Very Green Spring Pasta

This Very Green Spring Pasta is a bright, flavorful dish filled with asparagus, rainbow chard, peas, zucchini noodles, and fresh herbs.

If you want my honest, wholehearted opinion, Sundays should be reserved for relaxing, family, leisurely walks, staying in your pajamas all day, and pasta.

Since I’m Italian, the pasta portion of that statement has been instilled in me since childhood.

But when you think about it, I think us Italians had it right. Why pasta on Sundays? It’s comfort food at its best, of course. The perfect meal to accompany a day of relaxation and self-care. It’s also a relatively inexpensive meal that can feel entirely special. And it’s about feeding our families. Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to slow-simmer a meat or traditional tomato sauce. To mix, knead, and form pasta by hand. To layer lasagna in a perfectly balanced way so that it oozes just the right amount of cheese while keeping shape.

And then to sit and enjoy it all with your family and friends. That’s an ideal Sunday, my friends.

However, perhaps it’s not the healthiest. All those cheese and carbs.

While I think that’s perfectly fine and welcomed in my life in moderation, I also try to make my Sunday dinners a bit healthier (but still as comforting and delicious).

With pasta, that’s too easy. Add some bright, seasonal, beautiful vegetables. A little bit of cheese. Some savory herbs and hearty whole-grain pasta.

What makes a green spring pasta green?

Asparagus, peas, chard, zucchini, and herbs, which are all in season right now and readily available at your local farmer’s market.

If you’ve never had a fresh spring green pea, I beg you to do so. English peas are in perfect season right now and are so delicious, sweet, and tender. In my heart of hearts, a frozen pea could never compare. Consider placing those bags of frozen peas on hold for a moment. They can make their way back during winter, sure. But for now, score some fresh peas from the farmer’s market and witness the way peas were always meant to be enjoyed.

Asparagus, also in season right now, adds a lovely texture to this green spring pasta when sliced into slender spears. They cook through but retain a crunch that, with the peas, are welcome amongst mainly softer components.

Rainbow chard adds not only a lovely flavor but also a beautiful touch of color in an otherwise mostly green dish. The beautiful thing about using chard is that the stems are just as delicious, resembling the texture of celery.

This Very Green Spring Pasta uses both whole wheat pasta and zucchini noodles, making it full of heart-healthy fiber but lighter and lower on the carbs.

White wine, lemon, and parmesan make this pasta a bright, savory, and healthy spring dish that’s simple enough for a weeknight dinner but special enough for the weekend.

I hope that you make and enjoy this Very Green Spring Pasta! What are your favorite seasonal spring ingredients and farmer’s market finds? Let me know in the comments below.

Here are a few things you may need for this recipe:

5-Blade Vegetable Spiralizer  //  100% Non-Blended Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil  //  bionaturae 100% Whole Grain Organic Spaghetti  //  Clip-On Pasta Pot Strainer

This post contains affiliate links but are always products I love & highly recommend!

Very Green Spring Pasta

★★★★★ 5 from 5 reviews

• Author: Tiffany
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 10-15 mins
• Total Time: 6 minute
• Yield: 6 1x

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Description

This Very Green Spring Pasta is a bright, flavorful dish filled with asparagus, rainbow chard, peas, zucchini noodles, and fresh herbs.

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Ingredients

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• 12 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for serving
• 1 bunch asparagus trimmed and thinly sliced on a bias
• 1 large shallot diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 bunch rainbow chard chopped, stems and leaves separated
• 2 zucchini spiralized
• 1 cup fresh English peas if using frozen, see notes
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup Chardonnay
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan plus more for serving
• 1/4 cup basil finely chopped, plus more for serving
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta and cook spaghetti until al dente. Reserve some of the pasta water before draining.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large, deep saute pan. Add the shallot and cook until softened. Add the asparagus, garlic, and chard stems, and season with salt and pepper. Cook one minute. Add in the wine and lemon juice and zest. Bring the wine to a simmer and toss in the peas, chard leaves, and the zucchini noodles. Toss everything and cook until the chard is wilted, the zucchini noodles are just softened, and the asparagus is tender but still retains a bite.
3. Toss the vegetable mixture with the cooked spaghetti, basil, and parmesan. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Add a few tablespoons of the starchy cooking water, if desired, to loosen the sauce.
4. Serve drizzled with olive oil and topped with additional parmesan and basil.

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Notes

If using frozen peas, add the peas into the boiling pasta during the last 3 minutes of cooking and drain the pasta and peas together.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1
• Calories: 401
• Sugar: 4.4g
• Sodium: 249mg
• Fat: 9.8g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 56.1g
• Fiber: 3.4g
• Protein: 18.6g
• Cholesterol: 13mg