Creamy Spring Pasta

Didn't want to fuss with making the bread crumbs so I toasted pine nuts instead. Would do it again! Added salt and pepper and used fresh pasta. It's a keeper!

This is tasty enough, but I can make a light alfredo with just as good of flavor if not better, and throw in the veggies with far less work and dirty pans. The crunchy breadcrumb topping was unnecessary, so will just stick with eating the baguette instead of turning it into breadcrumbs. I love it on mac n cheese or tuna casserole but it just didn't work in this dish. Won't make again.

The alfredo sauce recipe here works well. However, nothing really makes the dish look half as special as the photo. I enjoyed it, but it's nothing special. After reading reviews, I opted to use boxed bread crumbs rather than put all of that effort into making them from scratch.

Use more fettuccine and parmesano-reggiano cheese than suggested.

Yes, could be considered bland.

I did some tweaking, although I don't think it would have been bad as written. I added about a 1/4 cup of diced pancetta, then sauteed the sweet onion in that fat. I also did not use reduced fat cream cheese and I used Brown Rice spaghetti pasta (brand is Jovial and it is fantastic, tastes just like regular pasta) and I added fresh basil at the end instead of tarragon. It was delicious.

My whole family enjoyed this pasta, including my 5 and 8 yr olds.  I almost skipped the bread crumbs.  Don't skip them!  They are so flavorful and add great texture.  We served with roasted carrots.

The picture looked so enticing and the ingredients good for a spring pasta. But the result, though nice to look at, was uninspring, bland and somewhat viscous. I followed the recipe as written except for using vegetable broth instead of chicken. I don't think that little change could account for the overall lack of flavor. This was a lot of work for little reward. It should be emphasized to have all ingredients prepped before starting before starting as things go quickly. I felt the directions as written did not lend to having everything come together at the same time. My biggest complaint was how viscous the sauce was. Adding some of the pasta cooking water would have definitely helped. Some red pepper would have also helped to jazz up the flavor. Although it tasted ok (especially the veggies, though I think mushrooms would also be good), it was not worth the effort.

This dish looked so pretty and I was hopeful that it would be tasty.  But it was quite bland, even after adding some spices.  It's also a bit time-consuming to prepare and the fettucini soaked up the sauce so quickly that it ended up being dry.   I won't be making this one again.

Well, I was the only one of the family who liked this but DH doesn't care for tarragon, so my mistake. I thought the sauce was creamy and delicious. Next time I'll use basil. Loved the homemade garlic bread crumbs.

I would definitely recommend prepping all your ingredients ahead of time as this recipe goes fast! I added more pasta and had plenty of sauce to cover. I might cut back on the veggies next time as they overwhelmed the dish a bit for me.

This made a really tasty, creamy, low-fat pasta dish which was awesome for dinner during lent on a Friday night. We made several modifications. We used a whole box of high fiber penne for the noodles, a whole bunch asparagus and a whole bag of frozen peas. We also doubled the sauce and tweaked it a bit based on other reviews. We used dried basil in place of fresh tarragon, added a pinch of nutmeg and 1/2 tsp chipotle pepper powder to the sauce. We also added a 1/2 lb of pre-cooked shrimp and used seasoned bread crumbs instead of making our own (but might try that next time). Overall it was pretty darn good and creamy. My brother and husband each had a plateful. With the modifications, there was a lot of sauce and a lot overall. There's a enough leftovers for several days! Will keep this one for sure.

This was fabulous!!!! I made it exactly by the recipe with the exception of the bread crumbs which I subbed with panko.. We could not believe the 'full fat flavor" of the sauce--amazing. We have added it to our list of favorites. I think next time I make it I will add some crisply bacon crumbles

This was disappointing. The breadcrumbs were a lot of work and added nothing. I also thought it was bland. I don't like to add salt just to add flavor. The one bright side was the freshness of the asparagus and peas. They popped in your mouth. I might try it again but will need many changes.

soooooo delicious!!!

Fabulous recipe that the whole family loved. The sauce is rich, delicious, and flavorful (even when I used fat free milk!) The one thing that my husband and daughter didn't love was the bread crumb topping. In the future I may just crumble a few croutons instead of sauteing the fresh bread crumbs. Will definitely make again, maybe with shrimp.

This recipe is sooooooo delicious!!! However, this take quite a bit of effort, that's the only reason its 4 stars instead of 5. It'll probably go faster the next time though. Outstanding taste!

This has become a staple in our home! Even after having made it several times though, i still cant talk and make this at the same time. This is one dish i need to prep all my ingredients before making. We also add super crispy bacon to the top!

A little more work the first time you make it. I used panko instead of the breadcrumbs. I also used 8 oz of pasta because that is how I had to break it apart and there was still PLENTY of sauce to coat the pasta. Finally, I used whole wheat fettucini and the dish is fantastic! I would make this again!

