This Asparagus Shrimp Pasta Dinner recipe is one of my favorite ways to have a fancy dinner on the table in minutes! Succulent grilled garlic shrimps, tender grilled asparagus and tomatoes, served with a quick zesty lemon pasta. All you need is to cook the pasta for minutes, set up your grill pan or BBQ and grill the shrimps and asparagus in minutes, then plate everything up.
Asparagus Shrimp Pasta Dinner
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Hey EZPZ Mealz readers, it’s Mahy from www.twopurplefigs.com food blog. I’m checking in today with my second recipe contribution for this amazing blog, and it’s such a yummy EZPZ meal in minutes—like a perfect fit 😉 Think about perfectly grilled shrimp and asparagus on a bed of light lemon-y pasta. And think about all this in 20 minutes—now who says you need all day to eat gourmet?
I’ll start with the shrimp. This asparagus shrimp pasta dinner is all about shrimp perfection. I’ll tell you about seven years ago, I started teaching across several cooking schools in Toronto. And there were a few common requests with every season as we prepare the class schedules—seafood and more seafood! There’s a rumour that shrimp is hard to cook—either it overcooks, or it doesn’t cook through, and either it tastes bland or tastes fishy.
So here’s the deal, shrimp is one of the quickest ways to have a seafood dinner—it’s actually my first pick when I’m busy, tired and need to have dinner on the table for my family or friends asap. The trick to cooking perfect shrimp is to start with very high heat (or grill), cook them for about 2-3 minutes per side (not more), and think of simple flavors to kick up your shrimp. I rarely marinate shrimps before cooking, I just love a bit of garlic, lemon and herbs to be tossed with the shrimp and then cook right away. That’s it!
When it comes to cooking shrimp, I prefer either to bbq or broil. Today we’re grilling, but broiling would work great here too. You can check out another easy quick recipe on my blog for a broiled shrimp salad with avocado dressing. I love adding plenty of garlic, lemon zest and juice, some fresh parsley and thyme, salt and pepper, and my shrimp is ready. Then I heat up a grill pan (or BBQ), and grill the shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side (depending on the size) until the shrimp turn pink and opaque. Then remove them right away from the grill (they will still continue to cook) and on to your platter.
For this shrimp pasta dinner I picked asparagus. We love it at home (minus my 4 year old who’s the veggie repellant) and it’s super seasonal right now so I didn’t think twice. If you’re not an asparagus person, use your favorite veggie—zucchini, corn, broccoli.. all are perfect. I grill them with a pinch of salt and olive oil, and put them side to side with my shrimp because they take minutes too.
While all this yummy grilling is happening, my pasta would be cooking. So on a side bowl I prepare my pasta “sauce”, which is a no cook combo of lemon zest, a crumble of feta, more fresh thyme, pinch of chilli flakes, and some pasta water to make it really feel like a sauce. I love fresh simple pastas like this when I’m rushed—they’re packed with flavor, they make a great meal or side to any type of protein and you still get that pure pasta comfort you need! I have a fabulous and refreshing 10 Minute Greek Cheese Tortellini recipe on the blog too—which you have to try this summer!
So here’s why this asparagus shrimp pasta dinner is awesome—it’s crazy delicious as is, and it would be even more if you personalize it to your taste, so pick your favorite veggies to grill, pick your favorite type of pasta, use your favorite herbs (or add more to mine), skip the feta all together or try goat cheese, and serve this perfect meal hot or cold for a pasta salad feel. All you need is to try this recipe once and it’ll be your go to full meal in a breeze! Enjoy 🙂
Asparagus Shrimp Pasta Dinner
Ingredients
For the Shrimp:
- 2 lbs fresh or frozen shrimp any count, I used 16-20
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lemon for zest
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
- 2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves 'minced' or 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the Veggies:
- 2 lbs fresh asparagus
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes skewered
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- pinch black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the Pasta:
- 1 box fettuccine pasta fresh or dried
- 1 lemon for zest
- 1/4 cup feta cheese crumbled
- pinch chilli flakes
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- pinch pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves minced
- 1 cup water more if you like a runny sauce, and less if you prefer a drier sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the BBQ or stovetop grill pan, and adjust the heat to medium high.
- Mix all the shrimp ingredients and set aside.
- Mix the veggies and set aside.
- Start boiling the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Place the shrimp and veggies on the grill. Let them cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip them to the other side. Let them cook for another 3 minutes and then turn off the heat and let them cool off gradually over the grill pan (or bbq) for about 1 minute before removing them to a serving plate.
- In a small bowl whisk the pasta sauce ingredients (reserving the pasta water from the cooked pasta, and adding it only at the end when it’s time to toss the pasta with the sauce).
- Remove the pasta from the boiling water and drain. Add the sauce ingredients over the pasta and gently stir adding the pasta water gradually until the sauce is as thick or runny as you prefer.
- Assemble the plate and serve, enjoy 🙂
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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