Creamy Asparagus Pasta

Pasta with asparagus and lemon wrapped up with creamy blue cheese is an easy dinner recipe. Quick for a weeknight, but good enough for Saturday night company, this one-pot meal is ready in less than 30 minutes.

Like an Easter egg hunt, that’s how many people remember picking asparagus. Searching for stalks along river and creek banks when they were kids. It was a family outing with a yummy reward. Today most of us stroll the produce section rather than the riverbank.

How to make creamy lemon asparagus pasta  – a one-pot meal

Another day. Another answer required for what’s for dinner. I hear ya. And I even like to cook. But some days the inspo is just not there, right? Something quick. Something that doesn’t require a delivery guy. Oh, yeah, and can it taste good, too?

blue cheese wedge, lemon, asparagus, walnuts, garlic an olive oil on cutting board

The ingredients

  • chopped walnuts or pine nuts
  • penne or farfalle pasta
  • olive oil
  • garlic
  • 1 pound asparagus
  • blue cheese though goat cheese or feta works too
  • lemon wedge + lemon juice

bowl of farfalle pasta with chopped asparagus with walnuts and lemon wedge

Here ya go. The super simple creamy asparagus blue cheese pasta bowl.

  1. Toast nuts.
  2. Cook pasta.
  3. Stir together chopped oil, asparagus, and garlic, cook 3 minutes. Add cheese, pasta, and water.
  4. Sprinkle toasted nuts.
pan with asparagus and blue cheese crumbles

asparagus with blue cheese

asparagus with blue cheese sauce

pasta water and blue cheese make a creamy sauce

bowl of bowtie pasta with asparagus, lemon and walnuts in blue cheese sauce

Why I love this no-cream Creamy Asparagus Blue Cheese Pasta Bowl

As if the name doesn’t do it justice. Creamy and earthy, comfort from the pasta and crunchy nuts for texture. The melted cheese and pasta water make this creamy sauce without cream.

  • This recipe gives asparagus a major role. Which I love.
  • I also ❤️ blue cheese. It’s stirred together with pasta water making a creamy sauce without cream.
  • Toasted walnuts or pine nuts add a crunchy bite.
  • Lemon makes it fresh and flavorful.
  • Overall, this is quick for a weeknight, but good enough for Saturday night company or your family after an asparagus hunt!

Creamy Asparagus Blue Cheese Pasta is a bowlful of good.

Cook’s Note: Goat cheese can be substituted for blue cheese. Try pecans or pine nuts rather than walnuts.

 

How to tell if asparagus is bad

Shopping for asparagus, size is less important than freshness. Choose bright green, firm stalks with tightly closed tips. If it squeaks when you grab the bunch, it’s fresh. Shriveled, limp and wet is not what you want. If it’s slimy, it’s time to toss. Asparagus doesn’t keep long so plan to cook within a few days after buying. Store it in the fridge, wrapped in plastic or trim a little off the bottom and stand upright in an inch or so of water for a couple of days.

a bundle of fresh asparagus stalks

I heart asparagus

Asparagus is a busy cook’s dream. Like an easy hairdo, it’s a quick rinse and trim. That’s just one of the things I love about asparagus. This recipe is your answer to a busy night, so get the pasta water going ‘cuz that’s what takes the longest time. But before we get to the recipe, let me just say that after the first bites my dinner-date husband asked that this asparagus blue cheese pasta be put on repeat.

Asparagus benefits

Like many vegetables, asparagus is a prebiotic. Prebiotics are natural, non-digestible food components that are linked to promoting the growth of helpful bacteria in your gut. They’re the “good” bacteria. That’s just one of the benefits. It’s also low in calories, ½ cup or 6 spears has about 20 calories and 1 ½ grams fiber.

