Lemon Pepper Pasta with Asparagus

What to expect?

It is, what it is: a quick, easy, and refreshing pasta sauce that you can make using only a couple of ingredients, like butter, lemon juice, black pepper, and garlic. Because you always need some garlic. Am I right?

It is a delicious basic sauce recipe that goes great with a lot of vegetables. If you don’t want a tomato-based or cream-based pasta sauce, this is the recipe you want to try. I’ll tell you why because this lemon pepper sauce is light, refreshing, buttery, and tangy, but not too lemony. Need I say more? You can never find an easier pasta sauce recipe than this. 

Ingredients

This pasta dish uses very simple ingredients you probably have in your pantry:

• Pasta → we used penne, but you can choose any other type of pasta
• Butter → we used dairy-free
• Garlic
• Fresh lemon juice → freshly squeezed if possible
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Optional: asparagus, but we offer more variations down below

🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Instructions

Preparing the ingredients

• Pre-cook pasta according to package instructions. No need to have reserved pasta water since it is a buttery sauce and not a creamy luscious sauce. It kind of coats the pasta invisible.
• Peel and mince garlic cloves.
• Juice the lemon.
• Wash and snap the green asparagus. You can’t really snap them at the wrong place. They break where the asparagus gets woody and hard. Discard the bottom or use them in veggie stock. Peel the ends if you need to.
• Cut the asparagus into bite-sized pieces about 1-1.5 inches (ca. 3 cm) long. In a large pot and cook them in salted water for a couple of minutes.

Making the lemon pepper pasta sauce

1. Take a frying pan or large skillet and heat it to medium heat. Add butter and wait until it melts.

2. Add minced or finely chopped garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until they soften and get a light yellowish color.

3. Add pre-cooked asparagus, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper, and cook until asparagus is tender.

4. Finally, add pre-cooked pasta and toss and stir.

5. It is ready to be served! As an option, you can sprinkle it with nutritional yeast or vegan Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Variations

This lemon pepper pasta can be a light spring or summer lunch you can whip up in 15 minutes. I think you can tell that our absolutely favorite vegetable to add to this dish is asparagus. It has an earthy and mildly bitter aftertaste, which is perfectly balanced by the lemon and the black pepper. If you manage to score some really fresh and young ones, they taste very light and green. But what else?

• Brussels sprouts 
• Broccoli or broccolini 
• Green beans
• Leafy greens like spinach or kale
• Artichoke
• Zucchini
• Green peas

Serving ideas

Lemon pepper pasta is a versatile dish that can be topped with a variety of ingredients to add texture, flavor, and color.

• Red pepper flakes: They add a kick of heat that can balance the sourness of the lemon and the bitterness of the black pepper.
• Fresh herbs: I can totally picture it with fresh parsley, thyme, or basil.
• Toasted breadcrumbs or pine nuts: These crunchy toppings can add texture and nuttiness to the dish and balance the softness of the pasta.

Storing tips

Our usual recommendation when you have leftovers is to store the pasta separately from any toppings or sauces. Mainly, because the pasta will become soggy and lose its texture.

Since the lemon pepper sauce thinly coats the pasta, we recommend storing it only overnight. The pasta will dry out if you keep it longer, even if you store it in an airtight container.

This lemon pepper pasta recipe is not freezer-friendly.

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Lemon Pepper Pasta with Asparagus

Nandor Barta

One of the easiest pasta you can make is this lemon pepper pasta. It is laughingly simple and quick to make. You only need 5 ingredients and 15 minutes. We love to enjoy this refreshing pasta recipe with some green veggies, like asparagus. 

4.6 from 9 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Servings 2 servings

Calories 168kcal

Equipment

• Non-stick frying pan (10.5 inch / 26 cm)

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 servings Pasta we used penne, but you can choose any other pasta
• ▢ 2 Tbsp Dairy-free butter or olive oil
• ▢ 2 clove Garlic
• ▢ 1 pound Asparagus
• ▢ 2 Tbsp Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
• ▢ ¼ tsp Black pepper
• ▢ ½ tsp Salt
• ▢ 1-2 Tbsp Nutritional yeast optional
• ▢ 1-2 Tbsp Vegan parmesan optional

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Instructions

 

Preparing the ingredients

• Wash and snap them. Where they break, they break. You can't really snap them at the wrong place. They break where the asparagus gets woody and hard. Discard the bottom or use them in veggie stock. If you feel that the end of the asparagus is still thick after snapping, you can peel the bottom inch or two with a vegetable peeler.
• Cut them into bite-sized pieces about 1-1.5 inches (ca. 3 cm) long.
• Pre-cook them in salted water for a couple of minutes until fork tender. They don't need to be completely done and soft as you continue cooking them in the frying pan. We like them a bit crunchy.

Making lemon pepper pasta

• Cook pasta of your choice as per package instructions.
• Take a frying pan or a saucepan and heat it to medium heat.
• Add butter and wait until it melts.
• Add minced or finely chopped garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until they soften and get a light yellowish color.
• Add pre-cooked asparagus, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper, and cook until veggies are soft.
• Finally, add pre-cooked pasta and toss and turn. As an option, you can sprinkle it with nutritional yeast or vegan Parmesan. Enjoy!

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Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Lemon Pepper Pasta with Asparagus

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 168 Calories from Fat 108

% Daily Value*

Fat 12g18%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Sodium 678mg29%

Potassium 533mg15%

Carbohydrates 13g4%

Fiber 6g25%

Sugar 5g6%

Protein 7g14%

Vitamin A 1715IU34%

Vitamin C 19mg23%

Calcium 60mg6%

Iron 5mg28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

UPDATED: This recipe was originally posted in May 2020. More tips, info, and FAQs have been added, and it was republished in April 2023.