrifty chickpeas.
Use your chickpeas cooked from scratch for the best savings or open up a can. They are already cooked so all you have to do is heat them up with some spices and get some nice colour on them.
Method For This Simple Lemon Asparagus Pasta
Since this recipe comes together so quickly, I like to start by cooking my pasta. While the pasta cooks I can prepare the vegetables and other ingredients.
Remember to reserve some of the pasta water before draining your pasta!
- Toss the chickpeas in a large sauté pan with a bit of olive oil, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and let that cook for just a minute.
- Dump in the asparagus and tomatoes.
- Zest and juice the lemon over the veggies.
- Add in the pasta and reserved pasta water.
- Finish with a pinch of red chili flakes and a good amount of chopped fresh herbs.
Serve it up with my small batch Vegan Parmesan Cheese which is just a few cashews grated with salt and nutritional yeast. My Tofu Feta could be another great topping for this lemon asparagus pasta recipe!
Recipe Cost
This lemon asparagus pasta serves 4 and costs me about $12 Canadian. Lemons are usually about $1 each for me and the asparagus is about $5 per pound. If you live in an area where local lemons are abundant and if you're growing fresh veggies in your garden then this could be a really thrifty recipe for you.
I'm always blown away by how thrifty cooking with beans can be. When I use my chickpeas cooked from scratch in this recipe they cost me only 40 cents for 2 cups! If I were to use a 540ml can of chickpeas it would cost me about $1.79 to $1.99 which still isn't bad for a protein source. If I were to use chicken or another animal based protein then it would most certainly cost me over $5 for just the protein source.
Let me know in the comments below if you love this simple lemony pasta and how you customize it. You might also love my Lemon Asparagus White Bean Soup!
Print
Simple Lemon Asparagus Pasta
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A simple lemon asparagus pasta that comes together in 20 minutes. Fresh herbs make the simple sauce sing & chickpeas are a thrifty protein!
Ingredients
- 450 grams pasta of choice
- 1 tbsp olive oil (more as desired)
- 2 cups chickpeas, drained (approx. 330 g)
- ¾ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp salt
- Pinch pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb asparagus, chopped*
- 225 g grape tomatoes, chopped (1 ½ cup)*
- 2 small lemons, zested and juiced (or 1 large lemon, about 4-5 tablespoon of juice)*
- ¼ - ½ cup pasta water
- Pinch red chili flakes
- Handful of fresh chopped herbs*
*Fresh ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
- Cook your pasta according to the package instructions and remember to reserve some of the pasta water before draining.
- Heat ½ tablespoon olive oil in a large saute pan over medium low heat. Add chickpeas and toss with smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Cook for about 3-5 minutes until browned.
- Add a dash more olive oil if needed and toss in the minced garlic. Allow the garlic to cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the chopped asparagus and tomatoes.
- Zest the lemon over the veggies as they cook and splash with lemon juice.
- Add the cooked pasta along with ¼ cup to ½ cup of the pasta water. (Feel free to add in more olive oil at this point if you would like the noodles more coated).
- Finish with chilli flakes and any fresh herbs you are adding. Chopped basil, oregano, thyme, dill, and/or chives are lovely choices. The asparagus should be tender after about 5 minutes. Give the pasta a taste and add more salt or pepper as needed.
- Remove from the heat and serve with my quick vegan parmesan cheese. My tofu feta would be another great addition to this recipe. Reheat leftovers or enjoy them as a cold pasta salad.
Notes
Approximate Cost: $12 Canadian. Using chickpeas cooked from scratch only costs me $0.40 for this recipe! In comparison, canned chickpeas would cost me $1.79 and an animal based protein source would very likely cost me over $5.
If you don’t have fresh herbs you can use dried or frozen herbs. Since this sauce is so simple it benefits from the aromatics and punchier flavour of the fresh herbs but it will still be nice with dried or frozen. You can also add in some spinach or another leafy green if you don’t have a good handful of fresh herbs.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
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