Easy 15-Minute Lemon Pasta Recipe

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6 minutes
March 22, 2023
RosieJump to Recipe

Learn how to prepare this amazingly flavored Italian pasta recipe in no time with only 5 ingredients. Cook lemon pasta at home using this step-by-step recipe and easy video instructions! Don’t worry, my loves, we’ll rock this Italian recipe in only 15 minutes.

lemon pasta

Tips and Tricks to Make Perfect Pasta

Everyone thinks they can cook pasta; however, not so many really prepare pasta the right way. Believe it or not, reading the instructions from the pasta box is not always enough if you want to rock some Italian spaghetti recipe. Therefore, I thought it would be nice to bring here some of the most precious tips and tricks when cooking pasta.

  • Read the package’s cooking time, but don’t trust it with your pasta life! Most mass-market pasta brands are going to advise you to overcook your pasta. (For example, if you’re cooking Barilla pasta, check it a few minutes before the box says it’ll be done.) Remember that you often want to cook your pasta al dente, as it’ll cook a bit more while it cools and even more if you toss it with sauce in a hot pan.
  • Make sure your cooking water is salty enough. Here, I found one of the most reliable comparisons on the Internet: your pasta water should be as salty as the sea. Therefore, remember that forgetting to salt your water will make your pasta flavorless.
  • Almost every time, reserve a little pasta water. When pasta cooks, it leaches out the starch and helps adhere your sauce to your pasta. So, whether you will prepare a sauce for your pasta or not, keep a quarter cup of pasta water for each serving, and add it to the final result. After that, just combine it with the sauce and pasta.
add salt in pasta water

Common Mistakes When Cooking Pasta

  • Not using enough water: If you use too little water, your pasta will turn out gummy or too starchy.
  • Adding the pasta into the water before boiling: “This increases the needed cooking time and gives you a less granular texture.”
  • Not salting your pasta water enough.
  • Not string the pasta when cooking it in the water: You should stir your pasta within the first two minutes of cooking.
  • Overcooking the pasta: Keep in mind that, traditionally, pasta is served al dente, meaning slightly firm to the bite.
pasta and lemon sauce

How to Make Lemon Pasta Vegan

Just cut the Parmigiano from the main recipe; everything will turn into vegan Pasta al Limone. They would be much lighter, and all your vegan friends would adore them. However, the classic Pasta al Limone taste will remain the same. The bright flavor from both the lemon zest and juice gives this pasta its name and makes the flavors sing.

Today, I expect some long-time-no-see friends for lunch whose daughter is vegan. So, I thought this is a great opportunity to prepare vegan lemon pasta for her. I will cook some grilled chicken for the rest of us to perfectly pair the Pasta al Limone. This pasta sauce is a fantastic pairing with your favorite grilled chicken or chicken piccata, fish, shrimp, and even some roasted or canned chickpeas or canned beans.

You’ll notice that I will add parmesan to the ingredient list, too, as I want you to have the classic recipe. However, in the photos and the video recipe, it won’t appear. With no further introduction, let’s learn how to prepare this Italian lemon pasta!

How to Make Lemon Pasta at Home

As I already mentioned before, you don’t have to worry about the difficulty of this Italian recipe. You only need 5 simple and more than affordable ingredients to prepare it and the instructions are easy peasy lemon squeezy! (See what I did there?!)

pasta al limone

You Need Only 5 Ingredients to Cook Lemon Pasta

  • 12 ounces spaghetti;
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil;
  • 3 garlic cloves (minced);
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (plus more for serving);
  • Juice and zest of one lemon;
  • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese (optional).
ingredients for lemon pasta

Easy Step-by-Step Recipe for Pasta al Limone

Now that you know what you need to prepare the Pasta al Limone recipe, here is what you’ll need to do:

  1. Firstly, cook the spaghetti in a pot of salted water according to package instructions until al dente.
adding pasta in boiling water
  1. Then, drain them, reserving ½ cup of the cooking pasta water.
drained pasta
  1. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Let them cook for 2 minutes.
  1. Add the cooking pasta water and parmesan cheese (optional) and stir them. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
  1. Combiner the cooked spaghetti with the pasta sauce and toss until well coated.
pasta in the lemon sauce
  1. Serve with extra parsley and parmesan cheese, if desired.
vegan lemon pasta
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lemon pasta

Lemon Pasta // Pasta al Limone

Quick and easy to make, this simple lemon pasta recipe is the perfect light dinner idea with an Italian twist. Made with fresh lemon, garlic, black pepper, and parmesan, this vegetarian spaghetti is filled with flavors.

  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Firstly, cook the spaghetti in a pot of salted water according to package instructions until al dente.
  2. Then, drain them, reserving ½ cup of the cooking pasta water.
  3. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Let them cook for 2 minutes.
  4. Add the cooking pasta water and parmesan cheese (optional) and stir them. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
  5. Combiner the cooked spaghetti with the pasta sauce and toss until well coated.
  6. Serve with extra parsley and parmesan cheese, if desired.
  • Author: Rosie
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Category: Main
  • Cuisine: Italian

Video Recipe of Pasta al Limone

Finally, it’s time for the surprise: I found some extra time in my schedule, and I made a video tutorial for this light and flavored lemon pasta, too. I hope this will help you even more! I will try to add video recipes more often to my articles; however, you can imagine how time-consuming it may be.

Bon Appetit!

Eventually, it’s your time to share your experience with this lemon pasta recipe and all your thoughts on it. Therefore, tell me everything in the comments section below: What do you think about the lemon pasta recipe and the simple sauce? Did you go for the classic recipe with parmesan or did you prepare vegan lemon pasta? Did your vegan friends enjoy this Italian dish? Additionally, did you go for the main recipe or did you improvise? If you went extra, let us all know how that went!

Last but not least, if you are a pasta lover as I am and want some more easy and quick recipes like this one, try these favorites of mine:

[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Lemon Pasta // Pasta al Limone – Quick and easy to make, this simple lemon pasta recipe is the perfect light dinner idea with an Italian twist. Made with fresh lemon, garlic, black pepper, and parmesan, this vegetarian spaghetti is filled with flavors.
– spagetti, olive oil, garlic cloves (minced), fresh persley (plus more for plating), lemon (its juice and zest), grated parmesan cheese (optional (for dairy lemon pasta)), black pepper, salt, , Firstly, cook the spaghetti in a pot of salted water according to package instructions until al dente. ; Then, drain them, reserving ½ cup of the cooking pasta water.; In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Let them cook for 2 minutes. ; Add the cooking pasta water and parmesan cheese (optional) and stir them. Bring the sauce to a simmer.; Combiner the cooked spaghetti with the pasta sauce and toss until well coated.; Serve with extra parsley and parmesan cheese, if desired.; ; – – Main – Italian – Dinner – Pasta and Noodles – Recipes – lemon – parsley – pasta – spagetti – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]

Rosie

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