This one pan lemon pasta is a cozy, one pan pasta with bright spring flavors that’s easy to make and even easier to eat. It’s the best of both worlds!

Lemon pasta in a white skillet with a wooden spoon. Garnished with lemon and dill.
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I originally made a version of this when I bought beet and dill bratwurst at a local market. The bratwurst was bright pink before I cooked it, but I hodgepodged a meal together with the crumbled sausage and finished it off with fresh lemon, dill, and red pepper flakes. I loved the combinations of the flavors and I knew I had to make a version to share with you guys as soon as I could.

I didn’t want to use beet and dill sausage in this lemon pasta because I figured that was pretty unique and probably difficult to find. If you can find it though, it will be super tasty in this!

But otherwise, just use turkey sausage. Breakfast sausage or Italian sausage, either work fine. I sometimes prefer the milder flavor of breakfast sausage over the bold flavors of Italian sausage. 

More About this Lemon Pasta with Sausage

  • Fresh and flavorful: This pasta is bright and fresh and tastes like spring, but it’s just hearty enough to warm us on cold days. I
  • Easy to make: It’s easy to make too. Take-out might be the first choice some nights, but easy one pan meals are a close runner-up. 
  • Flexible: If you want to use a different meat or vegetable, this recipe is easily adaptable. Read on for ideas!
Overhead of pasta in white bowl, with wooden spoon inserted.

More One Pan Pasta Recipes

Through sharing recipes such a homemade hamburger helper, one pan broccoli chicken alfredo, and taco pasta (more where those came from, too!), I’ve discovered that you guys love one pan pasta recipes. And why wouldn’t you? I love them too. Who wants to make two pans and a strainer dirty just for a good pasta dinner?

This lemon pasta is another one of our favorites. It’s far from a traditional meaty red sauce like a Bolognese, but the bright flavors win my heart over. 

Pasta in shallow white serving bowl, with wooden spoon.

Make it Your Own

If you don’t have asparagus or it’s not in season, this dish is also great with mushrooms, fresh green beans, or even Brussels sprouts.

If you’re using mushrooms or Brussels sprouts, I recommend sautéing them with the sausage and then removing them from the pan (you can take the sausage out too) and keeping them covered with foil in a bowl. When the pasta finishes cooking, stir them back in. This will prevent them from completely overcooking.

The green beans will cook in a similar amount of time as the asparagus if you like green beans crisp (I do!) but if you like them softer, add them in right away when you add the pasta so they have more cooking time.

What to serve with this pasta

Cooking Tip

Make this dairy free by leaving out the cheese!
Recipe

One Pan Lemon Pasta with Sausage, Asparagus, and Dill

4.50 from 42 votes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
This one pan lemon pasta is a cozy, one pan pasta with bright spring flavors that's easy to make and even easier to eat. It's the best of both worlds!
Save this recipe!
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Ingredients 

  • 1 pound (16 oz) ground turkey sausage
  • 1/2 cup small diced yellow onion (about 1 small yellow onion)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 3 cups uncooked gemelli pasta
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 3 cups 1-inch asparagus pieces (approximately 1 bunch)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh dill
  • Pinch red pepper flakes (more to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon, juiced)

Instructions 

  • Heat a large, deep skillet with a cover over medium- high heat. Add sausage and onion and cook, breaking up sausage until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.
  • Add uncooked pasta and chicken broth and turn heat to high. Stir, and press pasta down into broth. Cook, covered, for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so pasta cooks evenly. When pasta has about 4 minutes cook time remaining, stir in asparagus.
  • When pasta is cooked to your liking, add in Parmesan, dill, red pepper flakes, and lemon juice. Stir to combine and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 301kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 79mg, Sodium: 1117mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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4.50 from 42 votes (41 ratings without comment)

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18 Comments

  1. Marianne says:

    5 stars
    This dish was excellent! I was looking for a recipe that would use up some wonderful fresh dill and asparagus, and stumbled upon this recipe. I didn’t have short pasta, so I broke up 1 pound of spaghetti into bite-size pieces and increased the liquid. Also, we are vegetarian so I used one tube of ground Impossible sausage, and the results were fantastic! Everyone at the table had seconds, and this will definitely be one of our favorites going forward.

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review – I love your vegetarian adapartations!

  2. Shirl says:

    Amazing bright spring dish! We wanted to use up some leftover Rotisserie chicken. Needed an extra 8oz. Chicken broth. Worked out fabulously. Love the flavors. Will definitely be making again!! Thanks so much for sharing.

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

  3. Adam Mackintosh says:

    I made this last night, and it was fantastic.

    Here is my ingredient list:

    deep 14″ pan:
    – 3 cups chicken broth
    – spices in the broth: onion powder, garlic powder, dried vegetable spice
    – 3 cups pasta
    – handful of asparagus chunks (each stalk cut into 3)
    – 1 orange bell pepper chunks

    shallow 12″ pan:
    – a bit of olive oil, avocado oil, and butter
    – diced onion
    – ground mild italian sausage meat
    – deglazed with about 1 cup of dry Vermuth (basically white wine)
    – cross-section cuts of shishito peppers (basically green peppers)
    – small piece of very fine chopped ginger (about the size of 1 clove garlic)
    – 3 cloves of coarse chopped garlic
    – couple dashes of red chili flakes

    After it was done, I zested a lemon onto a plate, and then added the juice of half lemon into the mixed dish. Then I topped the plate with a bit of lemon zest, just for extra citrus scent, and I recommend that.

    I tragically didn’t have any dill, and I forgot to add parmesan cheese, but this recipe itself is a super winner. Make it if you come across this page.

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      So happy you liked it! Thanks for sharing your adaptations!

  4. Victoria says:

    She forgot to mention that uncooked pasta burns black in the pan. Awful. 

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      Hi Victoria,
      That shouldn’t happen! Did you remember to add the broth? Could it be that your temperature was too high or you cooked it too long?

  5. Kristine says:

    This dish is amazing!  Our family loved it, and it was so quick and easy!

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      So glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!

  6. IttefaqSalt says:

    This looks so good. Thanks for sharing.
    I hope your daughter gets well really soon :)

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      Thank you so much. She’s doing better today, I’m so relieved!

  7. denise says:

    sounds perfect for a winter day

    I’m so sorry your daughter is still ill.

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      Thanks, Denise. :) Hoping we see the end of this illness soon!

  8. Jackwelyn Dollar-Duff says:

    Seems points of instructions are missing?

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      This is what happens when you’ve been without power for a week, living in a hotel, and your daughter has had a fever for a week and a half and you try to type up a recipe at 9pm. Good grief! Thank you so much for letting me know. Should be fixed now. :)

  9. Amy says:

    HI Rachel,

    am I missing something…I don’t see the rest of the recipe, I mean I can figure it out, but maybe for others?
    Thank you!

    1. Rachel Gurk says:

      This is what happens when you’ve been without power for a week, living in a hotel, and your daughter has had a fever for a week and a half and you try to type up a recipe at 9pm. Good grief! Thank you so much for letting me know. Should be fixed now. :)