Lemon Pasta Recipe

A white plate with a helping of lemon pasta on it, garnished with fresh parsley.

Whole wheat spaghetti noodles tossed in a delicious creamy lemon pasta sauce, then topped with fresh parsley. This is an easy dinner recipe that will become a family fave.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Servings servings

Calories 546kcal

Author Whitney Wright

Equipment

Ingredients

12 oz whole wheat spaghetti
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 lemon zested and juiced
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons parsley chopped
reserved pasta water
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook pasta until al dente in a large pot of heavily salted boiling water. Don’t overcook the pasta! Drain the pasta and reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
In a skillet over medium low heat add the heavy cream and zest of 1 lemon. Whisk until the liquid begins to simmer. Once simmering, reduce heat to low and add in the butter. Stir the butter until it has fully melted.
Stir in the lemon juice.
Add the parmesan to the cream sauce, stir until combined.
Place the noodles in the sauce. Using kitchen tongs, mix the pasta until it has been covered by the sauce.
Add ¼ cup of the pasta water until you get a nice saucy consistency. Season with salt and pepper. *
Divide pasta among bowls and garnish with additional parmesan and chopped parsley.

Notes

*I added about 3/4 cup of reserved pasta water to get the consistency I like. Add a little as you go; you can always add more but you can't take away.

Variations:

Replace the parmesan cheese with Romano cheese; romano cheese has a sharp, piquant flavor. I love parmesan so that’s almost always my cheese of choice, and the parmesan gives it a softer and more subtle flavor.
Add asparagus to the dish! I love asparagus in pasta, for example my goat cheese and asparagus spinach pasta is another amazing pasta dish!
Other vegetables that would go well inside this pasta would be sauteed kale or spinach and/or roasted broccoli.
For a burst of heat, add a pinch or a 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the lemon pasta sauce. If you choose to go this route, I would add the red pepper flakes at the same time you add the butter. Then proceed with the recipe as written.
You can swap out the spaghetti noodles for orzo pasta, too. This is a fun switch! The orzo has a great texture.
Make it a lemon chicken pasta by adding some grilled or shredded chicken to the dish for added protein.

Suggested Sides:

This pasta dish can be served with delicious sides such as peas (follow my how to cook frozen peas recipe), parsley potatoes, or a citrus salad.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit.

Nutrition