Creamy Lemon Pasta (in under 20 minutes!)

This creamy lemon pasta is ready to eat in 15 minutes, thanks to the help of a few convenience items in the pantry. 

What to do for dinner tonight? Pasta is a great option for something hearty and super quick. A creamy, flavorful lemon pasta is a perfect quick & easy meal!

Quickly turn a few basic pantry staple ingredients into a flavorful pasta dish that the entire family will enjoy.

↓ Jump to Recipe

Creamy Lemon Pasta Recipe

This light lemon cream sauce for pasta is the perfect light crisp recipe for spring and summertime. But it also satisfies those comfort food cravings!

Add some grilled chicken or shrimp, and a fresh green salad for the ultimate dinner.

Instructions

This recipe is incredibly quick and easy to make. You can have the entire recipe done in the time that it takes to cook the pasta! And depending on which pasta you choose, it can go really quickly.

Although, I prefer a spaghetti, linguine pasta, or other thicker noodle — you can substitute and use your favorite.

Angel hair pasta only takes like 5-6 minutes to cook which makes this recipe come together even faster.

Begin by bringing a large pot of water to a boil. And don’t forget to salt your pasta water! To do this, add the salt to the water just as it’s boiling and before adding the pasta.

Then drop the noodles without breaking them up to the boiling large pot of salted water.

Cook the pasta noodles until al dente or desired doneness.

Next, grate the zest and squeeze the juice from lemon.

In a large saucepan or skillet, heat up the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper, stir until fragrant, just about 1 minute.

Stir in the mascarpone cheese, parmesan cheese, heavy cream and simmer over medium heat, stirring until combined.

Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and the salt.

Drain the cooked pasta and add directly to the large skillet pan of creamy lemon sauce. Combine together and garnish with fresh herbs.

Sprinkle additional red pepper flakes, black pepper, and more fresh parmigiano cheese to taste, if desired.

How to store leftovers

This is a pasta that you should enjoy fresh. Most pastas don’t store well depending on their sauce. If you do have leftovers, be sure to store in an airtight container for about 3-4 days. Add additional cream or milk when heating up the pasta as it becomes dry during storage. Heat over low heat on the stove top inside of a saucepan.

Creamy Lemon Pasta

If you’re in search of a light, creamy, and easy-to-make pasta dish, look no further. Lemon zest and lemon juice pair with creamy marscapone and parmesan to make this pasta dish. Plus, it takes 15 minutes to cook! 

Print

Rate

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Serving Size 6

Equipment

• Large Skillet
• Dutch Oven

Ingredients

• 16 ounce spaghetti noodles
• 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 large lemon zest & juice
• 8 ounce mascarpone cheese
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 cup Parmigiano cheese fresh grated
• ½ teaspoon salt
• basil fresh (optional garnish)

Instructions

• Cook pasta according to package directions and don’t forget to salt the pasta water.
• Meanwhile, grate zest and squeeze juice from lemon, set aside. In deep skillet, heat up the olive oil over medium heat.
• Add garlic and crushed red pepper to the olive oil in the, stir until fragrant, just about 1 minute. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
• Stir in the mascarpone cheese, parmesan cheese, heavy cream over medium heat, stirring until combined.
• Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Add the lemon cream sauce to the drained pasta noodles.
• Serve immediately. Optional: Serve pasta sprinkled with additional fresh shredded parmigiano cheese and, fresh herbs, if desired.

Did you make this recipe?

Be sure to share with me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Youtube!

Rate this Recipe Pin Recipe Share Recipe

where would you like to start?

from scratch recipes

kitchen gardening

natural home

farm life