Go Back
Print
Lemon Cream Pasta with Spring Vegetables in a skillet surrounded by fresh asparagus, lemon zest and chopped parsley

Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce and Spring Vegetables

An easy bright lemony sauce brings pasta and fresh spring vegetables together in mere minutes. This lemon cream sauce is also a fabulous way to serve grilled chicken or pork chops, or why not over steamed vegetables or baked fish. It's good to sauce recipes like this in our back pocket!
Course Main Course
Cuisine North American
Keyword Lemon Cream Sauce, lemon pasta, spring vegetables
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Lemon Cream Sauce

  • 4 tbsp (60 grams) butter
  • 2 medium shallots finely minced
  • 3 medium garlic cloves finely minced
  • 1 large lemon zested and juiced
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper or to taste
  • 1/2 cup (120 mL) chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 cup (240 mL) heavy whipping cream, room temperature
  • 1 cup (80 grams) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt or as desired
  • 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes, optional
  • 4 tbsp finely minced herbs like parsley basil, or thyme

Pasta and Vegetables

  • 14 oz (400 grams) pasta, you can use whichever pasta you like, whether long, short, stuffed, etc.
  • 5-6 cups of fresh Spring vegetables cut into bite sized pieces as needed. See Notes

Instructions

  1. Prepare the pasta as per the package directions.
  2. For vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, beans etc which will require a quick blanche or steam, they can be added to the pot with the pasta during the last 45 seconds or so. If you find that the vegetables are ready (still bright green but no longer raw, but with a pleasant crunch) but the pasta still needs a few more moments, you can remove the vegetables to a bowl using a slotted spoon or wire strainer like a spider.
  3. Before draining the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside.

Lemon Cream Sauce

  1. Melt the butter in a large skillet or pot large enough to hold the pasta and vegetables as well, over medium heat. Once warmed, add the minced shallots. Gently cook till starting to soften.
  2. Add in the garlic, lemon zest and black pepper, and saute another minute.

  3. Add the chicken stock, cream and 3/4 cup parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Add the lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and allow the sauce to cook down, till thickened slightly. Stir regularly. Season with salt and dried chilli flakes if using.

  4. Add the cooked and drained pasta and the blanched vegetables, along with any vegetables that didn't require any blanching like baby spinach or frozen peas.
  5. Stir everything gently till well coated with the sauce. If you find the sauce and pasta too stiff, add some of the reserved pasta water to help loosen the sauce and keep it glossy.
  6. Serve with extra lemon zest if you have an extra lemon, as well as chopped herbs and final amount of parmesan cheese.

Recipe Notes

Vegetable options
Green beans, broccoli, broccolini, leeks, sweet peas, sugar snap peas, baby spinach, kale, asparagus etc.
Cut any that require it into bite sized pieces. The sweet peas (like from a bag of frozen peas) and the baby spinach really don't need cooking, so these can be added directly into the sauce when stirring in the cooked pasta and other vegetables.