Lemon Garlic Pasta

Lemon garlic pasta is a quick and flavorful pasta dish that is made with delicious spaghetti, a buttery lemon garlic sauce, and freshly grated parmesan. Served with seared shrimp and a side salad, this pasta dish makes for a simple yet luxurious dinner!

This lemon garlic pasta is a delicious dish that only requires few ingredients. It is one of the recipes I always come back to when I don’t have much time to cook but still want a satisfying dinner. And even though this recipe has a short ingredient list, this pasta dish is super flavorful and delicious!

Ingredients

To make lemon garlic butter pasta, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Spaghetti: I love to use spaghetti, but you can substitute the spaghetti with any other type of pasta you love! The only thing I’d recommend is to use long and skinny pasta, as the sauce clings best to these pasta shapes. And if you want this dish to be gluten-free, simply use a gluten-free pasta option.
• Garlic: Garlic is one of the ingredients that give this dish its special flavor. It is an absolute must to make a delicious lemon garlic sauce!
• Lemon: This recipe uses fresh lemon juice and zest. Make sure you buy lemons that are organic so you can zest them.
• Butter and olive oil: Butter and olive oil are another winning combination! Nothing beats a sauce that is made with butter, olive oil, and garlic.
• White wine: I love to use a splash of white wine for the sauce, but you can substitute the white wine with vegetable broth if you don’t want to use alcohol.
• Parsley: Parsley is the herb of choice for this lemon garlic butter pasta. If you don’t like parsley, you could use fresh basil leaves instead.
• Parmesan cheese: Definitely don’t skip the freshly grated parmesan cheese! It perfectly pairs with the spaghetti and the sauce, so don’t forget to use it to garnish your plate of delicious lemon garlic pasta.

How to make lemon garlic pasta

Making lemon garlic pasta is very simple! Just follow these steps:

1. Cook the pasta: Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. When the pasta has cooked, save some pasta water, drain and set aside.
2. Make the sauce: While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce. Preheat butter and olive oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté the garlic for 1 minute. Add the white wine, soma pasta water, and lemon juice to the pan.
3. Toss: Next, add the pasta, parsley, and lemon zest to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Then toss until everything is combined.
4. Garnish: Garnish with grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Cooking tips

The recipe is pretty straightforward, but there are some things to keep in mind so everything turns out perfectly.

• Use medium heat: It can take some time until the pan heats up, but be patient and don’t use high heat. The garlic and butter will probably burn, so cook everything on low-medium heat.
• Save pasta water: As this recipe has a very liquid sauce, definitely use pasta water so the sauce clings to the pasta! Plus, you’ll need some extra liquid for the sauce anyway. So don’t forget to save some before you drain the pasta water.
• Add red pepper flakes: If you love some extra spice, definitely add red pepper flakes! They go super well with this dish and I highly recommend using them!

Serving lemon garlic pasta

This dish is great as it is, but I love to add some protein and extra veggies to make it a full meal. These are some of my favorites:

• Seafood: Seafood complements this lemon garlic butter pasta perfectly! My favorites are shrimp and salmon, but you can choose the seafood you love most. I’ll usually prepare the shrimps the way I did in this cashew Cajun shrimp Alfredo recipe. I love how juicy and flavorful the shrimp turn out!
• Side Salad: I love to add some extra vegetables to this dish. You could prepare a very simple side salad that doesn’t take much time or effort. I love this lemon arugula salad.
• Roasted Vegetables: Another way to add more vegetables to this dish is by roasting your favorite veggies in the oven with some olive oil and garlic. You can use this roasted vegetable pasta salad recipe for guidance.

More quick and delicious pasta recipes

Pasta dishes are perfect for dinner as they are super quick and easy to make. Plus, they are incredibly delicious! Here are some pasta recipes you should definitely try.

• Baked Feta Pasta with Shrimp
• Healthy Chicken Alfredo
• Rigatoni Bolognese
• Spicy Cajun Shrimp Pasta
• Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo