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One Pot Lemon Basil, Asparagus, and Sausage Pasta. This sausage pasta is made in 30 minutes, uses just one pot, and is a great way to use up that springtime asparagus. It’s made with spicy Italian chicken sausage, packed asparagus, is a touch garlicky, and finished with green olives and fresh basil. Perfect quick-cooking pasta that’s great for both late spring and summer nights. Everyone in the house will enjoy this cozy yet vibrant pasta, and the leftovers the following day are delicious.

overhead photo of One Pot Lemon Basil, Asparagus, and Sausage Pasta

The truth? A lot of times I make a recipe with a certain person in mind. It can be a sibling, a friend, anyone really. But I have the most fun creating recipes with others in mind. It allows me to step outside my own zone and think about what the other person would enjoy. It keeps things fun, fresh, and creative for me.

This pasta is a combination of two people and they both have very different flavor pallets. My oldest brother, Creighton, and my sister-in-law, Lyndsie.

Creighton is the person I turn to when I need a good meat-based recipe or something fun, cheesy, and more times than not, extra saucy. Creighton is all about the sauce. He loves his old school favorites like chicken fingers. tater tot casserole, or gyros with extra tzatziki sauce.

Lynd’s on the other hand? She is the complete opposite. Lyndsie loves vegetables and wants everything to be heavy on the herbs. She tosses in out-there ingredients and loves her cheese and lemons. In general, she’s all about vegetable-forward recipes with plenty of flavor and color.

These two could not be more different, yet this pasta is mash-up of what each of them loves most.

overhead prep photo of basil and chives

The details you need to know about this one pot pasta…

As you might guess, this is pretty simple and straight forward, but I’m throwing in some major flavor throughout.

Start with the pasta. For this particular recipe, I like to boil and drain the pasta first.

While the pasta is boiling, make a quick vinaigrette/sauce. This is the flavor of this pasta. It’s a mix of plenty of fresh basil, chives, and green olives. It’s fresh, a bit tangy, and perfectly salted. The idea is that by the time the pasta is finished boiling, all the other prep work is complete.

If you have a food processor, this makes really quick work of all the chopping and mixing. It creates a more vinaigrette-like sauce that will give your pasta a very pretty green hue. Just a tip, but certainly not needed if you don’t own a food processor.

side angled photo of One Pot Lemon Basil, Asparagus, and Sausage Pasta

Once the pasta has been drained, start cooking the spicy Italian chicken sausage in the very same pot you boiled the pasta in. I like to brown the sausage in a little olive before adding the asparagus and garlic. Once the garlic is added, you’ll want to cook a few minutes more, just until that garlic is fragrant.

Next, white wine, just a splash. It’s delicious and adds a nice flavor. Of course, if you prefer not to cook with wine, you can simply use a splash of white vinegar, chicken broth, or vegetable broth. My first choice would be the vinegar, followed by the broth.

Next add the pasta, plenty of freshly grated parmesan cheese, and all of the basily olive sauce. Once you add the sauce, your kitchen will immediately smell amazing. Like an Italian grandma’s kitchen in the summer months when she’s cooking with fresh basil from the garden.

It’s a very wonderful smell.

overhead close up photo of One Pot Lemon Basil, Asparagus, and Sausage Pasta

Suggestions, substitutes, and ideas…

If you don’t love asparagus, try using another spring or summer vegetable. I recommend broccoli or zucchini, just something green to preserve the pretty vibrant green color throughout this one pot pasta.

Not a fan of sausage? Well, first I highly recommend giving an Italian chicken sausage a try. It’s spicy, less fatty, and I always find it to have much better flavor in comparison to traditional pork sausage. I like to buy my chicken sausage at Whole Foods from the butcher, but most grocery stores with a butcher will make you fresh chicken sausage if you ask.

side angled close up photo of One Pot Lemon Basil, Asparagus, and Sausage Pasta

And that’s it. Serve this up while it’s warm and every bowl at the table will come back to the sink clean.

Creighton has said this is my best “quarantined” recipe yet. It’s his new favorite…which honestly I was shocked by. This pasta ended up being much more of a Lyndsie food versus a Creighton food. I was worried he wouldn’t even touch this due to the green color. But he loved every last bite and is calling it a new favorite. Who knew he’d love something so green…exciting.

And the best part? This is an easy, flavorful pasta that could not be better for a busy night. Plus the leftovers are great warm or chilled the following day.

