Servings
Font
Back
0 from 36 votes

Creamy Lemon Pasta

Creamy Lemon Pasta is made with fresh lemon, garlic, cream, butter, parmesan cheese, and spices and all tossed with your favorite type of pasta. A light and creamy sauce that highlights fresh lemons!

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Servings: 6
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces Pasta of choice*
  • 6 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 to 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Zest**
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (plus more for garnish)
  • salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup pasta water
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. In a large pot, heat water over high heat. Generously salt the water as this infuses flavor into the pasta as it cooks.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, carefully scoop out 1 cup of pasta water and set it aside to add to the sauce later.
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter and let it begin to melt. Add in garlic and saute for ONLY 1 minute. Add heavy cream and stir. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. I suggest using a whisk to continually stir to make it extra creamy. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken -about 5 minutes.
  4. Add in parmesan cheese, only 1 Tablespoon at a time, to avoid clumping. Stir well with whisk after each addition.
  5. Stir in 3/4 cup of pasta water into the sauce. Let it thicken for about 3-4 minutes. Taste the sauce and add more salt and pepper and lemon zest, if needed.
  6. Toss the drained cooked pasta with the lemon cream sauce. Garnish with red pepper flakes, lemon zest, grated parmesan cheese.

Notes

  • Pasta suggestions -- spaghetti, linguine, angel hair, tortellini, farfalle, ravioli, pappardelle, etc.
  • Pasta suggestions -- spaghetti, linguine, angel hair, tortellini, farfalle, ravioli, pappardelle, etc.
  • I suggest starting off with 1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon zest and adding more to taste. 
  • Make sure to salt your pasta water before adding the pasta. This infuses a lot of flavor!
  • Carefully remove 1 cup of pasta water while the pasta is cooking. You will most likely only need 3/4 cup for the sauce but I like to have a little extra on hand in case the sauce needs to be thinned out.