You only need a few pantry staples and 15 minutes to make this easy lemon pasta! This simple recipe is economical, cream-free, and packs a punch with garlicky-lemony flavor.
I was inspired by a half-empty fridge and Italian Pasta al Limone when I came up with this easy lemon pasta recipe. Though I love a creamy pasta from time to time, I wanted something light and zippy as we head into the spring season.
I swap the heavy cream and butter for flavor with extra virgin olive oil and a good hit of lemon. To make a “creamy” dairy-free sauce, I adopt an easy technique from other Italian classics like aglio e olio and cacio e pepe. You simply add a splash of the pasta’s water and stir vigorously. The water’s starch combines with the olive oil to make a glossy, decadent sauce without the cream! I like to add a touch of umami-rich parmesan to finish, put it’s totally optional.
A touch of parsley adds freshness, and six whole garlic cloves bring an addictive quality. It’s perfectly refreshing and yet totally crave-worthy. As a bonus, it’s one of those dinners you can whip up in 15 minutes with a few ingredients from your pantry.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Lemon Pasta
While Pasta al Limone recipes often call for a trip to the store for heavy cream, I’d bet you have everything you need for this easy lemon pasta in your kitchen:
- Pasta: Opt for a thin, long pasta. They’re best for lighter sauces like this lemon spaghetti sauce because it’s easier to coat them evenly with sauce. My personal preference is spaghetti, but you can also use angel hair pasta.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Because this sauce relies heavily on olive oil, choose the best kind you can (more tips in the Ingredient Spotlight section below.)
- Garlic: Six large cloves of fresh garlic add a bold flavor to the sauce.
- Crushed red pepper flakes add a depth of flavor without overwhelming the lemon, but you can skip this or substitute with Aleppo pepper for a milder option.
- Lemon: Opt for untreated lemons if you can and scrub them well. The zest holds the lemon’s essential oils, which deliver a concentrated citrus aroma and flavor.
- Parsley adds freshness to complement the citrusy flavor.
- Salt and pepper make the other flavors sing.
- Parmesan is optional, but it adds an umami flavor to the sauce without weighing it down. Skip the parmesan if you’d prefer a vegan or dairy-free pasta.
Ingredient Spotlight
My favorite thing about this lemon pasta recipe is that the sauce’s foundation is olive oil, rather than cream and butter. It’s a great opportunity to add a nuanced flavor to an easy pasta dinner!
That said, the quality of the oil is important because the flavor notes really shine through. A delicious extra virgin variety will be well worth its weight with this simple recipe.
- READ MORE: Cooking with Olive Oil: Everything You Need to Know
- TRY IT: I love the buttery, smooth flavor profile of our Italian Nocellara Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Sicily with this lemon pasta recipe.
How to Make This Lemon Pasta Recipe
Lemon spaghetti is so easy to make! And you can quickly whip up the sauce while the pasta cooks, so the dish is ready in 15 minutes or less. Here are the steps:
- Get ready. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Mince 6 large garlic cloves. Zest 2 lemons and juice 1 lemon. Chop enough parsley to get you 1/2 cup. Grate enough parmesan cheese to get you 1/4 cup (or more if you’d like).
- Cook the spaghetti. When the water is boiling, salt it well, then add 12 ounces of spaghetti. Give it a stir and cook according to package instructions to al dente (about 8 minutes). Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.
- Meanwhile, make a simple lemon-garlic olive oil sauce. When the pasta is nearly done (about 5 minutes into cooking it), heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in the lemon juice and about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Save the remaining water for later.
- Coat the pasta in the oil. Drain the pasta, then add it to the skillet. Toss over medium heat until it’s well-coated.
- Finish and serve. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the parsley, lemon zest, and parmesan (if using). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss again to combine, and if needed, add a little bit more of the pasta cooking water and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately!
How to Store this Lemon Pasta Recipe
Leftover lemon spaghetti will keep for about 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, add it to a skillet on the stove over medium heat with a little water. Stir until the pasta is warmed through, adding a drizzle more oil and topping with more parmesan if you’d like.
What to Serve with Lemon Pasta
Most of the time, I’m serving this lemon pasta on its own as an easy weeknight dinner. If I’m having company and want to spruce things up with a couple of sides, though, I might throw homemade garlic bread in the oven when I start boiling the water.
A big crunchy salad also goes well with the silky lemon spaghetti. Use any leftover lemon juice and parmesan to make this Lemon Parmesan Lettuce Salad, which takes just 5 minutes or so. Or treat the pasta as a side dish and serve it alongside this Sun Dried Tomato and Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast recipe.
If it’s a lovely day, and you can eat outside, why not keep the lemon theme going and serve dinner with a refreshing Limoncello Spritz or finish the meal with a small glass of Homemade Limoncello?
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Easy Lemon Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces spaghetti
- Kosher salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 6 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to your liking
- Zest of 2 lemons
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- Black pepper
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional), plus more to your liking
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then salt it well. Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions to al dente (about 8 minutes). Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.
