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Healthy Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta Recipe

Name: Healthy Shrimp and Asparagus Pasta Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces farfalle (bow tie) pasta; 1 bunch of asparagus (ends trimmed, cut into bite-size pieces); 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 tablespoon lemon juice + zest from 1/2 lemon; 1 pound medium shrimp (thawed & peeled (tails on optional)); 4 cloves garlic (minced); 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese; 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped); Salt & pepper (to taste)

Published: Feb 12, 2018 / Updated: Jul 4, 2020 / 36 Comments

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This easy healthy shrimp and asparagus pasta is deliciously lemony, fast, and uses only a handful of ingredients. Ready in 20 minutes!

The shrimp and asparagus shine in the olive oil, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese sauce. It really is a dish that's reminiscent of spring!

This asparagus and shrimp pasta recipe is nice and satisfying, but it's also fairly light and can give you a little break from cream sauces (you know how much I love to make those).

Love asparagus and pasta? You may also like my asparagus and mushroom pasta, this asparagus and salmon pasta, or my lighter asparagus and bacon pasta. Or try the easiest way to cook asparagus (great side dish).

When I first tested this recipe, I tried using half-and-half, but I totally botched the sauce and managed to separate it. I should have known that the lemon juice would curdle it, but I did it anyway and ended up throwing the first batch of sauce away (thankfully no shrimp were involved yet).

It's a good lesson if you're ever tweaking a recipe. If you want a creamy sauce but there's a lot of citrus in the recipe, stick to heavy cream. You'll get a much better consistency and result, and it is much less likely to curdle.

I'm actually pretty glad plan A failed and I moved onto plan B. When life gives you lemons lol...

I'm happy that I ended up with a light and cheerful pasta that really didn't need any creaminess to be good.

Try my other shrimp pasta recipes:

Hope you love this shrimp asparagus pasta!

Let me know in the comments below if you've made it. 🙂