Craving color? This spring Pasta Primavera is the rainbow of a recipe for you! Lightly creamy and packed with fresh vegetables, it’s a happy harbinger of the warm days ahead.
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Creamy pasta with a rainbow of veggies.
Pasta primavera refers to a pasta made “spring style”: filled with vegetables!
- Asparagus, peas, carrots, and broccoli are popular spring vegetables used to make pasta primavera, but you can easily swap them with the season.
- When it starts getting warmer out, I like to use green beans, zucchini, and red bell pepper in this recipe.
With the creamy sauce and freshly grated Parmesan, this pasta primavera recipe manages to feel rich and decadent, even though it’s a healthy dinner!
5 Star Review
“This dish is perfect for a special occasion or a simple weeknight meal. Will be making on repeat!”
— Taylor —
Key Ingredients
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.
- Whole Wheat Pasta. Pasta is the heart of this dish, so the quality matters! One of my #1 ways to make a recipe better for you with zero extra effort is to swap white grains for whole grain options. That means whole wheat pasta.
- Fresh Veggies. Pasta primavera is all about the veggies, and this recipe delivers! I used carrots, red and yellow bell peppers, and asparagus. The combination is colorful, nutritious, and delicious.
- Frozen Peas. An easy way to sneak in another veggie.
- Butter + Olive Oil. Sautéeing the veggies in butter and olive oil creates scrumptious flavor.
- Italian Seasoning. A one-stop shop of herbs and spices that gives this dish Italian flair.
- Parmesan. Salty, cheesy deliciousness. The Parmesan blends with the yogurt and pasta water to create the luscious sauce.
- Greek Yogurt. The secret to the rich and creamy pasta primavera sauce. Make sure to use whole milk Greek yogurt.
How to Make Pasta Primavera
Cook the Pasta. Boil and drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.
Soften the Shallot. Sauté the shallot in butter and oil.
Cook the Veggies. Add the carrots and bell peppers, then add the asparagus and spices. Stir in the garlic.
Finish. Stir the pasta and peas into the vegetables. Add the Parmesan and yogurt, tossing to coat. Pour in the reserved pasta water as needed. ENJOY!
Make It Extra Filling: Add a Protein!
This light and lovely pasta is filling enough to be a meatless main, though you can certainly add protein if you like. Try pasta primavera with shrimp or chicken pasta primavera made with Baked Chicken Breast. (Looking for another springtime pasta with protein? Try this Lemon Shrimp Pasta with Orzo and Asparagus.)
Frequently Asked Questions
Once you’ve learned the magic of using pasta water, you won’t ever go back! During cooking, the pasta releases starch into the water. This starchy water then acts like a thickener for the sauce and helps it cling to the noodles. If your pasta sauce needs to be loosened, adding the pasta water does a nice job of thinning it without diluting flavor or making the sauce watery.
You can use any shape of noodle for pasta primavera, but a short, tube-style noodle such as penne is traditional. Here, I am using penne, one of my favorite shapes.
Instead of trying to make this pasta primavera vegan, I’d actually recommend working with a different recipe. You could add spring vegetables to another vegan pasta recipe like Avocado Pesto pasta, or try this veggie-packed Eggplant Pasta instead.
Creamy Pasta Primavera
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Ingredients
- 6 ounces whole wheat cavatappi pasta
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small shallot chopped or ½ cup chopped spring onion
- 2 carrots peeled and cut into thin, 1/4-inch x 1-inch matchsticks
- 1 red bell pepper cored and cut into matchsticks
- 1 yellow bell pepper cored and cut into matchsticks
- 1 pound asparagus ends snapped and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning plus additional to taste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus additional to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas no need to thaw
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese at room temperature, plus additional for serving
- ½ cup whole milk Greek yogurt at room temperature (DO NOT use fat free or it will curdle)
- Chopped fresh parsley tarragon, or basil, for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook the pasta until al dente, about 8 minutes. RESERVE 1 CUP OF THE PASTA WATER, then drain.
- While the water comes to a boil, in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven (one large enough to hold the cooked pasta and vegetables), add the oil and butter. Once the butter has melted, add the shallot. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the carrots and bell pepper. Sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add the asparagus, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes more. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- As soon as the pasta is drained (remember to save its cooking liquid!!), add it immediately to the vegetables along with the peas. Stir to combine, then stir in the Parmesan and Greek yogurt. Toss to coat, adding the cooking liquid as needed to loosen the sauce. Enjoy immediately, topped with herbs and additional Parmesan.
Notes
- TO STORE: Refrigerate pasta in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days.
- TO REHEAT: Rewarm leftovers in a Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze pasta in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. The sauce may separate a bit, but it should still taste delicious.
Nutrition
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Vegetables + pasta = a dreamy dish! This dish is perfect for a special occasion or a simple weeknight meal. Will be making on repeat!
I’m so pleased that it was a hit, Taylor! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
I don’t like peas, so I substituted with broccoli florets. It turned out delicious. This will be made again and is easy for to create for a potluck.
Great to hear, thank you Sue!
Hi, Erin!
I made this dish with salmon and a dash of liquid smoke, and Brianna home style honey mustard dressing. It was delicious and fantastic served cold! I’ll make it again soon. Thank you for your time and fine work!
Warmly,
Renee L Smith
Chefette Sante D Smith
Thank you!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. My meat loving hubby went back for seconds and requested we keep the dish in our regular rotation. Even my 7yo son and his friend ate every bit of it. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
So glad to hear, thank you Olive!
Cooked this for my family tonight and everyone enjoyed it. Even my kids, who usually pick around vegetables, ate most of it without complaint! The sauce was surprisingly creamy considering how light the ingredients are. I will definitely make this again soon. Thank you so much!
So happy to hear it Linda!
Really enjoyed making this recipe. It felt super fresh and vibrant, and came together pretty quickly. I appreciated how the Greek yogurt made it creamy without it being too rich. Next time I might add a little more garlic, but otherwise it was such a solid dish.
Really liked how balanced this pasta turned out. It’s creamy but not overly rich, and the veggies still had some bite, which I appreciated. I had to add a splash of more pasta water to get the sauce just right, but overall it was easy and tasty. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
So glad to hear, Terra! Thank you!
I didn’t expect the yogurt to make such a smooth sauce, but it actually worked really well. I think the key is adding it off the heat like the recipe says. The veggies stayed crisp-tender and the whole dish came together without too much fuss.
So glad to hear, Krystal! Thank you!
I made this with what I had in the fridge, swapped shallot for regular onion and parsley instead of basil, and it still turned out great. I really liked how the Greek yogurt made it creamy but not too rich. My toddler even ate some!
So glad it worked well! Thank you Heidi!