This creamy lemon pasta recipe is simple and fast to make with everyday ingredients! The zesty lemon brightens the decadent parmesan sauce.
I'm so excited about this creamy lemon pasta sauce! I just love how easy and quick it is, and it's great that you don't need a ton of ingredients or time to make something so comforting. Butter, cream, a touch of garlic, parmesan, and lemon juice are always in my kitchen... it's a wonder I didn't post this recipe long before now.
A simple roux (butter & flour) is the base of this sauce, and it's what helps give the sauce a thicker consistency in only a few minutes. The sauce isn't a super thick one, but it nicely coats those tasty little tubes of pasta.
You can serve this pasta as a tasty side dish or as the main course.
Recipe notes & tips:
- I used rigatoni, but feel free to sub with whatever pasta you've got on hand. Penne would work great as well!
- I don't recommend subbing anything else for the cream in this recipe. The citrus is very likely to curdle the sauce, and heavy (or whipping) cream can withstand it due to the higher fat content.
- You could add some shrimp or cooked chicken (like rotisserie chicken) if you wanted to add a protein to this dish.
- To zest the lemon, I use my handy Microplane zester/grater (you can also grate the cheese with it, but I used my Zyliss grater). I highly recommend grating your own parm... it tastes and melts better! I always keep a wedge in my fridge.
What to serve with lemon cream pasta?
This pasta is delicious as a side dish (try serving it with my Parmesan Crusted Chicken) or as a main course. If it's your main event, I recommend serving it alongside a light salad (like with a vinaigrette dressing), or you could make breadsticks or garlic knots.
Other creamy lemon recipes to try:
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Lemon Asparagus Pasta
- Creamy Lemon Shrimp Pasta
- Easy Creamy Lemon Chicken
- Creamy Lemon Basil Pasta
Will you give this pasta with a lemon cream sauce a try? Questions? Let me know in the comments below!
Creamy Lemon Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rigatoni
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 tablespoon flour
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- 1/4 cup chicken broth/veg broth or dry white wine
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice + zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Garnish: fresh parsley & extra parm optional
Instructions
- Boil a salted pot of water for the pasta and cook it al dente according to package directions.
- When the pasta is about 10 minutes away from being done, add the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once it melts, sprinkle the flour in and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring fairly often.
- Add in the garlic, followed by the broth (or wine) and lemon juice + zest. Let it bubble for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the cream and cook it for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened up to your liking.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese and take the skillet off the heat. Season with salt & pepper as needed (I am generous with both).
- Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss until coated (I like to add a tablespoon or so of the pasta water to the sauce prior to draining it, especially if it's become a tad too thick). Garnish with more parmesan and a bit of chopped parsley if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
- This pasta makes 4 reasonably-sized portions with plenty of sauce, but if you've got really hungry people and you're not serving it with anything else, I would double the recipe. Serves 2-4 depending on how much people eat.
- I do NOT recommend subbing the heavy cream for anything with a lower fat content (e.g. half-and-half or milk) because the lemon in the sauce is very likely to curdle it, and you'll have to add more flour to thicken the sauce.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Kelly R. says
HOLY STINKIN’ MOLY!! This recipe is absolutely delicious!! So easy to make- quick weeknight meal. This sauce will be my go to pasta sauce from now on!! Thank you for posting this recipe.
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
What a nice comment! Thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Kelly!!
PHell says
Really good recipe. I added Sundried tomatoes when adding in the garlic and also threw in some chaya (or spinach at the end). I also think artichoke hearts and sauteed mushrooms would be good too!
Natasha says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Love those additions!
Monika says
Hi Natasha,
Thanks for the delicious recipe. My 14 yrs old followed the recipes and it turned out pretty good. One question though, when we added pasta and increased the heat to warm up the pasta, the sauce seemed to curdle. Still great taste though ! Any advice so that it doesn’t happen again.
Natasha says
Hi Monika! I'm glad you liked the taste. Hmmm... I would try to keep the heat fairly low but time the pasta to be ready at the same time as the sauce if possible. The heat from the piping hot freshly drained pasta should be plenty to heat the sauce up if it was ready a few minutes before and is still warm. Reheating creamy sauces over a high heat (especially with the added acidity of lemon) can definitely curdle it, unfortunately. Did you use heavy cream vs. something with a lower fat % like half and half?
Mariah says
This sauce is delicious, wow! However I found that rigatoni portion suggestion ridiculously small. I had to convert it to 1 cup = 8oz... so I used 16oz and still I should have used more than 2 cups for the dry pasta. Otherwise, I am so excited to make this again and super enjoyed it! Thank you so much
Natasha says
Hi! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes... you won't fit much rigatoni into 1 cup if you measure it that way. In cases for pasta shapes like rigatoni (that are larger with more volume), you would go by weight... so that would be half of a 1 pound/16 oz. box of it. If I were listing a cup measurement, it would certainly be larger than 1 cup. If you used something like macaroni, 1 cup would make a decent amount of pasta. I hope that makes sense!
