Creamy Lemon Pasta

If you know how to make a few good pasta sauces from scratch, you will never run out of dinner ideas! I’m a carb-loving person and eat A LOT of pasta. It’s so comforting and delicious, I mean, who doesn’t love pasta especially when it’s generously covered with an amazing sauce?

Lemon Pasta Sauce Ingredients

To make this simple lemon pasta sauce, here’s what you’ll need:

• Pasta – I like to use angel hair pasta, but any type of pasta works here.

• Lemon – use fresh unwaxed lemons.

• Parmesan – the best that you can get your hands on!

• Butter and heavy cream – the cream can be substituted with half and half.

• Garlic, salt, and pepper.

How To Make Lemon Pasta

• In a medium-sized saucepot, boil water and add salt after it starts boiling. Add your pasta, and cook according to the package instructions to al dente. When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.

• In a skillet, melt butter on medium heat and saute the sliced/minced garlic and lemon zest very lightly without allowing the garlic to brown.

• Add the heavy cream, lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute.

• Add the hot pasta along with a part of the pasta water, and toss it using kitchen tongs until the sauce is emulsified and coats the pasta. Keep on tossing and add more pasta water if needed until you reach the desired consistency.

• Remove from heat, and add freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley leaves. Toss and season with salt if needed. Serve warm with extra grated parmesan cheese and a little bit of lemon zest if desired.

Top Tips For Pasta With Lemon

A key step in this recipe is to cook the pasta until just al dente. The pasta will continue to cook as it’s tossed with the lemon sauce, so if you cook it all the way through in boiled water, it will end up overcooked.

It’s important to reserve some pasta cooking liquid as you cook the pasta. It’s full of starch and used to loosen up the lemon cream sauce.

I use angel hair pasta because I like the thin noodles with the cream sauce, but you can go for linguine or bucatini if you like.

Storage And Reheating Instructions

• Fridge: Store in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

• Reheat: Reheat the pasta in a skillet over low-medium heat, and add a splash of water to thin out the sauce. Do the same if using the microwave.

• Freezer: I don’t recommend freezing this lemon pasta, as I found that it breaks when frozen and reheated.

Instructions

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, boil water and add salt after it starts boiling. Add your pasta, and cook according to the package instructions to al dente. When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.

2. In a skillet, melt butter on medium heat and saute garlic and lemon zest very lightly without allowing the garlic to brown. About 30 seconds.

3. Add the heavy cream, lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute.

4. Add the hot pasta along with a part of the pasta water, and toss it using kitchen tongs until the sauce is emulsified and coats the pasta. Keep on tossing and add more pasta water if needed until you reach the desired consistency.

5. Remove from heat, and add freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley leaves. Toss and season with salt if needed. Serve warm with extra grated parmesan cheese and a little bit of lemon zest if desired.

Notes:

• Salt the water to cook the pasta just like seawater.

• You might not need to use all of the reserved pasta water, see how much you need to make the sauce as you make it.

• You can substitute the heavy cream with half and half or light cream, but the sauce will be a bit thinner.

• Use freshly grated parmesan cheese as store-bought grated parmesan does not melt smoothly. 

Storing Tips

• Fridge: Store in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

• Reheat: Reheat the pasta in a skillet over low-medium heat, and add a splash of water to thin out the sauce. Do the same if using the microwave.

Freezer: I don’t recommend freezing this pasta, as I found that it breaks when frozen and reheated.