Pasta al Limone, Creamy Lemon Pasta

Pasta al Limone – a creamy, fresh and good pasta recipe that's suited to summer! The creamy lemon pasta sauce is bright and zesty and quick to make. Toss with your favourite long pasta for a good and quick weeknight meal!

Pasta al limone (lemon pasta) is such an easy recipe to whip up on busy weeknights or a lazy summer's evening.

It's creamy and comforting without being heavy and has the most good, fresh, bright and zesty lemon flavour like our lemon risotto.

All you need is 6 simple ingredients, it's so quick and easy. See the full recipe below including step by step photos, tips and video tutorial, enjoy!

Ingredients – what you need

See the photo below that shows you all the ingredients you need (except salt and pepper) plus some helpful tips.

• Pasta – any long pasta shape works best, we used linguine.
• Lemon – you'll need the zest and juice of 1 large lemon for a fresh and zingy flavour.
• Heavy cream – make sure you use full fat cream otherwise it may curdle with the lemon juice.
• Garlic – always use fresh garlic, don't substitute ground or powdered garlic.
• Parmesan – use freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
• Butter – butter is used instead of oil to fry the garlic, you don't need a lot but it adds flavour and richness.

Visual walk-through of the recipe

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente (around 7-8 minutes).

Meanwhile, to make the sauce add the butter to a large pan. Once melted add the sliced garlic and fry for about 1 minute until fragrant (photos 1 & 2).

Add the zest and juice of one lemon and stir to combine in the garlic butter. Add the cream and parmesan and stir (photos 3 & 4).

Simmer the creamy lemon sauce for 1-2 minutes until thickened slightly. Season the sauce with a pinch of salt and pepper then add the drained cooked pasta making sure to reserve some pasta water to emulsify the sauce (photo 5).

Toss the pasta in the sauce adding a splash of pasta water as needed (you might not need it all), serve (photo 6).

Recipe tips and FAQs

• Use a fresh lemon – don't use a lemon that feels soft it should be firm and fresh.
• Pasta – use any long pasta shape, the sauce won't coat short pasta as well.
• Use pasta water – pasta water helps to emulsify sauces and adds a lot of flavour it's especially helpful in creamy sauces like this which can thicken quickly.

Do we have to use heavy cream?

Yes, we always recommend using heavy cream (double cream) as lower-fat cream might curdle with the lemon juice.

How long does it last?

Leftovers don't keep well because the cream thickens as it cools. We recommend eating the pasta as soon as it's served.

More quick pasta recipes to try

• Penne Pomodoro (Tomato Basil Pasta)
• Penne all'Arrabbiata: Spicy Italian Tomato Pasta
• Spaghetti Aglio e Olio: Garlic & Oil Pasta
• Pasta alla Boscaiola (Sausage & Mushroom)

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

• 14 oz linguine or other long pasta ((400g))
• ½ cup heavy cream ((120ml))
• 1 lemon (juice and zest)
• 2 cloves garlic (finely sliced)
• 2 tbsp butter ((30g))
• ½ cup grated parmesan ((25g))
• ½ cup reserved pasta water ((120ml))
• salt and pepper (to season)

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente (around 7-8 minutes).

2. Meanwhile, to make the sauce add the butter to a large pan. Once melted add the sliced garlic and fry for about 1 minute until fragrant.

3. Add the zest and juice of one lemon and stir to combine in the garlic butter. Add the cream and parmesan and stir.

4. Simmer the creamy lemon sauce for 1-2 minutes until thickened slightly. Season the sauce with a pinch of salt and pepper then add the drained cooked pasta making sure to reserve some pasta water to emulsify the sauce.

5. Toss the pasta in the sauce adding a splash of pasta water as needed (you might not need it all), serve.

Kitchen notes

• Use a fresh lemon don't use a lemon that feels soft it should be firm and fresh.
• Pasta use any long pasta shape, the sauce won't coat short pasta as well.
• Use pasta water pasta water helps to emulsify sauces and adds a lot of flavour, it's especially helpful in creamy sauces like this which can thicken quickly
• Serving & storage serve immediately, we don't recommend reheating and do not freeze.