This lemon butter spaghetti with sugar snap peas is easy, packed with flavor, and ready with just 8 ingredients. Regular (or gluten free) spaghetti is tossed with a quick lemon butter sauce and blanched sugar snap peas. Enjoy this easy vegetarian meal whenever the craving for pasta strikes!
I found myself with some gorgeous locally grown purple sugar snap peas and knew I needed to use them for something special. I blanched them to preserve their amazing color and subtle sweetness then tossed them with a super easy and flavorful lemon butter spaghetti! The resulting vegetarian pasta recipe was the epitome of springtime comfort food. Plus, it can very easily be made gluten free or vegan or both! Not only is this spaghetti super easy to throw together, you’ll spend 30 minutes or less on it and you only need 8 ingredients. Let’s whip up a bowl!
Carby Comfort with Less Than 10 Ingredients
One of the things I love about this simple spaghetti recipe is that it requires less than 10 ingredients, just like this caramelized cabbage with capellini! Here’s what you need to whip up a bowl:
- Gluten Free or Regular Spaghetti — this forms the base of our bowl of pasta. Feel free to use any brand you like! I’ve made this with both gluten free and regular spaghetti and they work equally well.
- Sugar Snap Peas — you’ll need 2 cups (or 1 standard pint) for the recipe. Make sure you get sugar snap peas, not snow peas! Sugar snap peas are much sweeter and in my opinion, more tasty than snow peas.
- Regular or Vegan Butter — This is going to look like a lot of butter but it’s the base of the sauce so don’t skimp!
- Shallot — adds flavor to the lemon butter sauce. Feel free to use 1/4 cup minced sweet or yellow onion in its place.
- Lemon — both the zest and the juice add flavor to the sauce. You’ll need the zest of 1 lemon and 1/4 cup juice which will take 1-2 lemons depending on how large and juicy they are.
- Pistachios — add a nutty and buttery crunch to the finished pasta. I prefer using raw pistachios here but feel free to use roasted pistachios instead.
- Regular or Vegan Feta Cheese — sprinkling a little of this on top of the pasta adds a lovely salt tang. You can use vegan parmesan instead, or, use regular feta or parmesan if you prefer.
- Sea Salt — seasons everything and rounds out all of the flavors.
Notes on Lemon Juice — the acidity of the lemon juice will turn the snap peas a different color over time so don’t be alarmed! It turned the purple snap peas I used a pinkish color around the edges and it will turn green snap peas a brownish color.
Adapting the Recipe with Seasonally Available Produce
This dish is a perfect example of the joy of eating seasonally as it was entirely inspired by some locally grown purple snap peas. While you can make this dish with standard green sugar snap peas, you can also substitute the following springtime veggies:
- Shelled Peas — these will yield the most similar flavor due to their sweetness. If you use these in place of the sugar snap peas, use about 1 1/2 cups.
- Asparagus — chopped asparagus would be really lovely here as well! Use 8-10 ounces of asparagus that has been chopped into bite-sized pieces.
- Fennel — add a chopped bulb of fennel to the pan with the shallot and garnish with the fronds.
Lemon Butter Spaghetti with Sugar Snap Peas and Pistachios
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Description
This lemon butter spaghetti with sugar snap peas is quick, easy, and packed with flavor. Regular (or gluten free) spaghetti is tossed with a quick lemon butter sauce and blanched sugar snap peas. Enjoy this easy vegetarian meal whenever the craving for pasta strikes!
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar snap peas, about 1 standard pint
- 8 ounces spaghetti, regular or gluten free
- 8 tablespoons butter, unsalted or vegan
- 1 shallot, minced
- sea salt, to taste
- 1 medium lemon, zested
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from about 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup raw pistachios, chopped
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, regular or vegan
Instructions
Blanche the snap peas and cook the spaghetti first. Bring a large pot of water to boil. While the water comes to boil, remove the stem end of each snap pea. Cut each snap pea into two or three pieces so that they are bite-sized. Add all of your prepared snap peas to the boiling water along with a large pinch of salt. Allow them to blanche for just 1 minute before removing them, straining them, and setting them aside to cool. Use the same water to cook the spaghetti. Cook it according to the package instructions.
While the spaghetti cooks, make the lemon butter sauce. Add the butter to a large skillet. Set the burner to just under medium heat. Once the butter fully melts, add the minced shallot and a small pinch of salt. Cook the shallot until it is beginning to turn translucent, about 2-4 minutes, then add the lemon zest. Cook for 1 minute then add the fresh lemon juice and another small pinch of salt. Cook the sauce for an additional minute then turn the heat to low until your spaghetti is ready.
Put everything together: Toss the cooked spaghetti and the blanched snap peas in the lemon butter sauce. Plate the spaghetti then top each portion with about 2 tablespoons of the crushed pistachios and 1-2 tablespoons of the crumbled feta.
This recipe is best enjoyed the day it is made. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 2-3 days. Leftovers can be rewarmed in a skillet over medium to medium-low heat with a splash or two of water.
Notes
- Please note that the acid in the lemon juice qill change the color of the snap peas but will not affect their flavor.
- You can use gluten free pasta as needed to keep this meal gluten free.
- If you’re vegan, make sure to use vegan butter and vegan feta or parmesan.
- You’ll need two medium/large lemons to yield enough juice/zest for the recipe.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main
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