Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter
Asparagus season means one thing: this penne with roasted asparagus and balsamic butter goes on the menu ASAP! It is incredibly delicious, SO fast and simple, and a huge family favorite.
This pasta.
It is so divine.
And it definitely falls into the category of those recipes that are so much more than a sum of their parts.
Taken as a list at face value, you may be wondering what the big deal is about penne + roasted asparagus + balsamic + butter + Parmesan.
All of those ingredients are simple and, well, somewhat plain, but doctor them up just a little, throw them together, and you have an incredible pasta dish absolutely bursting with flavor.
Plus, this penne pasta is so easy, you’ll probably want to go ahead and grab a stack of old-fashioned notebook paper so you can start making a list of all the things you can do with the time you saved making dinner.
Top of my list? Finish reading this book and maybe start sewing foxes…and ok, fine, I’ll try to fit vacuuming (boring!) in there, too.
I know food bloggers get a lot of eye rolling directed at the overuse of “best ever” and “my favorite” and all that, but I’m sorry, I’m just going to say it:
This penne with roasted asparagus and balsamic butter is one of my favorite pasta dishes of all time.
I actually feel quite liberated admitting that out loud. I even added it to the Best Recipe page. It deserves to be there.
I’m reminded of how much I love this penne pasta every single spring when tender, fresh, tasty asparagus starts popping up in stores, and we commence several months of eating this fast and easy penne dish very, very frequently (as in, sometimes, weekly isn’t often enough).
My kids love this stuff. And Brian and I are right there with them.
It’s delicious warm. It’s delicious cold (if there even happen to be any leftovers). It’s delicious right in the middle at room temp, too.
And there’s more.
This penne pasta with roasted asparagus and balsamic butter makes a fabulous main dish (sometimes we add grilled chicken, but it doesn’t really need it), and it makes an equally fabulous side dish or pasta salad for a potluck.
Are you catching what I’m trying to say here?
You really can’t mess this one up. It’s versatile and ridiculously delicious.
I kid you not, I stock up on Costco-sized bags of asparagus just because of this pasta, and I have finally decided to plant asparagus along our whole irrigation ditch line this year since asparagus has a talent for growing wild and free without a lot of maintenance.
Basically, I love asparagus. I love pasta. I love balsamic reductions (you probably caught that memo from this balsamic pork post). And I love butter.
If you do as well, you’ll loooooove this penne with roasted asparagus and balsamic butter dish.
One final note: please seriously consider browning your butter. It just might change your life.
That is all.
What To Serve With This:
Crispy Oven-Baked Chicken or Grilled Island Chicken
A simple green salad (or this Gourmet Green Salad)
Fresh, seasonal fruit
One Year Ago: Lemon Poppy Seed Sugar Cookies
Two Years Ago: Perfect Potato Salad
Three Years Ago: Chocolate Chip Treasure Cookies
Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter
Ingredients
Roasted Asparagus:
- 1 to 2 pounds fresh asparagus spears
- ½ to 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon coarse, kosher
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Balsamic Reduction:
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon light or dark brown sugar
- Pinch of black pepper
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Pasta:
- 1 pound penne pasta, regular or whole wheat
- 4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces (see note about browning the butter)
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Snap the tough lower ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the asparagus spears into 1-inch pieces. Place the asparagus on a large, rimmed baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- While the asparagus roasts, add the vinegar to a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until the vinegar is reduced to about 3 tablespoons, about 5-10 minutes.
- Stir in the brown sugar, pepper and salt. Remove from the heat.
- Cook the penne in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water until al dente (or desired tenderness), according to package directions. Drain the pasta and return to the pot.
- Add the butter and toss with the pasta until the butter is melted and the pasta is evenly coated.
- Add the vinegar reduction. Toss to combine well. Add the asparagus and Parmesan; toss. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve immediately with extra Parmesan cheese, for serving, if desired.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from Food and Wine Quick From Scratch Pasta Cookbook
Recipe originally posted April 2011; updated with new pictures, recipe notes, and commentary.
