Lemon Garlic Pasta

5 from 1 vote

This easy recipe for lemon garlic pasta comes together in 20 minutes and only requires a few simple ingredients, perfect for weeknights!

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian, Italian Inspired

Servings:

Calories: 529kcal

Author: Britney

Equipment

Pot
Large Skillet

Ingredients

1 lb Spaghetti (or any long shaped pasta)
1 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsps Salted Butter
2 Shallots (diced)
3 cloves Garlic (diced)
2 tbsps Lemon Zest
1 cup Heavy Cream
½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 cup Parmesan (freshly grated)
¼ cup Lemon Juice
3 tbsps Fresh Parsley

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta noodles and cook until al dente, according to package instructions.
While the pasta cooks, makes the lemon garlic pasta sauce. Add a extra virgin olive oil and butter to a large skillet. Warm over medium heat and add the shallots. Season with salt and black pepper and cook until fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes. Then add diced garlic and lemon zest. Continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium low and add heavy cream and red pepper flakes to pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add lemon juice and freshly grated parmesan cheese and stir together until the cheese is melted. For thicker sauce, cook for 1-2 minutes longer. For a thinner sauce, add a ½ cup of pasta water and stir into the noodles.
Remove from the heat and stir in fresh chopped parsley. Optional: add a ½ cup of pasta water to thin the sauce.
Add drained cooked pasta to the sauce and add a dusting of parmesan cheese on top.

Notes

Substitutions

Gluten free - use gluten free pasta instead to fit your dietary needs.
Vegan / Dairy free - use vegan heavy cream, cashew milk, or full fat canned coconut milk to replace the heavy cream and vegan butter instead of butter. You'll also want to use nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan cheese to replace the parmesan cheese used in this lemon spaghetti.

Variations

One of my favorite things about this lemon parmesan pasta is that you can add whatever you'd like to make this dish your own! Here are some of my recommendations:

Proteins: top your pasta with some shrimp, chicken, bacon for added protein.
Veggies: fresh spinach, sauteed broccoli, peas, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and any summer vegetables pair exceptionally well with this light pasta dish.
Fresh herbs: I always add fresh basil on top but you can also add thyme or rosemary to the sauce for added flavor.

Tips

Add parsley last! Do not add fresh parsley until the end as the heat will cause it to wilt.
Fresh is best! Try to use fresh ingredients for this dish to get the most flavor!
Save about a cup of starchy pasta water to thin the sauce if you'd like. This is up to your preference and you do not need to do this, but I always like to add this as some people prefer a thinner pasta sauce.

Nutrition