This deliciously creamy lemon pasta recipe is the perfect balance of richness and acidity! It’s a comforting meal or an excellent side dish.
Here is delicious creamy pasta that will become the dish of your dreams. try that lemon paste! It’s rich and silky, with just the right amount of bright citrus and lemon zest. Don’t think of it as a healthy meal, or even a healthy change: it’s there when you need a little indulgent pasta. This is inspired by one of our favorite dishes at an amazing local restaurant and let’s just say it will be hard to put your fork down.
Ingredients for this lemon pasta recipe
This lemon pasta recipe is a mess of long, creamy citrus pasta smothered in heavy cream, parmesan, and lemon zest. While most of the recipes on this site are about being healthy, this one is all about being simple surprised. If you prefer a healthy change, head to Vegan Fettucine Alfredo! For these lemon noodles you will need:
- pasta: Spaghetti or Bucatini
- milk
- whipped cream
- butter
- Garlic
- Lemon peel
- parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
Use any long pasta (bucatini is best)
You can use any type of long pasta for this lemon pasta recipe. If you have fresh pasta this would be a great sauce! Of course, it’s much more accessible to use dried long noodles. Here are some options:
- Pieces: It’s spaghetti with a hole in it! It gives pasta a deliciously chewy texture.
- Spaghetti: The classic!
- Linguine: A slightly wider noodle.
- Fettuccine: A flatter and wider noodle.
Of course, if you are looking for short pasta, this sauce also goes well with short pasta! Some ideas: Rigatoni, penne, Orecchiette And corkscrew would be great contenders.
How to make lemon pasta: some tips
These lemon pasta only take a few minutes to prepare. Here are some tips to keep in mind during the cooking process:
- Consider cutting it in half! The recipe below makes 6-8 servings, so cut them in half if you don’t want leftovers (although they keep well!).
- First grate the lemons. You will need the zest of two lemons, which may take some time. We like to use a microplane grater to get a quick job done.
- Thin the sauce with the pasta water. As with many Italian pasta recipes, save some water after cooking: you may need a few squirts to get a creamy sauce.
Serves a crowd or works like leftovers
These lemon noodles make quite a large pot of noodles! you will use 1 pound pasta here, which in our book is enough for 6-8 servings. It might be less than you’re used to from pasta, but this one is so rich we recommend smaller portions.
You might want to cut this recipe in half, or it works great as leftovers! The taste is still fantastic after 3 days of refrigeration. We even ate it cold! You can also warm it up in a pan with some milk to make it creamy again.
What to serve with lemon pasta
Here’s an important thing about this lemon pasta recipe: how to make it into a meal! The portion size is smaller than you might be used to as it is such a rich and fatty pasta. You’ll want to complement it with a crisp green salad or vegetable sides. Here are a few ideas:
- Salads: Goat cheese salad with rocket, Brussels sprouts salad, wedge salad, pomegranate salad, broccolini salad, celery salad with apples
- Fried vegetables: Roasted green beans, roasted broccolini, roasted broccoli, roasted kale, or Brussels sprouts with a maple glaze
- Fried vegetables: Sauteed green beans, ultimate sautéed veggies, sautéed broccoli, sautéed spinach, sautéed kale, or sautéed rainbow chard
Or serve as an accompaniment to pasta
Another great way to serve lemon pasta? As an accompaniment to pasta! It goes very well with fish or chicken for an elegant meal. Here are some dishes we would serve it with:
This lemon pasta recipe is…
Vegetarian. For gluten-free pasta, use gluten-free or legume pasta.
The description
This deliciously creamy lemon pasta recipe is the perfect balance of richness and acidity! It’s a comforting meal or an excellent side dish.
- 1 pounds of spaghetti or bucatini pasta*
- 1 cup 2% milk
- ¾ cup whipped cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, shared
- 4 Garlic cloves, grated
- seasoning of 2 Lemons
- 5 tablespoons salted butter, sliced
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Cook pasta (and save pasta water!): Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook al dente. Set the timer a few minutes less than the package directions say, then taste: the pasta should be just cooked through and still slightly firm. The salt water should also make the pasta taste salty. Save ½ cup pasta water by using a glass measuring cup for the sauce, then quickly drain the pasta.
- Prepare sauce: Place the milk and cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. While it is simmering, grate the garlic. Add ½ teaspoon kosher salt, the zest of 1 lemon, and 4 tablespoons butter and stir for 1 minute. Slowly sprinkle in the Parmesan, stirring constantly, until fully incorporated and the sauce thickens.
- Surcharge: Add the drained pasta to the sauce and mix. Leave for 3 minutes. Add remaining zest of 1 lemon, ½ tsp kosher salt and 1 tbsp butter. Add a few splashes of the cooking water if needed until well coated. Serve with freshly ground black pepper. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days (reheat well in a pan with a little milk).
Remarks
*This amount is enough for 6-8 people: make sure to cut it in half if you’re serving fewer people! Accompany it with a green salad or a vegetarian side dish to complete the meal.
- Category: main course
- Method: pasta
- Kitchen: American
- Diet: vegetarian
