Lemon Pasta – Sugar Spun Run

This Lemon Pasta recipe will be prepared in simply half-hour! It’s made with a creamy, recent lemon sauce and pairs completely with rooster or shrimp. Makes an awesome weeknight dinner! Recipe features a how-to video!

Overhead view of a skillet filled with lemon pasta and fresh lemon slices.

My Favourite Lemon Pasta Recipe

This lemon pasta recipe is a lightweight and creamy Italian dish with a citrusy,
Mediterranean twist. It’s brightly flavored with recent lemons, olive oil, and shallots. It’s easy, comes collectively rapidly, and makes an extremely refreshing weeknight dinner.

Pairing lemon with cream is a bit surprising, however it offers this dish a vibrant and recent taste that isn’t too wealthy. Collectively they create a silky sauce that coats the noodles superbly with out being heavy like an alfredo sauce.

Why it’s best to attempt it:

  • Takes solely quarter-hour to prep and one other 15 to cook dinner.
  • Might be made with any pasta form you’ve gotten readily available.
  • Pairs properly together with your favourite protein, like seared rooster or shrimp.
  • Distinctive and satisfying taste that’s pleasantly creamy, however not overly wealthy or heavy.

What You Want

We’re preserving it easy in right now’s lemon pasta recipe by utilizing only a few high-quality elements. Listed below are crucial ones:

Overhead view of ingredients including lemons, parmesan, heavy cream, linguine pasta, and more.
  • Lemon juice + zest. Make certain to zest your lemon earlier than juicing it (a lot simpler that means 😅), and be aware that you just solely wish to zest the intense yellow half, not the bitter white papery layer/pith. Additionally! In contrast to my lemonade recipe, you actually can not substitute bottled lemon juice right here; the flavour simply isn’t the identical.
  • Crushed purple pepper. That is non-obligatory for these of you who don’t like warmth, however I like the very slight kick a pinch provides to this lemon pasta recipe. Alternatively, you can too amp up the warmth with one other shake of crushed purple pepper, if desired.
  • Heavy cream. We’ll subdue and complement the lemon with some heavy cream. Double cream or whipping cream may even work. I haven’t tried milk, however worry it will cut up.
  • Shallot. I like utilizing a minced shallot for additional taste on this lemon pasta recipe. You’ll be able to substitute minced garlic as a substitute if shallots aren’t your factor; see the recipe notes under for the substitution quantity.
  • Parmesan. As in my risotto recipe, it’s good to use an excellent high quality parmesan cheese and grate it your self! Don’t use pre-grated or shredded cheese, particularly not the stuff within the plastic shaker canisters. These cheeses comprise anti-caking brokers and might hold the cheese from melting easily; solely freshly grated parmesan will create a easy sauce.

SAM’S TIP: A top quality pasta or selfmade pasta actually elevates this dish. I like to make use of spaghetti, linguini, or fettuccine. No matter kind you select, be sure to cook dinner your pasta til al dente and even simply shy of al dente, since we’re going to complete cooking it within the sauce.

Keep in mind, that is simply an outline of the elements I used and why. For the complete recipe please scroll all the way down to the underside of the submit!p

How one can Make Lemon Pasta

Collage of four photos showing pasta boiling, water being reserved, lemon zesting, and butter heating in a pan,
  1. Cook dinner your pasta in boiling salted water till al dente.
  2. Drain the pasta (don’t rinse!), ensuring to order roughly 1 cup of the water. Put aside.
  3. Zest and juice your lemon, ensuring to solely zest the yellow pores and skin and never the white papery layer. All the time zest earlier than juicing–it’s fairly difficult to zest an already juiced lemon!
  4. Soften collectively the olive oil and butter in a big saucepan over medium warmth.

SAM’S TIP: Save your pasta water and DON’T rinse your pasta after draining! The starches within the water and on the pasta will assist emulsify every thing collectively and create a silky, velvety sauce.

Collage of four photos showing shallots being cooked in olive oil and butter, lemon juice and cream being added, and parmesan being stirred in.
  1. Add the shallot, lemon zest, and crushed purple pepper. Cook dinner till the shallot is translucent.
  2. Whisk within the lemon juice till mixed.
  3. Slowly whisk within the cream whereas stirring continuously. Let the combination come to a simmer, stirring ceaselessly.
  4. Scale back the warmth to low and stir within the parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
Collage of two photos showing linguine pasta being tossed into a lemon cream sauce.
  1. Add the pasta and a splash of pasta water (our magic bullet fur a well-emulsified sauce, it really works in every thing from lemon pasta to tomato-sauce-based ragu).
  2. Toss every thing collectively over low warmth till the pasta is totally coated within the sauce.

