Brighten your weekday meal plan with this 30-minute Creamy Lemon Shrimp & Asparagus Pasta.
Move over fettuccini Alfredo, there’s a new lemony full meal version in town! You can use any type of pasta for this dish, but I love bucatini, spaghetti’s chubby cousin. The decadent creamy sauce wraps around it perfectly.
I also love how the lemon balances out the richness of this dish. Then there’s the generous pile of grated Parmesan which thickens the sauce and supplies its signature salty goodness.
Plump shrimp and fresh asparagus make this a full meal deal. Both of these ingredients cook up quickly as the sauce finishes simmering. And, well, that’s it! Grab a plate, load it up, add a little extra Parmesan and pepper just to be fancy and you’re ready to eat.
How to Beat the Dinner Blahs
It’s been a while since I spun out a little story about why I cooked a particular recipe. So I thought it was high time I did that. I have the bad habit of trying to figure out what to make for the week’s meals minutes before I’m headed to the grocery store. When I seek input from the hubby he usually says, “whatever you want to make, hon.” This time he said, “how about pasta?” All right, then, pasta it is!
That sent me scrambling for a little something different to shake up the dinner blahs. In mere minutes I landed on this recipe online and decided to give it a try. But I felt like it needed a veggie. So I sought the hubby’s input again and he suggested asparagus. Perfect!
Creamy Lemon Shrimp & Asparagus Pasta Tips
Size of Shrimp – the original recipe called for 31-40 count shrimp, which is what I intended to buy. Turns out my bag was 41-50 count. But I actually liked the size of these shrimp because they were a perfect single-bite size. Hey, it’s your dinner, so you get to choose!
Pasta – you can use bucatini like I did, spaghetti, fettuccini, penne, or really anything. Personally, I prefer the long-strand pasta because I’m a twirler and I like how the sauce clings to it.
Veggie Selection – initially, I suggested adding artichokes, but the hubby vetoed that idea (I still think they would be delicious though.) But you could add any veggie, cut into bite-sized pieces, that can be cooked within a few minutes.
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Love Pasta?
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Creamy Lemon Shrimp & Asparagus Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz. pasta I used Bucatini
- 3 tbsp. butter
- zest of one lemon
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. garlic minced
- 1/2 c. dry white wine
- 1 c. heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 tsp. of Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp. flour
- 1 c. freshly grated not shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 c. medium sized asparagus spears cut diagnonally into 1″-1.5″ pieces
- 1 lb. shrimp, peeled & thawed I used 41-50 count size
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Note – if pasta finishes cooking before sauce mixture is done, reserve 1/2 c. of pasta water.
- Meanwhile, add the butter, lemon zest and lemon juice, minced garlic, white wine, cream, and Italian seasoning to a skillet over medium heat. Let the sauce simmer lightly for about 5 minutes.
- Whisk flour into the sauce, whisking constantly until smooth.
- Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
- Let sauce simmer for a few additional minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add asparagus, bring to a simmer and cook for about 3- 5 minutes until they start to yield to a fork when poked (they should not be completely cooked through yet.) Add a few tablespoons of pasta water if the sauce gets too thick.
- Add shrimp and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes (or longer if using bigger shrimp shrimp.) Shrimp should be cooked through and asparagus should be crisp tender. Again, add a few tbsp. of pasta water if needed.
- Drain pasta, then toss with the sauce, shrimp, and asparagus. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve the pasta topped with additional Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper, if desired.
This is fantastic. I have made it at least 4 times. The measurements and cooking time is perfect. The only thing I have evolved to is to add a tsp of ground nutmeg and a tsp of chilli flakes. The better quality and bigger shrimp you use makes this dish. The flavour just tends to not show up with the small/medium shrimp. Splurge on the big ones from the Costco freezer section.
I am so glad this recipe has become a favorite. I love your tweaks and will have to give those a try! I agree that the bigger shrimp are worth the splurge.