Pasta Primavera is a fresh and delicious easy pasta recipe. This pasta and vegetables recipe has a flavorful, creamy lemon sauce. Use whichever vegetables you have!
Pasta Primavera
In Italian, primavera means spring. Pasta primavera means Spring Pasta, and is most often made with a variety of colorful, fresh spring vegetables.
Which Vegetables Are In Pasta Primavera?
- This pasta and vegetables recipe is a great way to use up leftover vegetables, or go looking at the farmers market for some fresh colorful veggies!
- For today’s recipe I used: bell pepper, peas, asparagus, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, yellow squash, and carrots. Also fresh lemons as flavor and garnish.
- You can also add artichoke hearts, spinach, zucchini, kale, or whatever you like!
This is a great way to get your family to eat a variety of vegetables. Make this recipe with your family’s favorite veggies.
Which Pasta is Best for this Primavera Recipe?
I used penne for the recipe today, but I usually use one of these: Penne, Bowtie (Farfalle), rotini, etc.
• It is easy to make Pasta with Vegetables, you will cook the pasta, then sauté the vegetables and make the sauce.
• The hardest part of the recipe is cutting up all of the vegetables, though that is more time consuming than difficult for most people.
Can I Add Meat?
- Yes, you can add some protein to this pasta primavera recipe. Try adding some chicken breast or shrimp. Use any leftover cooked chicken. Prepared grilled chicken, or even a shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Shrimp also goes well with this vegetable pasta and lemon cream sauce. You can use shrimp that comes precooked, or just sauté some shrimp in butter and garlic in a small skillet.
Tips
• You can make this easy pasta recipe a little spicy by adding some fresh diced jalapeños or red pepper flakes.
• The vegetables are not cooked till soft, just lightly cooked but still with some crunch.
• The vegetables can be cut up a day or two ahead to make this dinner easier to put together.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
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If you make this delicious, fresh, vegetable pasta recipe, please let me know! Just leave a comment with a star rating below. I would like to know how you liked it!
Pasta Primavera
Equipment
- Large Skillet
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Penne Pasta
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 4 Red Onion, quartered and sliced thin
- 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
- ½ cup Carrots, cut into 1½-inch matchsticks
- 2 cups Broccoli Florets
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, cut into 1½-inch slices
- 1 pound Asparagus trimmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 1 small Yellow Squash, cut into small half round slices
- 1 cup Frozen Peas (or fresh)
- 2 cups Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- ½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- ½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- 2 tablespoons Chopped Fresh Parsley
- 1 teaspoon Chopped Basil optional
Instructions
- Cook the noodles according to package directions just till al dente. Rinse with cold water and place in a large bowl.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet and sauté the onions, garlic and carrots for 4 minutes.
- Add the broccoli, peppers, and asparagus to the pan and saute for another 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the squash and peas and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the vegetables to the pasta and toss in the tomatoes.
- Combine the lemon juice, parmesan cheese, whipping cream, Italian seasoning, lemon zest, parsley, salt and pepper and toss with the vegetables.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley and basil as desired.
Notes
Tips:
- You can make this a little spicy by adding some fresh diced jalapeños or red pepper flakes.
- The vegetables are not cooked till soft, just lightly sautéd, but still with some crunch.
- The vegetables can be cut up a day or two ahead to make this dinner easier to put together.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!