Meow Recipes: Garlic Cream Bucatini with Peas and Asparagus

Bucatini pasta in a bowl with a fork and peas

This recipe is sponsored by DeLallo

Listen, we are firm believers that winter doesn’t get to hog all the comfort food, let spring get in on this game! Especially when that food-hug comes in the form of fresh green asparagus bathed in garlic with big bright pops of sweet and springy green peas splashing around in coils of pasta all gently coated in a lush and light lemony garlic cream sauce.

Are there deliciously crunchy and outstandingly savory little golden crispies involved? Absolutely. Is this already wonderful springy win made even better with a fun pasta shape? Yes ma’am, bring on the bucatini!

Ingredients For This Vegetable Bucatini

If you’ve never had bucatini, it’s sort of like macaroni meets spaghetti. All the fun of a macaroni tube but with the long twirls and twists of spaghetti. It’s also got a little more heft to really hang onto your sauce, but it still feels kinda light and twirls with the best of them.

And of course, when we are in the mood for a fun pasta shape, we usually turn to our faves from DeLallo! All of their products are just so high quality and truly elevate all your fave carby dishes. Their pastas are handcrafted in Italy and they are all bronze-cut making the texture just a very A+ partner to your favorite sauces. (But, like, also DeLallo has amazing jarred sauces!) And though you could play around with the pastas in this dish, their bronze-cut bucatini is SUCH A WIN.

So other than your favorite noodle pick, here’s what you’ll need to bring this springtime pasta together:

asparagus
fresh garlic, grated
frozen peas
chicken or vegetable broth
butter
heavy cream
lemon
some golden crispies (the best toasty breadcrumbs there ever were!)

Are you going to sprinkle some grated parm or maybe some fresh herbs on top just to be a little bit extra? We certainly hope so. Shower it with green, friends. Spring is here.

Overhead shot of pasta, breadcrumbs, and asparagus

Springtime Pasta, Here We Come

No need to spend too much time in the kitchen with this one, we want you to be able to get outside for those brief but increasingly warm temps and get some sunshine on your face, so let’s keep things pretty simple here.

Cook the pasta. Like you do. Oh my, oh my, we hope it’s some bucatini because funnn!
Build your sauce. Melt the butter and toss your asparagus in for a bit, until soft and bright green. Get that garlic in there until fragrant and then in goes the broth and heavy cream.
Simmer and season. Once the sauce thickens a bit, add in the peas for the last few minutes of cooking. Then spring it up with lemon juice + zest, salt, and pepp.
Toss and top! Let everything really thicken up and cling on to that beautiful pasta. Then get your golden crispies raining all over that gem!

The creamy, the crunch, the bright green, the pasta…oof, a lot of wonderful happening here.

There’s Just So Much To Love About This Veg Pasta

Though it is an absolutely lovely little vegetarian queen as is, if you wanna switch things up, you would not be mad about throwing some rotisserie chicken on there or maybe a little sautéed shrimp? Yes, yes yaaaaahm! We’ve tried it and loved it and you will too!

You can also totally play around with your vegetable choices in there. We really loved the sweet green springy combo of the peas and asparagus, but you could for sure empty your fresh produce haul into this for a real pasta primavera sensation.

The sauce is also that perfect balance between rich and light so it really does feel like comfort food with a fresh shine. And if you know us, you know we would cover just about everything in to-die-for golden crispies if we could. If you don’t already have a container of them made and waiting (or if you did but you already ate them like cereal….been known to happen), then you can find out how here or see the recipe notes for a quick cheat version. Yays all around!

If you’re craving spring pasta, and honestly, who isn’t? Please kindly make your way to the kitchen and hop on this one.

Garlic Cream Bucatini with Peas and Asparagus: Frequently Asked Questions

What protein options pair best with pasta?

Shredded rotisserie chicken or sautéed shrimp pair great with this spring pasta!

Will other cuts of pasta work?

Yes! Though bucatini is one our faves here because it’s a bit thicker than spaghetti and it’s just so fun to twirl and twirl and twirl.

Can I make this dairy-free?

You could try using a plant-based butter (or use oil) as well as a coconut cream to keep this dairy-free.

Garlic Cream Bucatini with Peas and Asparagus

Author: Lindsay
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 6 generous servings

Print Recipe

Description

This truly is a wonderful springy gem! Bucatini noodles in a garlic-infused creamy sauce and twirled around buttery bits of asparagus and peas. SO GOOD!

Ingredients

Units

1/2 pound of DeLallo Bucatini Pasta
2 tablespoons butter
half a bunch of asparagus, ends trimmed and sliced diagonally (about 1 1/2 cups once cut)
4 cloves garlic, grated
3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup heavy cream
half of a bag of frozen peas (about a heaping cup)
zest of one lemon
lemon juice to taste
salt and pepper to taste
some golden crispies aka breadcrumbs for topping (see notes for a shortcut)

Instructions

Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions.
Melt butter over medium heat. Add asparagus and cook for 5 minutes, until soft and bright green. (You’ll simmer the asparagus a bit longer in the sauce, so it’s okay if it’s still a little firm.)
Add garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
Add broth and heavy cream; bring to a low simmer. Once it thickens into more of a sauce, add in the frozen peas for the final few minutes of cooking. Season with the lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
Toss the sauce with the pasta; keep it all over low heat for a few minutes so the pasta and the sauce really come together. Let stand for a few minutes if necessary for everything to thicken and the sauce to really cling on to the pasta. Top with lots and lots of breadcrumbs, and some rotisserie chicken or sautéed shrimp if you want! So yum!

Notes

Shortcut version of the golden crispies / breadcrumbs: Toast the panko in a skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil until golden brown. Season with dried Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss the toasted seasoned panko with crushed store-bought crunchy onions and try not to eat the whole bowl.

Nutrition information does not include golden crispies or any additional protein options suggested, like chicken or shrimp.