SAM’S TIP: Prime your lemon pasta with extra grated parmesan, chopped recent parsley or basil, and salt and pepper to style. I additionally prefer to garnish with a number of lemon slices–so fairly!

Close-up view of a skillet of linguine tossed in a lemon cream sauce.

Ceaselessly Requested Questions

Is that this lemon pasta recipe the identical as pasta al limone?

Pasta al limone is historically made with none cream and as a substitute solely depends on the emulsion of pasta water, butter, and parmesan to create a silky sauce. So I’d say my model is analogous, however not precisely the identical.

What goes with lemon pasta?

Seared rooster or shrimp (like my garlic butter shrimp!) pair effectively with this lemon pasta recipe. I like to recommend cooking your protein individually and including it on prime simply earlier than serving.

You too can serve your lemon pasta with a aspect of breadsticks or garlic knots, steamed asparagus or broccoli, roasted brussels sprouts, or a salad.

Are you able to reheat lemon pasta?

Sure, however you’ll wish to reheat rigorously so that you don’t overcook the pasta or trigger the sauce to separate. I’d suggest following the ideas for reheating in my fettuccine alfredo submit, since that recipe is analogous.

Plate of linguine pasta that's been garnished with parsley and lemon slices.

I hope your loved ones loves this dish as a lot as mine does!

Get pleasure from!

Let’s bake collectively! I’ll be strolling you thru all of the steps in my written recipe and video under! Should you do that recipe, you’ll want to tag me on Instagram, and you can too discover me on YouTube and Facebook

Overhead view of a skillet filled with lemon pasta and fresh lemon slices.

Lemon Pasta

This lemon pasta recipe will be prepared in simply half-hour! It is made with a creamy, recent lemon sauce and pairs completely with rooster or shrimp. Makes an awesome weeknight dinner! Recipe features a how-to video!

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Course: Dinner

Delicacies: American, Italian

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook dinner Time: 15 minutes

Whole Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4 servings (2 oz per particular person)

Energy: 532kcal

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Directions

  • Deliver a big pot of well-salted water to a boil. As soon as boiling, cook dinner pasta in keeping with package deal directions. As soon as pasta has cooked, reserve about 1 cup of pasta water earlier than draining noodles. Whereas pasta is cooking, start making ready lemon sauce.

    8 oz (226 g) spaghetti noodles

  • In a big saucepan, mix oil and butter over medium warmth.

    2 Tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil, 2 Tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter

  • As soon as butter is melted, add shallot, lemon zest, and crushed purple pepper and cook dinner till shallot is translucent (if substituting garlic, cook dinner simply till garlic is aromatic/30 seconds).

    1 heaping Tablespoon finely chopped shallot, ⅛ teaspoon crushed purple pepper, 2 Tablespoons lemon zest

  • Whisk in 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice till mixed.

    2 Tablespoons lemon juice

  • Whereas whisking continuously, slowly drizzle in heavy cream and whisk till mixed.

    ¾ cup (177 ml) heavy cream

  • Deliver combination to a simmer (whereas stirring ceaselessly). As soon as simmering, cut back warmth to low and add parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.

    ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, ½ teaspoon desk salt, ½ teaspoon floor black pepper

  • Add heat, cooked spaghetti to the pan together with a splash (2-3 Tablespoons) of pasta water. Toss collectively over low warmth till pasta is effectively mixed and effectively coated with the sauce.

  • Prime with recent parsley, if desired, and serve.

    Contemporary chopped parsley for garnish

Notes

Shallot

Could substitute 2 teaspoons of minced garlic.

Parmesan

Utilizing freshly grated parmesan (with none anti-caking components) is crucial, in any other case the cheese is not going to soften easily.

Protein

This dish goes effectively with grilled rooster or shrimp. I sometimes cook dinner individually then serve over the pasta.

Diet

Serving: 1serving | Energy: 532kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 13g | Fats: 33g | Saturated Fats: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 2g | Monounsaturated Fats: 12g | Trans Fats: 0.2g | Ldl cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 509mg | Potassium: 220mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 951IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 199mg | Iron: 1mg

Dietary info is predicated on third-party calculations and needs to be thought of an estimate solely. Precise dietary content material will fluctuate based mostly upon manufacturers used, measuring strategies, cooking methodology, portion sizes, and extra.