Lemon Pasta Recipe

5 from 2858 votes

This fresh lemon pasta is simple to make with just a few basic ingredients garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, zest, and reserved pasta water.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Main Course, Pastas

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Author: Yumna Jawad

Equipment

Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti cooked (with ½ cup pasta water reserved)
¼ cup olive oil
3 garlic cloves minced
3 tablespoons fresh parsley plus more for serving
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt plus more for salting pasta water
⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus more for serving
Black pepper for serving

Instructions

Cook the spaghetti in a pot of salted water according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and reserve ½ cup of the cooking pasta liquid.
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, parsley and crushed red pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, cooking pasta liquid and pasta and cook until the pasta is heated through, about 1 minute.
Turn off the heat, stir in the parmesan cheese until it clings to the pasta.
Serve with extra parsley and parmesan cheese, if desired.

Video

Notes

Storage: This lemon pasta is best served as soon as it’s made, but it will keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days. You can reheat leftovers on the stovetop or in the microwave. You may want to add in a tablespoon or two of water when you reheat to loosen the sauce back up.

Freezing Instructions: You can freeze this lemon pepper pasta, but I don’t recommend it since it doesn’t hold up well and gets mushy. If you do want to freeze it, you can do so for up to 3 months. Thaw the pasta overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Nutrition

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