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 important weeknight dinner! Recipe features a how-to video!
My Favourite Lemon Pasta Recipe
This lemon pasta recipe is a light-weight 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, but it surely provides 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 you must strive it:
- Takes solely quarter-hour to prep and one other 15 to prepare dinner.
- Might be made with any pasta form you might have 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 protecting it easy in immediately’s lemon pasta recipe through the use of just some high-quality elements. Listed here are crucial ones:
- Lemon juice + zest. Ensure to zest your lemon earlier than juicing it (a lot simpler that method 😅), and observe that you just solely wish to zest the brilliant yellow half, not the bitter white papery layer/pith. Additionally! Not like my lemonade recipe, you actually can’t substitute bottled lemon juice right here; the flavour simply isn’t the identical.
- Crushed pink pepper. That is elective for these of you who don’t like warmth, however I really like the very slight kick a pinch provides to this lemon pasta recipe. Alternatively, you can even amp up the warmth with one other shake of crushed pink 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 concern it might cut up.
- Shallot. I really like utilizing a minced shallot for additional taste on this lemon pasta recipe. You possibly can substitute minced garlic as an alternative if shallots aren’t your factor; see the recipe notes under for the substitution quantity.
- Parmesan. As in my risotto recipe, you have to use 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 may preserve the cheese from melting easily; solely freshly grated parmesan will create a clean 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 prepare dinner your pasta til al dente and even simply shy of al dente, since we’re going to complete cooking it within the sauce.
Bear 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 publish!p
Tips on how to Make Lemon Pasta
- Cook dinner your pasta in boiling salted water till al dente.
- Drain the pasta (don’t rinse!), ensuring to order roughly 1 cup of the water. Put aside.
- Zest and juice your lemon, ensuring to solely zest the yellow pores and skin and never the white papery layer. At all times zest earlier than juicing–it’s fairly difficult to zest an already juiced lemon!
- 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.
- Add the shallot, lemon zest, and crushed pink pepper. Cook dinner till the shallot is translucent.
- Whisk within the lemon juice till mixed.
- Slowly whisk within the cream whereas stirring always. Let the combination come to a simmer, stirring steadily.
- Scale back the warmth to low and stir within the parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
- 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).
- Toss every thing collectively over low warmth till the pasta is completely coated within the sauce.
SAM’S TIP: High your lemon pasta with extra grated parmesan, chopped recent parsley or basil, and salt and pepper to style. I additionally wish to garnish with a number of lemon slices–so fairly!
Incessantly Requested Questions
Pasta al limone is historically made with none cream and as an alternative solely depends on the emulsion of pasta water, butter, and parmesan to create a silky sauce. So I’d say my model is comparable, however not precisely the identical.
Seared rooster or shrimp (like my garlic butter shrimp!) pair properly with this lemon pasta recipe. I like to recommend cooking your protein individually and including it on prime simply earlier than serving.
You may also serve your lemon pasta with a aspect of breadsticks or garlic knots, steamed asparagus or broccoli, roasted brussels sprouts, or a salad.
Sure, however you’ll wish to reheat rigorously so that you don’t overcook the pasta or trigger the sauce to separate. I’d advocate following the guidelines for reheating in my fettuccine alfredo publish, since that recipe is comparable.
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! For those who do that recipe, make sure you tag me on Instagram, and you can even discover me on YouTube and Facebook
Lemon Pasta
Print
Pin
Rate
Servings: 4 servings (2 oz per individual)
Energy: 532kcal
Stop your display from going darkish
Directions
-
Convey a big pot of well-salted water to a boil. As soon as boiling, prepare dinner pasta in line 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 pink pepper and prepare dinner till shallot is translucent (if substituting garlic, prepare dinner simply till garlic is aromatic/30 seconds).
1 heaping Tablespoon finely chopped shallot, ⅛ teaspoon crushed pink pepper, 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
-
Whisk in 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice till mixed.
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
-
Whereas whisking always, slowly drizzle in heavy cream and whisk till mixed.
¾ cup (177 ml) heavy cream
-
Convey combination to a simmer (whereas stirring steadily). 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 properly mixed and properly coated with the sauce.
-
High with recent parsley, if desired, and serve.
Recent chopped parsley for garnish
Notes
Shallot
Might substitute 2 teaspoons of minced garlic.
Parmesan
Utilizing freshly grated parmesan (with none anti-caking components) is vital, in any other case the cheese won’t soften easily.
Protein
This dish goes properly with grilled rooster or shrimp. I usually prepare 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 data is predicated on third-party calculations and ought 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.
Associated Recipes