Darren Reichert says
Tried your recipe tonight because I wanted something different, light and refreshing. We usually cook hot sausages and put them in a nice marinara. I've had proteins with red sauce and pasta with lemon sauce plated alongside, so I thought I would give it a try. Turned out awesome! The two really compliment each other so long as you have a high quality sauce. If you haven't tried Silver Palate marinara you should do so. Only had half and half and that seemed to work with this recipe, though cream is probably better. Added a little chopped fresh basil at the end and let it cook for a minute and it was spectacular. Thanks for sharing
Natasha says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂 You're very welcome.
Debbie says
I just made this and it’s delicious. It’s a classic recipe and so good.
Natasha says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Debbie! Thanks for taking the time to write me a review.
Chris White says
I followed the recipe to the letter and served over fettuccine. It was quick and easy and tasted phenomenal!
Natasha says
Wonderful!! So happy you enjoyed it, Chris! Appreciate you letting me know.
Melissa M Lema says
This recipe is now a part of my family's favorites. My kids beg me to make it!
Natasha says
I'm so happy to hear that, Melissa! 😀
Vicki Wilson says
I had a pasta craving and wanted something that was quick, easy and different from my usual standby recipes. I saw some blogger mention their Lemon Pasta, but the recipe didn't thrill me so I kept looking till I came across this post.
And am I ever glad I stopped, the pasta was amazingly delicious! I had it plain, but can easily see it as an accompaniment to chicken, shrimp or other seafood (did I hear someone say salmon?). It was easy to make with simple ingredients and looked so pretty with a sprinkle of fresh parsley (I'm going to try dill and maybe a few capers when I make it with salmon).
Yum, yum, yum I think I need to go lick the pan!
Natasha says
I'm so happy to hear that you liked it so much! 😀 Thanks for taking the time to write me a review. XO
Kamilah says
This is amazing and super quick and easy! Tastes like I went out to a restaurant. I would definitely double the recipe!
Natasha says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it!! Thanks for taking the time to write me a comment, Kamilah 🙂
Joanne Compton says
I will be making this for meatless Monday! LOVE lemon and can't wait to try. I will probably have to use less heavy cream as I have a heart condition and 19 grams of saturated fat is the entire days amount! I may use the pasta water and extra flour. Any other suggestions, since you do say not to use fat free half and half?
Thank you!
Natasha says
I would add some of the pasta water - that is a good idea! Hmmm you could try making a thicker roux perhaps? Maybe add a bit more white wine or chicken broth? You could simmer it for a bit longer so it thickens up more too if you go with less cream. Let me know how it goes! I hope you enjoy it, Joanne!
Allison Poff says
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I looked for a prepared lemon butter pasta sauce at the grocery and couldn’t find it. Doing a web search I found your website & recipe. I made it with al dente Barilla angel hair protein pasta, the texture was great. My husband liked it a lot. Will plan to make again.
Natasha says
I'm so glad you both enjoyed it! 🙂
Sarah says
So good!
Natasha says
Thanks so much!!
Betty says
Just made this and love it just realized I have some mushrooms in the fridge is there a way to add it to the pasta next time? Maybe with the garlic?
Natasha says
Sure. I'd just make sure that the water is all cooked out before you go on with the recipe so you don't water down the sauce. You could always sauté the mushrooms then add the flour after. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Jackie says
Can you make this earlier in the day and then reheat?
Natasha says
Unfortunately, I don't think this is a good dish for doing that. You could maybe try making just the sauce and then reheat it on low heat, but I'd definitely toss with the pasta just before serving. Cream sauces are notoriously finicky, and they can separate quite easily when reheating (and/or go kinda dry).
Lisa Leahy says
I have been seeing this recipe pop up every once in a while and I have been very excited to make it. Made it last night and my family loved it. I even made a gluten free version of it too that was amazing. Thanks for sharing. I love anything with Lemon but this will be on permanent rotation in our house!
Natasha says
Yay! That's awesome. I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Lisa.
Sarah says
Are the Nutrition Facts per serving or for the whole dish? This was wonderful by the way!
Natasha says
That's great that you enjoyed it! 🙂 It's per serving (4 servings total for this particular recipe).
Stephanie says
This was INSANELY GOOD! I used 16oz of rigatoni because I think mine were smaller. Also began by browning chicken thighs in my fan so when I made the roux I had that additional flavour already in the bottom of the pan. Definitely save at least a quarter cup of pasta water and lots of black pepper. Soooo yummy!
Natasha says
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it!! 🙂
Melissa says
Made this tonight for myself and two kids! They both loved it! So quick and easy. Next time I will make it to go with chicken cutlets!
Natasha says
I'm so happy you all enjoyed it! Thanks so much for commenting! 🙂