A thick and creamy lemon sauce pulls this dish together. It takes only 7 ingredients for the sauce, 9 for the whole meal, which makes this Creamy Lemon Ziti w/ Roasted Asparagus perfect for a weeknight meal.
I can’t even begin to tell you how happy it makes me that the weather has finally been warmer, the sun is shining bright and I’m starting to see all the yummy spring/summer fruits and vegetables in the market again! One of my favorite springtime veggies is asparagus. I could eat the whole bunch myself! I’m an oddball who actually likes the stalks better than the soft tops. It works out pretty well for me considering my son will only eat the tops! Although I could make an entire meal out of Roasted Asparagus alone, I think my family appreciates that I recently paired it with this Creamy Lemon Ziti.
This velvety sauce is thick and creamy and super flavorful. And you know what I’m going to say next, right? It’s dairy free! In addition, the sauce is also oil-free, soy free and nut free. It only takes 7 ingredients, all of which you likely already have in your pantry/fridge, and less than 5 minutes to make this tangy sauce.
If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you probably already know what I used to make it thick and creamy – white beans! White beans are high in protein, fiber, potassium, folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, calcium and iron.
Asparagus is incredibly high in Vitamin K and folate and also high in so many other vitamins and minerals that I’m not going to list them all there. So, basically, you want to eat up because this is one healthy dish!
All 3 kids devoured this dinner, but I think my hubby liked it the most! We didn’t have much leftover, but what we did have didn’t last long!
Asparagus and lemon are a match made in heaven, so this dish is pretty much perfection! 🙂 Try it for yourself and leave a comment below letting me know what you think.
Creamy Lemon Ziti w/ Roasted Asparagus
I hope you love this Creamy Lemon Ziti as much as we do. If you try it, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback. You can also find me on social media. Be sure to tag @veggie_inspired and #veggieinspired so I’m sure to see it. Enjoy!
- 1 lb ziti (use gluten free noodles if desired)
- 1 bunch fresh asparagus
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt/pepper to taste
- 1 can white beans (rinsed and drained) (any variety, I used Cannellini)
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (plus extra to thin, if needed) (I used Rice milk)
- 2 garlic cloves
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- salt/pepper to taste
- fresh parsley (to garnish)
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- Trim off the woody bottoms of the asparagus. Toss the asparagus with oil, salt and pepper.
- Roast for 10-12 minutes until tender and starting to brown.
- Meanwhile, cook the ziti according to package directions
- While the ziti is cooking and the asparagus is roasting, make the sauce.
Combine the beans, garlic, non-dairy milk, lemon zest and juice, onion powder and nutmeg in a high speed blender and puree until smooth. Add salt/pepper to taste. (Add another splash or two non-dairy milk - or you could use vegetable broth- if needed, to thin)
- To serve, combine the ziti and sauce and serve the asparagus either on the side or mixed in with the noodles.
- Garnish with extra lemon zest and parsley if desired.
~Recipe updated 5/2017
More Delicious Pasta Recipes to Love:
Mediterranean Pasta w/ Artichokes & Roasted Red Peppers
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Fregola Pasta w/ Cherry Tomatoes & Basil
It was so easy and quick to make and SOOOO Delicious!!!!! Perfect for week day. Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that, Hiroko! Thank you so much! Have a great weekend!
Unfortunately this recipe didn’t work for me either. For some reason my sauce looked nothing like the pictures even though I followed the recipe exactly. It was thicker (even after adding more nut milk), a greenish color, and had a weird taste. When I put it on the pasta, it dried up and got kind of clumpy (this might have been because I combined when both pasta and sauce were pretty hot…maybe it needed to be cooler?). The asparagus was delicious though! Just thought you might appreciate some feedback. Next time I will try the dish with a cashew-based sauce and hopefully that will work a little better for me. Beautiful pictures by the way!
Hi, Sophie. Thank you so much for your feedback. This is definitely my most controversial recipe – haha! You have inspired me to take another look at it to see if I can work out the issues people are having. I will come back and update just as soon as I have it completed. I so appreciate your constructive criticism in a respectful manner – thank you!
I thought this dish turned out pretty good! I really liked the flavour of the sauce but found mine did turn out a bit more thick than I’d prefer so I just added a bit more soy milk to thin it out. I think I even preferred it as leftovers the next day. I ended up cutting up the asparagus and fried up some “chicken” strips and added it to the dish and it really hit the spot. Thanks!
Hi, Sarah! Thank you so much for your comment. I’m glad to hear you liked it. Have a great week!
Can you use coconut milk?
Hi, Tam. That would probably work. I haven’t tried it and full fat coconut milk might change the flavor just a bit…Lite coconut milk is usually less flavorful. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Made this for dinner last night and loved it! Will definitely make again.
Yay!! I’m so glad you liked it, Kelly!! Thank you so much for your comment! Enjoy your evening!
Really did not like it at all.This gives vegan cuisine a bad name. I feel there was too much lemon, and not enough garlic. Definitely nutritious, but lacking in the flavor department. Also there needed to be a bit of heat. The best part of this meal was the asparagus.
Hi, Katiana. Thanks for your comment. I’m sorry that the flavor wasn’t too your liking. The great thing about cooking, as opposed to baking where measurement usually need to be precise, is that you can add more or less of whichever flavors you like/dislike. My family really loves lemon…lots of it. We aren’t that big on garlic. It sounds like you prefer the opposite. You can certainly add more garlic and use just 1/2 lemon. Always taste as you go, so you can alter whatever you feel necessary before it hits the table. And I do think this would be great with a little kick of heat, too…perhaps a few dashes of sriracha. Have a great week!
I made this last night and it was just awful 🙁 My hubby and i couldn’t finish more than a few bites.
Do you rinse the beans when you make this? I didn’t because the recipe didn’t say to and usually recipes do say to rinse/drain beans….but maybe that was why it had such a weird taste to it. do you think that was the problem? because i’d really love to make a white sauce with beans as the base instead of cauliflower!
Hi, Valerie. I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you. Yes, I do rinse my beans first and I usually note that in my recipes…an oversight that I’m glad you brought to my attention. I will change the directions to note that. However, I can’t imagine that rinsing them would make such a big difference in taste, but maybe?? In fact, it seems that the liquid from beans has become quite popular as a thickening agent these days though I haven’t tried it myself. If you do dare to try it again with rinsing the beans, please let me know how it turns out.
I made your creamy lemon ziti with roasted asparagus for dinner tonight and it was delicious. Plus, it icomes together so quickly, so it’s perfect for a quick, healthy, satisfying week night dinner. Will definitely make it again!
I’m so glad you liked it! It really doesn’t take any longer than boiling the noodles. Perfect for a weeknight and so kid friendly too!
Lemon and asparagus makes everything better! This looks delicious Jenn. 🙂
Totally agree, Linda! Thanks!
My mouth is watering!! I can’t wait to try this 🙂
Thanks, Ceara! Let me know if you do!
What a stunning recipe, Jenn! I love asparagus and lemon, and I love pasta with creamy sauce, but I seldom have all those things together and I have no idea why. Beautiful photos too <3
Asparagus and lemon were pretty much made to go together, right? 🙂 And I like the bright lemon flavor to cut the heaviness of the sauce. It’s so good!
This looks so good and easy. Great for a quick weekday dinner. Will definitely try it.
Thanks! Let me know if you do try it and how you like it! You could even add a balsamic drizzle just before serving for Dad!
This looks so savory!! And I think pretty much all pasta dishes are better with a little lemon 🙂
I agree, Natalie! Lemon makes everything taste brighter! Love it!