I think it’s safe to say I’m in my Asparagus era 🙂 I didn’t grow up eating asparagus, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve tried to incorporate a lot more vegetables into my daily meals and this Chicken Asparagus Pasta just hits the spot! It has two of my favorite components; pan-seared chicken and creamy pasta, but it also includes fresh asparagus and sweet green peas for the best spring veggie and pasta combo! It’s really the perfect dinner recipe that can easily be added to your weeknight rotation!
If you’re fairly new to cooking with asparagus like I was just a few years ago, then this is a great recipe to try out. It balances the flavors of asparagus with tender chicken breasts and a creamy lemon-infused sauce. And to be honest, it just makes me feel really good when I know I’m eating a lot of green vegetables with my meals 🙂
Ingredients You’ll Need
This chicken asparagus pasta recipe is so easy to make and only requires basic ingredients. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Chicken Breasts: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can cut two breasts in half or buy thin chicken breast cutlets. Also feel free to substitute with boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.
- Asparagus and Peas: Fresh asparagus and frozen peas pair well together in this dish, but feel free to use only one or the other.
- Garlic: Sautéed garlic in butter adds lots of aromatics and sets the flavor foundation for the sauce.
- Chicken Broth: Chicken broth is used to help add depth of flavor to the sauce.
- Heavy Cream: I love the consistency of heavy cream when making a cream sauce. You can substitute with cream cheese if that's what you have on hand. I did test this recipe with half & half and the sauce simply was not as creamy.
- Parmesan: Blends into the heavy cream to thicken the sauce and add extra flavor.
- Pasta: Linguine is one of my favorite pastas - it's like a mix between spaghetti and fettuccine pasta. But feel free to use whichever pasta you have on hand.
- Seasoning: A little salt, pepper, and garlic powder to season the chicken breasts, and a dried oregano to season the pasta sauce.
- Lemon (optional): Fresh lemon juice is optional, but it adds a touch of brightness to the recipe and tastes great with the asparagus.
How to Make Chicken Asparagus Pasta
The full instructions and measurements are included in the recipe card below, but here’s a quick step-by-step overview:
Step One: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions. While the pasta is boiling, wash the asparagus then trim off the thick woody ends. Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces. When the pasta has 2 minutes left on the cook time, add the chopped asparagus to the boiling water. Allow the asparagus to cook with the pasta until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta and asparagus in a colander and set it aside.
Step Two: Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise to create 4 thinner chicken cutlets. Mix the salt, black pepper, and garlic powder together in a small dish. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with the spices. Heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot add all 4 chicken breasts. Cook about 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove the cooked chicken breasts to a clean plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Step Three: In the same skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the butter and the minced garlic. Sauté the garlic for 30 seconds. Immediately add the chicken broth and lemon juice (optional). Scrape up any brown bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Stir in the heavy cream, grated parmesan cheese, frozen peas, and dried oregano. Allow the sauce to simmer for 3 minutes.
Step Four: Add in the cooked pasta and asparagus and mix well. Slice the chicken breasts into strips or cut into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken to the skillet. Serve with more grated parmesan and enjoy! 🙂
A Few Helpful Tips
These are just a few recipe tips so your chicken pasta turns out perfect each time!
- Prep your ingredients first! To make the cooking process go smoothly and easily, prep most of your ingredients first. This includes mixing your chicken seasoning together, mincing the garlic, measuring the chicken broth and heavy cream, and grating the parmesan. This prevents any delays while you're cooking and keeps ingredients from burning.
- Don't overcook the asparagus. The asparagus only needs to boil for 2-3 minutes with the pasta. That's it!
- Don't burn the garlic. The garlic only needs to sauté for roughly 30 seconds in the butter, just until it's fragrant and lightly brown, then immediately add the chicken broth and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
More Delicious Pasta Recipes
Chicken Asparagus Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz. linguine pasta*
- 1 lb. asparagus
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, optional*
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup frozen peas
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine pasta and cook according to the package instructions.
- While the pasta is boiling, wash the asparagus then trim off the thick woody stem at the end of the asparagus spears. Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces.
- When the pasta has 2-3 minutes left on the cook time, add the chopped asparagus to the boiling water. Allow the asparagus to cook with the pasta until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta and asparagus in a colander and set it aside.
- Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise to create 4 thinner chicken cutlets. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap or parchment paper and pound the chicken with a meat mallet to even out the breasts. Mix the salt, black pepper, and garlic powder together in a small dish. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with the spice mix.
- In a large deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot add all 4 chicken breasts. Cook until done, about 4 minutes on each side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove the cooked chicken breasts to a clean plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
- In the same skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the butter and the minced garlic. Sauté the garlic for 30 seconds. Now add the chicken broth and lemon juice (optional). Scrape up any brown bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in the heavy cream, grated parmesan cheese, frozen peas, and dried oregano. Taste the sauce and add a little more salt and pepper to taste (if necessary). Allow the sauce to simmer for 3 minutes. Add in the cooked pasta and asparagus and mix well.
- Slice the chicken breasts into strips or cut into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken to the skillet. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve with more grated parmesan and enjoy!
Notes
- Feel free to substitute with your favorite pasta.
- Lemon juice is totally optional, but adds brightness to the sauce.
Anita says
This looks amazing, trying it for dinner tonight. Could mushrooms be added to this recipe?
Marsha McDougal says
Absolutely! Mushrooms would be great. I would add it right before you add the garlic. Let them sauté with the butter for a couple minutes, then add the garlic and proceed with the rest of the recipe.😊
Angelica Goldman says
This was a simple recipe to follow. The flavors were great! My family thought it was delicious! I did opt to add the lemon juice. Yummy 😋
Mel says
Made this tonight. Easy recipe to follow. Turned out delicious...and I'm not a good cook! Thank you.
Michele says
Making this tonight for dinner…..
Sandra says
I have found that the best way to remove the woody ends from the asparagus is to snap the ends off not cut them. It removes all of the woody stalk without taking too much of the tender green. The recipe is wonderful. And if you don't have heavy cream on hand you can use alfredo sauce. (I made it that way last night) but didn't change much else about the recipe, adding the herbs and cheese listed but in a smaller amount as not all of the spices and herbs are in alfredo sauce.
P A W says
Excellent. Thanks for sharing. I Did add the lemon juice which I found to add a nice clean taste to the sauce. After sauce was almost done I thought non pareilles (capers) would have been good also with this dish along with the lemon> I Will try adding them next time.
Jazz says
You have got me enjoying asparagus! It's not something I typically buy but my neighbor shared some of the excess from their community garden plot and I was looking for things to do with it when I found your recipe. This pasta is amazing! Thank you much!
Marsha McDougal says
You're so very welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Angelica Goldman says
This was a simple recipe to follow. The flavors were great! My family thought it was delicious! I did opt to add the lemon juice. Yummy 😋
Marsha McDougal says
I'm so glad your family enjoyed it! Thanks so much Angelica.😊
Krysten says
I’m always on a search for recipes with vegetables especially asparagus as I love it and I’ve been trying to get my kids to feel the same. This recipe did just that! Amazing flavor and very easy to follow!!
Immaculate Ruému says
Delicious and easy recipe to follow. I love fresh asparagus with linguine, the sauce brought it all together really well.
Marsha McDougal says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing.
Marta says
I loved how well the flavors of the sauce complimented the chicken and asparagus in this recipe. The pasta is the perfect shape to hold that sauce, too!
Marsha McDougal says
Thanks Marta! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe.