Pasta Primavera Recipe
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Looking to make the best Italian pasta primavera ? This easy spring veggie pasta recipe with tomatoes, lemon, asparagus and artichokes is what tasty dreams are made of. Enjoy hot or cold and wipe your bowls clean with a piece of our favorite focaccia bread.
Pasta Primavera
Long spaghettini noodles coated in a zesty fresh tomato sauce with garlic and capers then packed full of your favorite veggies: pan seared bell peppers, asparagus and red onions, artichoke hearts + a handful of peppery arugula to get your dose of dark leafy greens in the same delivery. Serve with tons of basil and extra lemon for a perfect Italian dinner you won’t believe came out of your kitchen. No cream, no dairy, just pure garden magic. Mangia bene!
About the Sauce
It’s a cherry tomato pan sauce with garlic, oil and capers and just enough freshly squeezed lemon to make your tastebuds sing. Like an upgraded aglio e olio, this is the flavor base that will coat all your pasta before building flavor with the rest of the vegetables.
The Noodles
This is all a preference of shape, any pasta you love can work here, just don’t overcook it. I am really partial to spaghettini which is a size between regular spaghetti and capellini and delivers the perfect bite of pasta and vegetables. Whatever shape you choose (linguine, bucatini, farfalle, gnocchi just make sure to go for a good quality durum wheat semolina pasta or an ancient whole grain like farro.
About the Veggies
I prefer stir frying or grilling my veggies versus sautéing. There’s a certain flavor that develops at higher heat while the natural sugars start to caramelize around the edges. It lends the final dish a unique layer of flavor to compliment the pasta. This time of the year I love going for a mix of asparagus, bell peppers and red onion, maybe some sliced up baby bella mushrooms. In the middle of the summer this is a great vehicle for all those green beans, zucchini and yellow squashes that seem to multiply in the garden literally overnight. Eggplant anyone? Broccolini or broccoli florets are perfect during the colder months maybe mixed in with some cauliflower.
Add Ins Suggestions
Dress to impress goes for pasta too! Go all out with a drizzle of homemade pesto and maybe a sprinkling of Follow Your heart feta crumbles. For my daily dose of dark leafy greens I mixed in a good handful of baby arugula but you can do spinach and even baby kale to feel extra good about eating this veggie pasta.
Favorite Italian Recipes
- Pizza Dough Recipe
- Focaccia Bread
- Pizza Bread Focaccia with Fennel
- Olive Bread
- Italian Crusty Bread
- Homemade Spelt Bread
- White Bean Dip
- Leek Potato Pasta
- Pomodoro Sauce
- Best Minestrone
- Fresh Tomato Sauce
- Bruschetta Pasta Salad.
How To Make Veggie Pasta Primavera
Pasta Primavera
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced strips
- 1 yellow bell pepper thinly sliced strips
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp brined capers roughly chopped
- 1 pinch red chili flakes
- 1.5 lb cherry tomatoes halved
- 14 oz can artichoke hearts quartered
- 1/2 bunch asparagus
- 2 lemons
- 3/4 lb spaghettini or thin spaghetti
- 1/3 cup fresh basil chiffonade
- 3/4 cup baby arugula
- olive oil
Instructions
- Snap the tough ends off of the asparagus and cut it into 3 inch pieces. Transfer to a large mixing bowl together with the red onion and bell peppers. Drizzle with a light drizzle of olive oil, a good pinch of salt and chili flakes then toss to coat well.1/2 red onion, 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 pinch red chili flakes, 1/2 bunch asparagus, olive oil
- Preheat a large heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat. Add the asparagus veggie mix and stir fry together for a few minutes until the veggies start to get some color. Turn up the heat if need be, you want to get a loud sizzle and move the veggies around here not sweat them. Once you see they start to get golden brown around the edges transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Turn down the heat and add a light drizzle of olive oil in the same pan. Add the minced garlic and capers and cook just until fragrant, about a minute or so. Add the tomatoes and give everything a toss. Cook together until the tomatoes have burst their juices and a nice sauce has formed. Add in the artichoke hearts and squeeze half of the lemon. Taste and adjust seasonings with more sea salt and lemon juice until your taste buds sing!5 cloves garlic, 1 Tbsp brined capers, 1.5 lb cherry tomatoes, 14 oz can artichoke hearts, 2 lemons, olive oil
- Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and season heavily with salt (yes you want the water to taste like sea water). Cook the spaghetti until al dente according to package directions, about 11 minutes or so.3/4 lb spaghettini or thin spaghetti
- Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the tomato sauce. Add the arugula and toss everything to coat well. Cover with a lid and let sit for 3 minutes for the pasta to absorb some of the lovely sauce and the arugula to wilt from the heat.3/4 cup baby arugula
- Add the reserved vegetables to the pan with the pasta and gently mix in. Reserve some of the veggies for garnish and serve with a light drizzle of olive oil, the basil chiffonade and lemon wedges.1/3 cup fresh basil chiffonade
This is the most delicious pasta I have ever made, it’s like it came out of my favorite Italian restaurant! Magnificent just like your pizza dough and crusty bread recipes. Grazia Florentina!