Lemon Ricotta Pasta

This recipe for Pasta with Ricotta and Lemon makes a creamy and flavorful sauce in minutes! It’s a shortcut that makes meals easier.

Here’s a quick and easy pasta recipe that’s the perfect weeknight shortcut: Lemon and Ricotta Pasta! Mixing ricotta cheese with olive oil, parmesan cheese, and some pasta water results in a makeshift white sauce that’s perfect for coating long pasta (who would have thought!). This quick weekday trick has become a staple here: the lemon zest makes it utterly irresistible, so you’re not chomping on noodles all the time.

Ingredients for Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Ricotta is a creamy, mild-flavored Italian cheese famous for its use in lasagne, but it’s also great for long pasta. The big part of these lemon ricotta pasta? It only requires 1 minute Cooking time into a beautifully creamy white sauce. You will literally mix a few ingredients together and Here: a creamy sauce. Here’s what you need to make this pasta at home:

• Bucatini or spaghetti pasta (or your pasta of choice)
• Ricotta cheese
• olive oil
• Grated parmesan
• salt and pepper
• Lemon peel

Tips for lemon ricotta pasta

This Lemon Ricotta Pasta Recipe couldn’t be simpler: cook pasta, combine sauce ingredients and mix! Not much cooking here. But there are a few little tricks that can make or break the recipe:

• Save pasta water! This ingredient is used to make a creamy sauce. It’s easy to forget (I’ve been there) so my mom shared a helpful tip with us. After you start the pasta, place your colander in the sink, then place a liquid measuring cup inside as a reminder. When you empty the noodles, you will think: What is that liquid measuring cup? Oh yes, I have to save the pasta water!
• Be sure to cook the pasta al dente. It means “on bite” in Italian: when it’s tender with a little white spot inside when you bite into a piece. Cook it a few minutes less than the package directions say and test the flavor early!
• Texture is best when served immediately. These lemon ricotta pastas are at their best when the pasta is freshly cooked and hot: especially since you’ll be using the pasta water to make the sauce. You can eat it later, but its texture will be drier.

leftovers and storage instructions

Want to eat these lemon ricotta pasta the next day? You can, although it’s not as good as today. This pasta tastes best with hot fresh pasta and a hot stovetop sauce. It gets a rubbery texture when it’s set and especially when it’s cooled. How to freshen up your leftovers:

• Leftovers will become drier over time and with refrigeration. You can keep the noodles in the fridge for about 2 days, but the texture will be drier.
• How do you warm it up? You can warm the noodles on the stovetop with a little milk and freshen up the flavors with a pinch or two of salt. Also, be sure to garnish generously with grated parmesan cheese.

What to serve with lemon ricotta pasta

Want some quick and easy side dishes to go with this pasta? Everything goes well here, from a quick green salad to lemony peas. If you’re serving it as a main course, consider dishes that add extra protein. Here are a few ideas:

More ricotta recipes

Ricotta works magic on pasta, toast, desserts and more! Here are some of our favorite ricotta recipes:

This Lemon Ricotta Pasta recipe is…

Vegetarian. For gluten-free pasta, use gluten-free pasta.