Tip? Add a couple of handfuls of baby spinach to boost the greens! Now you basically have pasta salad. So very balanced! Enjoy everyone!

overhead photo of One Pot Lemon Basil, Asparagus, and Sausage Pasta with hands on bowl

Looking for other one pot recipe? Here are a couple of favorites…

One Pot Creamy Tuscan Pesto and Artichoke Pasta

One Pot 30 Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Bake

Lastly, if you make this one pot lemon basil, asparagus, and sausage pasta, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

One Pot Lemon Basil, Asparagus, and Sausage Pasta.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 503 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta to al dente, according to package directions. Drain.
    2. Meanwhile, mix together 1/4 cup olive oil, vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, basil, chives, and olives in a bowl, or pulse in the food processor. Season with salt and pepper.
    3. In the same pot used to cook the pasta, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken sausage and brown all over, about 5 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the asparagus, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook another 5 minutes or until the asparagus is tender. Add the wine. Simmer 2-3 minutes, then add the pasta and parmesan, tossing well to coat.
    4. Add the basil/olive sauce and toss. Remove from the heat and serve immediately topped with additional basil and parmesan. Enjoy!

Notes

To Make Vegetarian: omit the sausage and instead, when adding the shallots, also add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, 1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.
To Replace the Wine: if you prefer not to cook with wine, you can simply use a splash of white vinegar, chicken broth, or vegetable broth. My first choice would be the vinegar, followed by the broth.
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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Pasta was delicious!! Even my 2 yr old liked it, calling it “Luca Pasta” (iykyk). Definitely making it again!

    1. Hey Candace,
      Wonderful! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed and truly appreciate you giving it a try. Have the best week! xTieghan

  2. 5 stars
    Quick family favorite!

    I played around with the recipe a bit. Added a lemon white balsamic vinegar instead of the apple cider vinegar. Added Walnuts to the sauce blend, omitted the meat and used portobello, Added capers and arugula at the end! I also use banza chickpea pasta to add protein and its perfect!

    1. Hey Heidi,
      I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Have a great Tuesday! xxTieghan

  3. 5 stars
    This is one of my all time favourite recipes. I ALWAYS find myself coming back to this recipe and have made it SEVERAL times!!!!!
    It is just toooooooo good. It makes me look forward to leftovers!

    1. Hey Shannon,
      Awesome!! I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan

  4. We loved this one too. So many great flavors and it came together very quickly. I love cooking and eating HBH meals.

    1. Hey Annie,
      Sure! I would just reheat on low. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

    1. Hey Jill,
      Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan

  5. 5 stars
    I made this last night and loved it! I am wondering thought – I bought canned green olives from TJs and found that they tasted like canned black olives. I added them anyway because why not, they taste earthy, but I’m curious to know what kind of olive flavor was originally intended – a more salty briny sour-ish olive or a more oily, earth olive?

    1. Hey Hilary,
      Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I am delighted that it was enjoyed!! Have a great weekend! xTieghan

  6. 5 stars
    This pasta dish was delicious! Whole family of 4 agreed. It satisfied me, very much a pasta lover as well as my meat loving husband. It was such a great combination of flavors, I will definitely be making this again.

    1. Hey Amanda,
      Happy Weekend! Thanks for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! xTieghan

    1. Hey Nilpa,
      Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so excited that it was enjoyed! Happy Friday! xTieghan

  7. 4 stars
    I’ve made this recipe several times now. I absolutely love it. It’s always a hit even if you don’t love green olives. It makes a lot so i’ve made it for 6 adults without doubling the pasta! Ive also made it for my husband and myself and enjoyed leftovers all week! But I will say I double the sauce every time. The first time I made it, I made another batch of the sauce after I saw it on the pasta. It just wasn’t nearly enough. I do think HBH recipes can be misleading because she goes to great lengths to style the picture, which are beautiful! I feel like for these pics she must have made more sauce to pour over after she plated it lol maybe not tho. Either way this recipe is bomb. Double the sauce and a garlic (because always)!

    1. Hey Kristin,
      I am absolutely delighted that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for making it! Have the best week☀️ xTieghan

  8. 5 stars
    This was AWESOME and EASY! Takes a minute on the prepping side (if you take you’re time like me) but is truly 1, 2, 3! I was skeptical of the flavor combo at first but I trusted the process… well worth it!! Can’t wait to make it again.

    1. Hey Alex,
      Yes, that would work well here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan