Lemony Pasta With Asparagus and White Beans

By Melissa Clark

Updated April 7, 2024

Lemony Pasta With Asparagus and White Beans
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(3,017)
Comments
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Marinating canned white beans in lemon juice and zest, along with red-pepper flakes and shallots, imbues them with brightness and a touch of heat, adding so much flavor to this warm-weather pasta. It’s dead simple to make: While the pasta cooks and the beans marinate, sauté the asparagus in olive oil, then use that pan to finish the dish. There’s enough asparagus in the mix to make this a one-pan meal, but serving it with a crisp green salad on the side will add a little crunch and freshness.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 1large lemon, plus more fresh lemon juice for serving
  • 1(15-ounce) can white beans, rinsed
  • 1shallot, finely diced, or 2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
  • 3garlic cloves (2 thinly sliced, 1 finely grated)
  • ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste
  • Kosher salt
  • 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1pound short pasta, such as campanelle, fusilli or farfalle
  • 2bunches asparagus (about 2 pounds), ends trimmed, stalks sliced into ½-inch pieces
  • ⅔cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley leaves
  • ½cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
  • Black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

542 calories; 14 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 83 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 865 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Grate the zest from the lemon into a small bowl. Halve the lemon and squeeze the juice from half of it on top of the zest. Add the white beans, shallot or onion, grated garlic, red-pepper flakes and a large pinch of salt and toss well. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just shy of al dente, usually 2 minutes less than the package directs.

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, heat a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, then add the asparagus. Sauté until the asparagus is tender and starting to brown at the edges, 7 to 10 minutes. Add a big pinch of salt and the sliced garlic and sauté until the garlic is lightly golden, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

  4. Step 4

    Dip a coffee mug or glass measuring cup into the pasta water and scoop out about ½ cup of it to use for the sauce. Drain pasta, shaking it well. Add pasta, bean mixture, parsley and Parmesan to sauté pan and cook until the beans are hot and the pasta is al dente. If the mixture looks dry, splash in some (or all) of the reserved pasta water. Squeeze remaining lemon half over pasta, toss and taste. Season with pepper; add more salt, red-pepper flakes and lemon juice, if desired.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
3,017 user ratings
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Comments

David Cohen de Lara

I don’t see why you would want to take your beautifully sautéed asparagus and then proceed to basically boil them with the pasta. I say add the bean mixture to the pasta pot instead, and don’t add the asparagus until the very last minute when the heat is off. Also as others have said, use less pasta for a better balance.

Kristen

I added the zest from an additional lemon at the end, which helped with the flavor. If I make this again, I will add a second can of beans and might consider cutting the amount of pasta.

LD

Great paired with shrimp (add in with garlic and sautée with asparagus). Halved the pasta to make a better ratio, otherwise it’d be mostly one flavor: pasta. Doubled the amount of lemon which made it a nice complement.

Chrissy B

Loved this. Definitely making again. I made this for 2 people so I used 1/3 lb of pasta. 1lb of asparagus and kept the remainder of the recipe the same. I have two left over grilled chicken breasts that I chopped added in. And I’m considering adding some peas for the next go round. But this recipe is amazing.

sarah k

Delicious flavor! but if I make it again I’d do a couple of things differently. I would cut the asparagus into slightly larger pieces to match the size of the pasta (I used brown rice penne) and I would take it out of the pan after sautéing. My 0.5 inch asparagus pieces basically melted into the sauce when I added the splash of pasta water and simmered for those couple of minutes to finish the pasta. I’d also cook the pasta to full al dente before draining and adding to the skillet.

KLVT

This was very tasty. For two people, I halved the pasta. Used only one pound of asparagus, and mixed in a bunch of arugula at the end once the fire was off. Next time I might try adding some sauteed shrimp.

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