An easy 20 minute pasta with artichokes, asparagus, and a creamy lemon sauce!
This is such a spring-y, summer-y pasta and I am in love with it. Artichokes are one of my favorite foods in the history of ever and I will take them any way I can get them. My mom used to boil whole artichokes and serve them with melted butter – something I like to call death by heavenly heart attack. A whole bowl of butter just for dipping = mayyyyybe not so heart-healthy. But you’re essentially dipping flower petals in the butter. It can’t be that bad for you. (right?)
One of my favorite way to have artichokes is in pasta. In particular, a creamy lemon pasta with asparagus. Mmmmmm. This recipe is incredibly simple, just the way I like it. A few ingredients and only 20 minutes will deliver one of the best pastas you’ve ever tasted!
What people are saying about this Lemon Artichoke & Asparagus Pasta
“Made this tonight and it was fantastic – do not use short cuts from similar pins – this is the real deal. I added extra lemon and garlic, non-fat milk, and whole wheat flour. Next time I’ll use whole wheat pasta. Thanks for the great recipe!” – Kelley
“Made this exactly according to recipe, scaled down to one serving. It was great, however I found that it needed a lot more lemon juice the recipe called for, also some pepper. Other than that, great, I used cornstarch to thicken instead of flour and it worked fine. Will be repeating, I can imagine some meaty portobello’s would also work here alongside the asparagus. Great quick recipe.” – Julie
Lemon Artichoke & Asparagus Pasta
An easy 20 minute pasta with artichokes, asparagus, and a creamy lemon sauce!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bowtie pasta, cooked according to package instructions
- 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
- 12 asparagus spears, chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk (I used fat free half and half, but use whatever you prefer)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- shaved parmesan
Instructions
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Spray a large pan or non stick skillet with cooking spray. Add artichoke hearts, lemon juice, and lemon zest and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Add asparagus and cook another 2-4 minutes until tender, stirring throughout. Remove artichokes and asparagus with a slotted spoon and set aside.
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Add butter and garlic to pan and stir for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant. Add flour and stir until mixture forms a ball or clump. Slowly whisk in milk until mixture is smooth.
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Add pasta and stir to coat. Stir in artichokes and asparagus. Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with parmesan cheese.
Mary Frances
I love artichokes. Its kind of a problem. And all things bright, fresh, and pasta-esque (that is not a word, but oh well!) Love this recipe! Its perfect for summer!
Tiffany
Ah, I have such a soft spot for pasta. Summer, winter, any season is the right time for pasta. But when it’s loaded with fresh ingredients like asparagus and lemons? Mmmmmmm. And Pasta-esque = definitely a word!!!
Chloe @ foodlikecake
That looks so good! I love lemons and artichokes together 🙂
Tiffany
That’s one of my favorite flavor combos! A little salty, a little tangy… love it!
Kristene
Hi, this recipe looks fabulous! Creamy lemon sauces are my favourite and adding the artichoke and asparagus – perfection! I have one question – the 2 teaspoons of garlic. Is that fresh minced garlic or garlic powder?
Tiffany
Minced garlic 🙂
Cathryn
I made this last evening! It was as wonderful as it looked. I will make it again!
Tiffany
Thanks Cathryn!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this!
Anna
Hi, I made this last night, and I had the same question about the garlic. Also, are you supposed to drain the ati. hearts? That was confusing. Also, the asper. didn’t cook hardly at all with these instructions. Perhaps some clarification would be in order. Thanks!
Tiffany
Hi Anna – sorry about the confusion, I’ve updated the recipe to make it more clear! 🙂
Kyle
Yep, just getting into artichokes as well. Can’t quite believe it’s taken me this long to try them. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Anne
Sooooo gooooooooood 🙂 Thankyou 🙂
Kelley
Made this tonight and it was fantastic – do not use short cuts from similar pins – this is the real deal. I added extra lemon and garlic, non-fat milk, and whole wheat flour. Next time I’ll use whole wheat pasta. Thanks for the great recipe!
Larissa
The flavors were really delicious but my suave came out really thin and soupy. Any ideas? I feel like maybe 2 cups of milk is too much and it diluted it. (I did put the flour in). Thanks!!
Larissa
Sauce* Silly autocorrect lol
Allison
My sauce also came out very soupy. Thoughts on why? I also thought to myself 2 cups of milk seemed like a lot. Other than that the recipe was delicious!
Tiffany
Hmm, I’m not sure why it would be so runny, when I’ve made this recipe it came as a nice sauce. What kind of milk did you use? The process of making the roux can be a little tricky, did you whisk the milk into the pan slowly after your flour clumped up? Also as a little trick, if your sauces ever come out too thin or runny you can always add a cornstarch slurry! Just whisk together 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of cold water and add it to a boiling liquid. Reduce the heat slightly and continue to stir until it thickens! 🙂
Tiffany
Also, 2 cups of milk worked well for me but perhaps if you started with 1 cup and increased the amount as needed that would be better? I may adjust the directions to include that. 🙂
Sky
How much asapargus did you use? The ingredients list doesn’t specify. Thanks!
Sky
Nevermind, I was totally wrong. Please disregard my last comment, so sorry I overlooked that!!!
julie
made this exactly according to recipe, scaled down to one serving. it was great, however i found that it needed a lot more lemon juice the recipe called for, also some pepper. other than that, great, i used cornstarch to thicken instead of flour and it worked fine. will be repeating, I can imagine some meaty portobellos would also work here alongside the asparagus. great quick recipe.