This Asparagus and Cherry Tomato Pasta is such a fresh and bright summer pasta. It comes together quickly and absolutely delicious. Pan-roasted asparagus and sweet cherry tomatoes simmered in brown butter, garlic and onions. Then it’s tossed in the most delicious cream sauce, made with a variety of Italian cheeses. Served with juicy pieces of shrimp. This is the most delicious summer pasta and a great way to use up your summer veggies.
You guys know I love a good pasta dish. Especially when it’s quick to throw together. When you see a pasta recipe, 9/10 I did not feel like cooking, so it’s definitely a great weeknight meal or dish that you throw together when you don’t feel like cooking but one something really tasty.
Originally I planned to make this pasta with parpadelle or linguine, but I didn’t have enough parpadelle so I resorted to rigatoni. Which came out just as delicious.
I wanted to create a dish that utilized my asparagus and cherry tomatoes before they went bad and one of my favorite things to do with pasta is throw whatever I have in my fridge and serve it with pasta. So here we are! Easy Asparagus and Cherry Tomato Pasta with Shrimp!
What you’ll need
Here’s your grocery list for this asparagus and cherry tomato pasta:
- Rigatoni
- Shrimp- 6-8 colossal shrimp peeled and deveined.
- Asparagus
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Butter- unsalted
- Seasoning- I used Old Bay, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.
- Half and half- I liked the light creaminess this brought. You can also go in with heavy cream if you want a creamier sauce.
- Cheese- I used an Italian cheese mix.
- Garlic- minced about 3 cloves. you can also use garlic paste
- Onions- half a yellow or shallots
- Lemon juice- optional, but I like to add a little bit of citrus to my pasta. especially if it has seafood.
One of my favorite veggies to use during the summer are cherry tomatoes. They’re so bright and tasty and scream summer. My cherry tomato pasta and Pesto & Cherry Tomato Pizza are some of my favorites to make year round. Especially during the summer. And now this Asparagus & Cherry Tomato Pasta.
Summer is all about spending time with love ones and outside activities. So the other night after taking my son to the pool, I hadn’t taken out anything for dinner. I quickly thawed out some shrimp and boiled some pasta. I had some veggies in the fridge and boom this delicious shrimp, asparagus and cherry tomato pasta was born in about 30 minutes.
How to Make this Asparagus and Cherry Tomato Pasta
Heavily salt and bring a pot of water to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, quickly blanch the asparagus for about one minute. Then remove. Then add in your choice of pasta to the boiling water and cook al dente.
While the pasta cooks, sear the shrimp about 3 minutes both sides. Remove the shrimp from the pan, then add in a knob of butter and red pepper flakes. toast for about 1 minute then add the onions and garlic.
Sautè until fragrant. Then add in the asparagus and cook for about 2 minutes before adding in the cherry tomatoes. Add in a little pasta water and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season the asparagus with salt and pepper. And pan roast the veggies until tender.
Stir in half and half. Then season with onion powder, garlic powder, Old Bay, Italian seasoning and black pepper. Bring sauce to a simmer then reduce heat. Add in cheese and whisk until smooth. Next toss in the cooked pasta and pasta water. Mix well.
Add back in the cooked shrimp and toss everything together. Season if needed.
Immediately serve the pasta with red pepper flakes and more parmesan cheese if desired.
Customize this pasta
You can customize this pasta by adding the following ingredients:
- mushrooms
- green onions
- chicken, salmon, steak
- heavy cream
Looking for more summer recipes?
Pesto and Cherry Tomato Pizza
Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl w/ Branzino
25 minute Parchment Baked Fish and Veggies
Rasta Pasta
If you try this Asparagus and Cherry Tomato Pasta with shrimp, please be sure to leave a comment, and or tag me on Instagram @cookwithci. I would love to see your recreations and hear your thoughts.
Shrimp, Asparagus and Cherry Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- Rigatoni
- Colossal shrimp
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup asparagus
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- Italian mix cheese
- butter unsalted
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/3 cup pasta water
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Old Bay
- Italian seasoning
- red pepper flakes optional
- salt + pepper
- 1/2 lemon juice
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, quickly blanch the asparagus for about one minute. Then remove. Then add in your choice of pasta to the boiling water and cook acceding to the instructions for al dente. Before draining, reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water.
- Meanwhile, season shrimp with onion powder, garlic powder, pepper & Old Bay. Heat up oil in a large skillet and sear the shrimp about 2 minutes on both sides over medium heat.
- Remove the shrimp from the pan, then add in a knob of butter and red pepper flakes. Toast for about 1 minute then add the onions and garlic. Sautè until fragrant.
- Next, add in the asparagus and cook for about 2 minutes before adding in the cherry tomatoes. Add in a little pasta water and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season the asparagus with salt and pepper. And pan roast the veggies until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in half and half and season with onion powder, garlic powder, Old Bay, Italian seasoning and black pepper. Bring sauce to a simmer, and cook for about 4 minutes until it slightly thickens. Then reduce heat. Add in cheese and whisk until smooth. Next toss in the cooked pasta and pasta water. Mix well until the sauce is smooth and pasta is coated.
- Add back in the cooked shrimp and toss everything together. Adjust seasoning if needed.
- Immediately serve the pasta with red pepper flakes and more parmesan cheese if desired.
Did you make it?
Tag @cookwithci on Instagram and hashtag #CookwithCi
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