Based on other reviews, we made the following changes: substituted 1/2 cup panko for fresh bread crumbs (less dishes/work), substituted 2 c green beans for asparagus (personal preference), used 1/2 tsp table salt vs. kosher, added 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, and substituted fresh basil for tarragon. Also, I cooked the green beans and peas using steamer bags in the microwave. Turned out awesome; we served this with the Butter-Roasted Carrots and small side salads, and had no problem feeding 4. There was plenty of sauce though, so you could easily add an extra 2 oz of pasta without having to alter the recipe.

This was a bit disappointing. It definitely needed extra salt and more black pepper to spark the flavor bit. As someone else pointed out, 6 oz of pasta is definitely not enough for 4 people, even when using whole wheat. It's more honest to use the typical 2 oz portion expected for the pasta and up the calories per serving; my husband, who is not a very big eater as a rule, was still hungry when he finished. If I ever make this again, I will use a regular pasta serving, cut back on the cream cheese (2 oz would have been enough) and forgo the bread crumbs in favor of eating the baguette along with the pasta, as it didn't really add much to the dish.

Pretty tasty, although a bit time consuming, so plan on either starting dinner early or making this on a weekend. I don't like asparagus, so I add more peas instead, and I can't justify the expense of fresh tarragon so I have been stirring in a couple of teaspoons of basil pesto and a couple shakes of dried, salt-free Italian herbs. I have no idea how this is supposed to feed 4 people since my boyfriend and I can finish it off (and we aren't big people!) I'm making it again tonight at his request, and I'm going to try putting in some pancetta for some salty flavor. The homemade bread crumbs take a while, but are worth it.

Excellent! My husband was a bit flustered making this on his own, but I pitched in and it wasn't so hard with two sets of hands. Love the cream sauce! While it was good, I balked when I saw how much butter went in. Next time I'll try cutting back a bit and see if it's still as good.

Hmm. I thought this was just ok. Not sure the breadcrumbs added much to the dish. I liked it more than the husband. He put hot sauce on his, which usually means he thinks the meal is bland. Good, but I will not make again.

I am giving this 5 stars for one reason, my husband can make this dish without my help (sort of). He also absolutely loves this recipe and eats it all up. I have never liked anything Alfredo because I don't like cheese very much and because my stomach doesn't do well with very rich and fatty foods. But, I love this recipe. I eat a whole serving and then some. Even my daughter who will pick out anything green, like this dish. I substitute basil for the tarragon, mainly because I don't like tarragon and I grow yummy basil. If you make this as written, it can be bland. I add a little extra salt and some crushed red pepper to liven it up. Good recipe all in all

I used chicken instead of asparagus and 8 oz of pasta. Plenty of sauce, but it fed three of us as our whole dinner. I don't think 6oz of pasta is enough for four people.

Loved this! The cream sauce was decadent and the fresh flavors from the vegetables and tarragon really made the dish pop. We served with grilled chicken but honestly don't think you need it!

Easy and tasty! Cut down on the number of pans and some of the work by placing frozen peas in the colander and cooking the asparagus with the pasta in the last 3 min, then draining over the peas. Sauteed some pancetta in same pot after I drained it, then combined all. Like the idea of using goat cheese in combination or in place of the cream cheese! No tarragon, so sprinkled some chopped chives over for color. Obviously, this is another great recipe that you can work with whatever you have for pasta and veggies available in your pantry and 'fridge!

Outstanding is right! I almost went the lazy route and used premade bread crumbs but I made the homemade ones and the crunch and texture they delivered to this pasta was fantastic. It took about 3 minutes to thicken my sauce, rather than one and I used fresh pasta which cut down the hands on time by about 7 minutes. I would make this any day of the week and the leftovers today were fabulous. I might add diced ham next time though that would certainly make it not as light.

Fantastic, easy and yummy. I only had dill on hand, so i used that instead of tarragon, which would be even better. Easy to use as both a veg or meat entree.

Great recipe! I added some frozen carrots in and used fresh spinach fettuccine to add a tad more flavor. I'd suggest adding some of the tarragon leaves to the cream sauce while it cooks to add some extra flavor. Check out my post and step by step photos at: http://www.icancookthat.org/2012/04/creamy-spring-pasta.html

Absolutely delicious. I've made it twice since it appeared in the print CL. I always have pasta shapes on hand so I used that instead of fettuccine. The second time I made it I had some leftover ham and I added about one cup. Wonderful either way.

This is one of the best new pasta dishes that I have made recently. I could not find fresh tarragon so I subbed in a bit of dried. A great meatless entree--we had a green salad with it.

This is so good! I made it tonight. It is so light and fresh tasting. Just delicious! I will make again and again. I substituted low sodium vegetable broth and whole wheat penne. It did take longer and dirty up more dishes than a typical CL recipe, but it was worth it!

This was good, although I did double the sauce and ran short on cream cheese so added goat cheese too. I also used spring peas from Sams-those really made the dish.