One Pan Lemon Pasta with Sausage, Asparagus, and Dill
Posted: 02/11/2019
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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!
I’m writing this post on a Sunday morning from a hotel room. We lost power early Wednesday morning after an ice storm in Michigan. We’re in the company of more than 100,000 other people and we’re expecting to be without power until Sunday or Monday. On top of that, my 8-year-old daughter has pneumonia and has been fighting a fever for over a week. It’s been getting up to 104 or 105°F on a daily basis.
I just want to take the pneumonia out of her little body, put it in mine, and tuck her into a nice warm bed in her own room. She’s exhausted from fighting a fever for so long, coughing non-stop, and not getting enough sleep. It’s hard to see and even harder that I can’t do much to help her besides give her lots of love, which of course we’re all doing.
Between snow days and sick days, she hasn’t been to school in two weeks. It’s insane. I think we’re all a little ready for spring, so I’m throwing this pasta into the mix and just pretending it’s spring with all these flavors.
It’s bright and fresh and tastes like spring, but it’s just hearty enough to warm us on these cold days. It’s easy to make too, which is necessary because I feel like all of Michigan is just kinda OVER IT. Take-out might be the first choice, but easy one pan meals are a close runner-up.
I originally made a version of this when I bought beet and dill bratwurst at a local market.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
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.
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.
It is so delicious served with this homemade french bread from I Heart Naptime….there isn’t much that’s better than freshly baked bread.
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.
Tip: Make this dairy free by leaving out the cheese!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
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!
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 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 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 Information
Serving: 1g, Calories: 301kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 79mg, Sodium: 1117mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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.
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
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.
Rachel Gurk says
So happy you liked it! Thanks for sharing your adaptations!
Victoria says
She forgot to mention that uncooked pasta burns black in the pan. Awful.
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?
Kristine says
This dish is amazing! Our family loved it, and it was so quick and easy!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
IttefaqSalt says
This looks so good. Thanks for sharing.
I hope your daughter gets well really soon :)
Rachel Gurk says
Thank you so much. She’s doing better today, I’m so relieved!
denise says
sounds perfect for a winter day
I’m so sorry your daughter is still ill.
Rachel Gurk says
Thanks, Denise. :) Hoping we see the end of this illness soon!
Jackwelyn Dollar-Duff says
Seems points of instructions are missing?
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. :)
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!
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. :)