Lemon Pasta Recipe: How to Make Quick Lemon Pasta
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Jul 9, 2024 • 2 min read
Lemon pasta is a bright, creamy noodle dish made with a few pantry staples you probably already have on hand. With fresh citrus and decadent cheese, this dish is packed with lemon flavor and can be prepared in under a half-hour to quickly satisfy your weeknight cravings.
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What Is Lemon Pasta?
Lemon pasta is a simple Italian meal flavored with fresh lemon and cheese for a creamy, tangy dish. Known in Italy as pasta al limone, this velvety and mildly acidic pasta recipe is made with a simple list of ingredients (including garlic, lemon, and Parmesan cheese) to highlight its citrus flavors. The acidity in the lemon sauce is balanced with a touch of heavy cream. This dish is typically prepared as a main course or side dish using long pasta like spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, or capellini.
4 Tips for Making Lemon Pasta
Pasta al limone is a very simple dish to assemble, but there are a few tips you can follow to make the best possible lemon pasta.
- 1. Use high-quality ingredients. The simplicity of this dish makes high-quality ingredients imperative. Use premium pasta, real lemon juice from ripe fruit, fresh cracked black pepper, and high-quality Italian cheese for the best end product.
- 2. Adjust for homemade pasta. For an extra challenge, try your hand at making your own homemade pasta for this simple dish. If you want to use fresh pasta over dry, reduce the pasta boiling time to 1–3 minutes, then add the noodles to the sauce right before you plan to serve it.
- 3. Salt your pasta water. Using salty, starchy pasta cooking water helps to thicken the sauce in just the right way, and the salt seasons the recipe overall. As a rule of thumb, add 2 tablespoons of salt for every gallon of pasta water before boiling.
- 4. Don’t overcook your pasta. Boiling your pasta to al dente is key because the pasta will continue to cook in the sauce after it’s added in. Overcooking the noodles may result in an unpleasantly mushy texture.
Lemon Pasta Recipe
makes
prep time
10 mintotal time
25 mincook time
15 minIngredients
- 1
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until it is al dente. (This should take about 8 minutes, but consult the package directions for thicker pasta.) When the pasta is done boiling, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the noodles.
- 2
In a large skillet over medium-high heat while the pasta is cooking, add olive oil and butter.
- 3
When the butter has melted, add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- 4
Reduce the temperature to medium-low heat and slowly add in the heavy cream and lemon zest, stirring to combine.
- 5
Add the cooked pasta, ½ cup of pasta water, and lemon juice to the sauce, and stir to coat the pasta. Add in ¼ cup Parmesan at a time, stirring until it has melted in. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- 6
Continue stirring the pasta until the sauce has thickened and stuck to the noodles, about 3 minutes. If the sauce seems too thick, add the additional pasta water.
- 7
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the fresh parsley.
- 8
Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl and serve with grated Parmesan cheese on the side.
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