The best way to cook asparagus

Asparagus grows in sandy soil, so rinse it well. I fill a bread pan with water and soak the stalks for a few minutes. Speaking of stalks, asparagus stalks are tough. Break each stalk, just at the point where it snaps, 1-3 inches from the bottom. With a rinse and trim, asparagus is easy and quick to cook. It’s best when crisp and tender. Steam in the microwave, grill or roast in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes.

snapping asparagus to remove tough end

Asparagus’ mystery

Asparagus’ most unique quality is how we remember we ate it the next time we pee. An odor in our urine. Blame it on converting asparagusic acid to sulfur-containing compounds. Controversy exists over whether we all produce it, because only some of us can smell it. About 40 percent of us detect it. Ben Franklin noticed it. I do too. In any event, it’s a harmless reminder that we’ve eaten the highly nutritious vegetable.

bowl of creamy pasta with lemon, walnuts and blue cheese

More LiveBest Asparagus recipes

P.S. Hungry for more healthy diet tips and recipes? Sign up for my newsletter here.

Pin it for later!

bowl of asparagus blue cheese pasta

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may make a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay but helps fund the website.

Print

Creamy asparagus blue cheese pasta

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 1 review

This creamy pasta is quick to fix and delish. Substitute goat cheese for the blue of you prefer.

  • Author: Judy Barbe
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 2 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stove
  • Cuisine: Meditteranenan

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or pine nuts
  • 2 cups penne or farfalle pasta, cooked
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 pound asparagus, chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • ½ reserved pasta water
  • 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
  • 1 lemon wedge, about 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 350℉. Bake walnuts 8-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  • Cook pasta according to package directions, minus 1 minute. Drain. But reserve ½ cup pasta water.
  • In pasta pot, over medium-low heat, add olive oil, garlic, and asparagus, cook stirring 3 minutes. This will sizzle when you add the ingredients. Add pasta back to pot, stir in cheese and 1/3 cup pasta water. I start with 1/3 cup and add more water if I need it, to make a creamy sauce.
  • To serve, sprinkle on chopped walnuts and squeeze a lemon wedge over, about 1 teaspoon juice.

Notes

Blue cheese can be replaced with goat cheese. Pine nuts can be substituted for walnuts.

Tonight you can forget about digging inside your fridge, hopelessly wondering, “What’s for dinner?”
My FREE One-Pan Salmon with Spinach & Tomatoes checks all the boxes for a fab dinner.

Sign up today and cook along with me!

bowl of penne pasta with asparagus, toasted walnuts and cheese

Comments

  1. Hey Judy,
    I just finished making your lovely Asparagus Blue cheese Pasta. Both my bf and me are in heaven right now. 🙂 I followed your beautiful recipe but took some personal liberties. e.g. I added Cambozola, which is a German, creamy blue cheese (I am German :-)), I also added some mushrooms as we love our veggies. Lol, my bf already goes crazy with trying this and that and building on your recipe. He is very picky, so if he does this it means your recipe is a winner and stays on our recipe list. Haha! 🙂 As Cambozola is quite creamy I added a little bit more to the recipe, then again I combined it with whole grain linguine, which I feel always needs more sauce. Blue cheese and whole grain is just a match made in heaven. Both have such a rich flavour. The mushrooms go great with the blue cheese too though. I was looking for a recipe like yours, as we were planning on using the blue cheese with pear and Raclette cheese for our Christmas Raclette, but we never got to add the chicken for our Raclette (too much meat), so I thought mmmh there must be a great pasta recipe somewhere out there and I found yours, which stood out to me. I bet you could even use Raclette cheese too instead of Blue cheese. Both of them are super rich. But yep blue cheese is just a really special cheese. THANK YOU so much for this lovely recipe. We really enjoyed it and I will definitely check out your other recipes. 🙂

    1. Author

      Hi Jennifer, thanks for the note. I LOVE your tweaks, ‘course, I’m a mushroom fan too. But I’m happy when people use what they have and make it even better. Happy eating!
      Judy

  2. oops forgot the stars. I would give more than five if I could. 🙂






Leave a Comment

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star