Pasta is one of my favorite dishes to eat. Whether it’s rigatoni or linguine with crab, there aren’t many variations that I’ll turn down. So imagine my excitement when I ran across content creator Kristen Faith (@kristenfaith_eats on TikTok) and her recipe for 5-Ingredient Asparagus Pasta. A simple and quick pasta that had garnered over 2 million views on the social media site? I was definitely here for it.
While watching the video for the recipe, however, I — along with many of the commenters — discovered that the recipe itself was a little more than five ingredients. But the extra additions weren’t going to deter me from trying this one out. So, off to the store I went in a rush to get the few ingredients I didn’t have at home. And once I returned, I headed straight to the kitchen to see if this was as good as everyone claimed it to be.
How to Make 5-Ingredient Asparagus Pasta
Place your Calamarata noodles in a pot of hot water and cook according to the packaging. Once complete, run cold water over the noodles to stop the cooking process. While your pasta is cooking, rinse and chop your asparagus into bite-size pieces and place to the side in a small bowl. With a cheese grater, shred Parmesan cheese and set it aside for later use. Chop garlic and slice a lemon in half. Set aside.
Heat a medium-size pan over medium-high heat, adding a tablespoon of olive oil and butter to the pan together. Once the butter has melted, add the minced garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, asparagus, fresh-squeezed lemon juice from your half of the lemon, and a little black pepper to taste. Add in your noodles, a little lemon zest atop your pasta, and some of your freshly grated cheese. Mix together for an additional two minutes before serving.
My Honest Review of 5-Ingredient Asparagus Pasta
The short part of this is that this pasta was simply delicious! From the perfectly blended flavors to the added texture the asparagus delivered, this dish was truly delectable. It was so good, I made it a second time just to make sure my taste buds weren’t deceiving me. For my second attempt, though, I added a little twist to it.
While my ingredients were all the same as those listed from my first time, I added sockeye salmon, which took it to another level of enjoyment for me. Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this recipe a 9.
3 Tips for Making 5-Ingredient Asparagus Pasta
- Keep the pasta water. Like suggested in many pasta dishes, keep a bit of your pasta water to add to the dish once it all comes together in the pan to assist with consistency and the creaminess of the dish.
- Be generous with the cheese. I love cheesy pasta because it makes it more enjoyable for me. Don’t be afraid to throw in more cheese if that’s what you like, too.
- Change it up by adding some protein. My second time trying this dish (which was the night after I made it the first time), I added salmon and it was truly amazing. You could also use shrimp or lobster as well if you feel that it needs a little upgrade beyond the asparagus.