148 Comments on “Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter”
Delicious. My 5 year old requested it for his birthday meal instead of pizza,
Oh my gosh. HEAVEN!! I’ve made this pasta so many times. It is so delicious and simple!! Love it so much. I usually throw in some pre-cooked chicken to make it even more filling.
This is so good I have made it several times now! I love pea lentil pasta so used that and had no quilt about consuming ‘real pasta’. This is a new side in our rotation!
Thanks Mel!
So yummy! I’ve been on your site for years and made so many recipes. Don’t know how I missed this one! I think it was asparagus in the title, which my husband hates, so made this one with my daughter while he was out of town. So incredible! My teen eats so little these days, but had 3 helpings. Thanks! She’ll be taking this recipe with her to college next year. Added scrambled eggs for easy protein. Will be making with broccoli when hubs gets back!
This has been a favorite recipe of mine since you first shared it and today for lunch I made it with some spinach and cheese ravioli from Costco in place of the penne. Aaah man, there really is just no wrong way to put that balsamic (browned) butter sauce over pasta. It’s just so good! Thanks and I love you Mel!
This is one of my most favorite pastas ever. The flavors just belong together. I have discovered stores sell a balsamic glaze and I use three tablespoons of that instead of reducing the vinegar myself. My kids were very turned off by the smell of the vinegar being reduced. It is pretty potent. I like to put maybe a half teaspoon to a teaspoon of straight balsamic vinegar to the glaze with the other ingredients because it strengthens the flavor I find. Super delish!
This is one my absolute favorite meals. I’ve been making it for years and my husband requests it frequently. Really easy, but flavorful. It makes great leftovers for work lunches, too!
This recipe is delicious!!! Came upon this page once I realized I had extra asparagus that was about to go bad. Googled uses, found this, and SO GLAD I did!!! It’s so tasty, EASY to make, and also yummy leftovers – cold or reheated, either way. I’ve already passed this along to family. Was anxious about attempting balsamic reduction, but know that I can do this moving forward. Thank you! Yummy!
Your recipes are the best. I was just looking for a new way to incorporate asparagus. The elementary age granddaughters enjoyed it also. This recipe was easy to make and so delicious. I served it with Pork tenderloin.
This was amazing, I also added some garlic and trout, and it was so great indeed!!!
Can’t wait to try this-can I use a bottled balsamic reduction instead of reducing balsamic vinegar?
You could definitely try! A lot will depend on the specific flavor of the storebought reduction – if you like it, it should work!
Ok, so pats of butter or melted brown butter? The recipe reads as if the butter is solid when you add it
You can use either. The recipe is written using butter that hasn’t been browned (just cut into tablespoon-sized pieces) but I include a note below the recipe with instructions for browning the butter for additional flavor.
I absolutely Adore this recipe! One of our family favorites (and my kids are crazy picky)! Also, everything I’ve made from your website has been a huge winner! Thank you so much! Your recipes are incredible and I appreciate All of your hard work!
Thanks, Brandy!
This was, of course, delish!! Balsamic reduction is always a win in my book 🙂
This was exquisite. So simple and so delish! My husband is not the biggest pasta fan, but he LOVED this dish and had two large helpings. I LOVE your recipes, Mel! As a newly wed, with VERY LITTLE cooking experience and confidence, I am all of a sudden producing these amazing, diverse meals and my confidence in the kitchen is fast increasing. Thank you! 🙂
Thank you so much, Gabriella!
Quick and tasty! Kroger had asparagus on sale for .88/lb, so it was also a cheap meal. I served it with your Amazing Romaine Salad.
I make this recipe often bc it’s delicious, healthy, and quick. I always throw in chicken. This time I didn’t have as much asparagus in my fridge as I originally thought so I roasted some sugar snap peas with the little bit of asparagus I had. So good!! This will continue to be a family favorite (and that’s saying a lot bc we are not a pasta eating family usually!).
Asparagus was on sale at Aldi this week, and after buying it I remembered this amazing recipe. I made it several times last year and then forgot about it. It’s so tasty! Our whole family loves it, it’s truly restaurant quality. Way to go, Mel! You are the best! ❤
Thanks, Allison – this is one of my favorites!