- Make a simple lemon-garlic olive oil sauce. When the pasta is nearly done (about 5 minutes into cooking it), heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in the lemon juice and about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water, saving the remaining water for later.
- Coat the pasta in the oil. Drain the pasta, then add it to the skillet. Toss over medium heat until it’s well-coated.
- Finish and serve. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the parsley, lemon zest and parmesan (if using). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss again to combine, and if needed, add a little bit more of the pasta cooking water and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately!
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Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including the olive oil used in this recipe.
- What pasta to use for this recipe? I like using spaghetti, but angel hair pasta will also work.
- Lemon pasta with chicken variation: Pair smaller portions with chicken piccata to serve 6! Or shred leftover baked chicken (or even rotisserie chicken) and throw it in the pasta.
- Leftovers and storage: Leftovers will keep for about 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, add it to a skillet over medium heat with a little water and heat for a few minutes until warmed through.
Nutrition
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Made this tonight. It was sooo yummy!
Love this recipe so much! My 17-year-old granddaughter makes this very very well. We had it twice last week and having it again tonight. We chose to not use the red pepper flakes because it was a little too spicy the first time. Also in love with the leftovers. We make extra so we have lots of leftovers. Thank you for sharing.
You can add a couple of cloves of garlic too!
Yessss! YUM!
Wish I could give 10 stars. I was looking for a very quick, no fuss meal, and this is it! I didn’t have any parsley on hand, so I sautéed the garlic with fresh Rosemary, and used the limes I had on hand. Skipped the cheese, for reasons of dairy-free. I was in and out of my kitchen in no time flat with a very fragrant and comforting dish which fit the bill for this cold, snowy day. Perfectly versatile. I’ll be adding this to my regular rotation when I don’t feel like spending much time in the kitchen. Thank you, Suzy for such a great recipe!
It’s our pleasure, Kat! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!
HAMMER recipe. I’m from Italien origin, and DO know, how to cook. But your recipes are a true inspiration. Love it. With greetings from Luxembourg, Luke.
Wow! Thanks so much, Luc!
I made this for lunch today, and I loved it so much! It is easy and quick, and it was amazing. I did not have the garlic, but I am sure it would be an amazing addition. I loved the combination of lemon and parmesan. I love your recipes!
Thanks, Emma!
Love your style and recipes. No keto for us. But your Mediterranean pasta dishes very light and healthy and delicious! TY
This is cooking. No stress. Highly adaptable. Easy and quick.
Yessss! That’s the goal! Yay!
I just made this recipe today and it was delicious and easy to make.
Thanks, Blanca!
This was ABSOLUTELY delicious! The lemon combined with the red pepper flakes & garlic was fantastic! I didn’t have any fresh parsley to include but I did add some fried capers, as well as some shrimp that I salted & peppered before adding. My husband said this should be on an upscale restaurant menu. It was easy, light and dee-lish! I look forward to making this again. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Wow! What a compliment! Thank, Carrie!
I added toasted pine nuts. Really good!
Simple, clean, and delicious.
Its literally perfect and SO FAST to make. I will add chicken or shrimp next time but was an amazing side dish. Best of all, putting it in an oven to reheat in an oven proof dish and adding a splash of olive oil its every bit as good as day one. Thanks as always.
My pleasure, Greg!
I had a little bit of leftover spaghetti in the refrigerator and thought I’d try this recipe. It was delicious! Very flavorful. I will make this off and on instead of with regular spaghetti sauce. I thought to myself as I was eating this version, that shrimp mixed into the spaghetti would be a good addition. Maybe next time I make the lemon/garlic/olive oil version I will include some shrimp. But… it’s good all on its own without any meat or seafood additions!
Ooo! I love that idea! Thanks, Janice!
OMG, SO good!!! I did use rotisserie chicken, like Tara, above – but, as a nod to picatta, I threw in capers (cuz I adore me some capers!!!). It didn’t need, but just to finish, I splashed with half-and-half and stirred, just before serving, just to smooth it out – can I just say AMAZE-BALLS without sounding my age?!?! lol No, it truly, truly was – when I first saw the recipe, I wondered if you’d suggest fish, but your piccata-inspiration was *perfect* I didn’t have fresh parsley, but I have basil plants on hyperdrive, given our heat and recent rain – I might consider chiffonade-ing some basil next time – and there WILL be a next time!!!
Thank you for the wonderful review, Chrissie!
Took one of your suggested and paired this with a store-bought rotisserie chicken for dinner. So quick, and absolutely delicious!
Thanks so much, Tara!
Had it as a side with my baked chicken, absolutely amazing! I’ll have to get lemon zest for it next time, but even without with a dash extra lemon juice in place it’s delicious.
Thanks so much, Eli!
As always this is simply delish. Thanks again Suzy, cant wait to get your recipe book in the mail and cook up a storm out here in New Zealand
Thanks again
Kirstin
The cookbook will be here before we know it! Yay! Thanks so much for your support!