Give a warm welcome to spring and a nod to winter’s passing with couple of seasonal veggies–roasted asparagus and sweet potato noodles with a creamy goat cheese sauce.
The vegetable herald of spring, asparagus, joins winter’s nutritious sweet potato in this vibrant green and orange pairing. Sauté the curly spaghetti-like potatoes until tender, then toss with this savory sauce—the noodles are the nest for tender gently spiced roasted asparagus. Finish the double-season combo with a generous sprinkling of crunchy hazelnuts.
There are 3 steps to coordinate here. Well, four, if you count the spiralizing of the sweet potatoes, which you can do ahead of time, along with toasting the nuts.
Click here to PIN Roasted Asparagus and Sweet Potato Noodles.
First whisk up the easy goat cheese sauce and keep it warm. Then trim the asparagus, toss it with oil and spices, and pop it in a hot oven. While the sweet asparagus flavor concentrates and the tops get nicely crisp, toss and cook the sweet potatoes in a skillet until they’re just tender.
The asparagus and sweet potatoes should be perfectly done at about the same time, so all you have to do is cut the asparagus on smaller lengths and stir the sauce into the noodles. Serve immediately, with a flourish of toasted chopped hazelnuts.
The first time I cut sweet potatoes with a spiralizer, the curly-qs got me giggling. Cranking and watching the tangle come out the other end still cracks me up. I’m grinning from ear to ear in this video. 🙂
Like asparagus with sweet potato noodles, the weather this time of year straddles the seasons. Here in the mountains, one day it snows, the next it’s warm and sunny—if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. What’s it like where you are?
Embrace the seasonal overlap, get in the kitchen and cook something delicious–roasted asparagus and sweet potato noodles–and a sassy goat cheese sauce.
Just so you know, this post contains affiliate links. When you purchase products via my links, it doesn’t cost you anything and I earn a tiny commission, which helps me continue to provide free content here on Letty’s Kitchen. Thank you!!
Roasted Asparagus and Sweet Potato Noodles recipe details:
- Choose medium asparagus—not too thin, not too thick. If you can only find thin, roast the asparagus less time. If only thick asparagus is available, you may want to peel the tougher bottom about 2/3 of the way up with a vegetable peeler.
- Sumac adds a very pleasant flavor dimension to roasted asparagus. If you don’t have this tangy fruity spice from the Middle East, squeeze half of a lemon over the asparagus when it comes out of the oven. Learn more about sumac in this farro and hearty greens soup recipe.
- Sprinkle Aleppo pepper in place of black pepper in the goat cheese sauce and asparagus. Aleppo pepper is a fairly mild and slightly fruity red pepper.
- For added vegetarian protein, toss a cup of oven roasted chickpeas in with the noodles and sauce.
- You will absolutely fall in love with the goat cheese sauce, an awesome quick sauce for all kinds of pasta and veggies. Like this tortellini pasta recipe with, or this cilantro fettuccine, garnished with pepitas.
Other handy tools for this recipe:
- To make asparagus roasting cleanup easy, line the baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- OXO Good Grips also sells a hand spiralizer—good for smaller portions.
Thanks for being here. To get my latest recipe posts and exclusive monthly newsletters, subscribe here. (I hate Spam too and will never share your email with anyone.)
- Follow me on Instagram! It’s my favorite!
- Peruse my Pinterest boards for more vegetarian recipe ideas,
- Find daily vegetarian and healthy living ideas on my Facebook page.
OXO sent me their new Spiralizer so I could create a recipe using it. My opinion about this fun tool is my own.
Roasted Asparagus and Sweet Potato Noodles with Goat Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
Goat Cheese Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
- 6 ounces soft goat cheese
- About 1/3 cup water
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon Aleppo or freshly ground black pepper
Asparagus:
- 2 bunches medium asparagus , about 2 ½ pounds
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon sumac (see note)
- ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper or freshly ground black pepper
Sweet Potato Spaghetti:
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large sweet potatoes , about 1 ½ pounds, peeled and spiralized 1/8-inch thick with the green spaghetti-cut blade (see note)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
Instructions
Make the goat cheese sauce:
- Melt the butter in a saucepan on low flame. Add the goat cheese and water; whisk until the goat cheese dissolves into a thin sauce. Add a bit more water if needed. Keep warm, but do boil.
Roast the asparagus:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Snap off the tougher ends of the asparagus by gently bending the asparagus near the bottom. The stalk will break where the tender and tougher parts meet. Discard the ends.
- Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt, sumac and Aleppo pepper, and then toss to coat the asparagus completely. (Line the baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper to make cleanup easy.)
- Roast the asparagus 15 to 20 minutes, until just tender. Cut into 1 ½-inch pieces.
Sweet Potato Spaghetti:
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high flame. Add the spiralized sweet potatoes and toss to coat with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Using 2 large wooden spoons, toss and turn (like a stir-fry) the potatoes until they are just tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the goat cheese sauce. Transfer to a serving bowl or individual bowls. Top with the roasted asparagus and garnish with toasted hazelnuts. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Cut the ends of the sweet potatoes so they are flat and even, so they easily align with the spiralizer's coring blade and food holder.
- Spiralizing creates really long noodles. For more manageable pieces, make a few cuts in the noodles.
- If you don’t have sumac, squeeze half of a lemon over the asparagus when it comes out of the oven.
This looks incredible Letty. Can’t wait to try it. Asparagus is such a healing vegetable. · 28 March, 2016
Thanks Maura. · 28 March, 2016
Letty, just love these “nutrient dense” preparations. This will be dinner tonight. · 28 March, 2016
Great to hear that Ginger! Take a photo and put it on Instagram and tag #lettycooksveggies 😉 · 28 March, 2016
Thanks Letty…this looks wonderful…I’m going to give it a try.
Gini · 28 March, 2016
Thanks Gini. I love that you are inspire-ralized! · 28 March, 2016
I just made this with a vegan cashew cheese sauce as a substitute for the goat cheese and it was delicious! · 31 March, 2016
Yay Maura! Thanks for letting me know your success with the recipe. Did you make the cashew cheese or buy it? · 2 April, 2016
Not only does this LOOK good but I love that it’s so packed with nutrients ! I’m making this for dinner tonight, thinking of serving it with real good crusty bread and hummus on the side. Very excited thank you! · 11 April, 2016
Thanks Rachel. Happy cooking! If you want, send a photo of your dinner and tag me on Facebook or Instagram! · 11 April, 2016