This is amazing so quick and easy. I am a college student always looking for something quick at least semi healthy and delicious! Literally love this pasta sooo much!
My new favorite pasta dish! Ingredients are cheap, (and most of the time all I have to go to the store for is fresh asparagus! very little prep and cook time, and it is beyond delicious!!!!
Oh my goodness gracious!! I’m sooooo in love with this dish!! The first bite was sweeter than I thought it would be. And then the tang kicked in–neither was overpowering, both just the right amount!
Since I live with two meat-loving men (husband and son) I grilled some chicken (cubed 2 chicken breasts then threw them in the frying pan with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper) and added that. The meat soaked in the balsamic and was very yummy. I also browned the butter. My only mistake was putting in 1/2 the amount of asparagus–because I wanted to save the rest for another recipe. Next time (and that will be REAL soon!) I’ll put in a full pound or more of asparagus.
So much yummy!!
What brand of balsamic vinegar do you use??
I remember you shared it years ago, but I’m not sure what recipe it was… can you email me please…
shanalynn84@gmail.
Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!!!
Shana Mortenson
Hi Shana – I usually use the Kirkland brand from Costco.
This was too good! We loved it.
Delicious!
I was not sure about the balsamic butter especially because it contained brown sugar but I could not stop eating this pasta. My husband loved it too and he is really fussy when it comes to pasta dishes. So easy to throw together after roasting the asparagus. I will definitely make this dish again. So good!
Tried this today…sad to say it didn’t work out for me at all.
I’m still pretty new to cooking but I figured this was doable because the sauce sounds straightforward and there aren’t a lot of ingredients. I halved the recipe because I didn’t quite need 6 servings. So I was waiting for the vinegar to reduce down to about 1.5 tablespoons and trusted that there was a reason for so little rather than going with my gut, and that’s when things started to go wrong (well, ignoring the balsamic inevitably stinking up the kitchen just by cooking it on its own). There wasn’t much difference even about 6 or so min in, so I waited the full 10 min before adding the brown sugar/salt/pepper (misunderstood when to add the butter, the recipe says to add it in at the same time as the pasta, which I’m now sure is wrong.) And even though it was only on heat for a minute or so more, it kind of thickened to a molasses-like consistency and then burnt right to the pan. And it smelled (wait no, *still smells) HORRIBLE.
Managed to recover the unharmed pasta with an oil-based sauce after chucking that, but I just wanted to add my experience so that others heed some warnings: err on the side of LESS TIME COOKING THE VINEGAR (I.E. YOU WILL HAVE MORE THAN 3 TABLESPOONS), keeping in mind that the sauce will continue to cook after you add the brown sugar and EVEN AFTER you take it off the heat. Also, a nonstick pan might be worth noting somewhere (I suspect it’d be helpful even if you do get the sauce right.) It’s a shame that it didn’t work because other reviewers seem to really enjoy the dish, but I’m afraid to say the stench alone has scared me off balsamic vinegar sauces for the foreseeable future. There really is nothing quite like it.
Hi Christine – sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you. I’ve burned balsamic vinegar before so I know what you mean about the smell being a turn-off. I think the issue was halving the sauce…with that small amount of balsamic vinegar, it would overcook much more easily (and continue cooking more rapidly off the heat). Thanks for your notes to help others wanting to try this recipe.
Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! I’m positive this tastes terrific with plain ol’ butter. But the browned butter adds THE most incredible flavor. My entire family snarfed this dish up so quickly. You are the “go to” source for me on a weekly basis!
I made this last night, and it was a hit! I knew I’d like it because my favorite way to prepare asparagus is roasted with a brown butter balsamic vinegar glaze. But I didn’t expect my kids to like it so much that 2 requested leftovers in their lunch! (Kind of sad since it’s less for me, but it’s always a win when they want something other than a cheese sandwich). It’s so good, I’m thinking of making it again tomorrow night! Thanks for another great recipe.