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Pasta al limone is a extremely easy and traditional Italian dish of lengthy noodles and a parmesan and lemon topping. It’s lined in melted butter and tangy lemon, and is the right factor to cook dinner for dinner whenever you don’t know what to make!
This recipe is so easy, and tremendous flavorful! You possibly can eat it as is, or you may costume it up with a protein or a facet dish. In case you love plain and easy noodle recipes, you’ve bought to strive these scrumptious Garlic Sesame Noodles, this traditional Creamy Carbonara, and this scrumptious Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese Spaghetti.

Pasta al Limon
Pasta al limone, or lemon pasta, is an extremely widespread pasta dish in Italy, and I can see why! It’s so easy, but bursting with the scrumptious flavors of butter or olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and plenty of lemon. It’s so easy and I like making this dish for dinner after I’m brief on time, concepts, and sources. In case you’ve bought a field of spaghetti within the pantry and some lemons on the counter, you’ve bought what you want for this recipe!
If I’m making this for dinner, I like serving it with some type of protein. My favourite choices are this Greek lemon hen or this crockpot apricot hen. Not that these are conventional on this dish in any respect, I simply know my household will likely be hungry once more in an hour if I don’t feed them a little bit one thing further! I additionally love making air fryer mushrooms to go on prime, they’re so good and simple to make! You may as well serve
Components
I like pasta al limone for a lot of causes, however my favourite cause is how easy the ingredient listing is! You may make the sauce extra hearty and add extra substances, however the conventional recipe is so delicate and scrumptious. You possibly can add extra contemporary herbs on prime of this lemon pasta recipe if you want to. I feel the lemon taste is sufficient to taste the entire thing on it’s personal! You’ll find the measurements beneath within the recipe card.
- Spaghetti: Spaghetti noodles are conventional and scrumptious, to not point out straightforward to cook dinner!
- Butter: You should utilize butter or olive oil on this recipe. You’ll make a butter sauce with garlic and lemon juice and zest.
- Garlic: Contemporary garlic clove makes this dish so savory and scrumptious.
- Lemon Juice: That is the place the magic occurs. Lemon juice is the star of this previous! Ensure you have at the very least two lemons readily available.
- Lemon Zest: Zest is so sturdy and flavorful, and provides a pop of contemporary lemon flavors. Make sure that to totally wash your lemons first.
- Parmesan Cheese: Parmigiano Reggiano is the right alternative for shredding on prime of this pasta.
- Salt and Pepper: This dish is heavy on the black pepper, and for good cause! It goes nice with the lemon and Parmesan. Be happy so as to add nevertheless a lot you want.
- Basil or Italian Parsley: That is for garnishing the highest. It provides a pop of contemporary taste that you simply undoubtedly wish to embody!

Pasta al Limone Recipe
Prepare for the best pasta recipe you’ll ever make! Pasta al limone is so simple and alive with taste. When you cook dinner the pasta, you’ll use one cup of the reserved pasta water to make the butter lemon sauce. Pasta cooking water is salty and starchy, and helps to deliver the sauce collectively.
- Cook dinner Pasta: In a big pot, stuffed with salted water, boil your pasta till al dente. Observe bundle directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.
- Make Lemon Sauce: As soon as your pasta is cooked and drained, in a big skillet over medium warmth soften your butter. Sautee your minced garlic within the melted butter for just below a minute, add in your cooked pasta, half of your lemon juice, and half of the reserved pasta water.
- Add Pasta: Cook dinner the pasta within the skillet, stirring repeatedly to coat the pasta within the butter combination. Keep watch over your pasta as you cook dinner, it ought to all the time stay evenly coated within the sauce whereas it cooks, if it turns into dry or in any respect, add a little bit extra of the reserved water, however don’t over water your pasta.
- Add Lemon and Cheese: As soon as your pasta has cooked within the skillet, being regularly stirred, for about 3 minutes add within the lemon zest, the remainder of the lemon juice, and your parmesan cheese. Then proceed to stir and cook dinner the pasta, evenly distributing the cheese and zest.
- Add Seasoning: Add in salt and pepper and regulate the quantity to your liking. The pasta is able to serve when it’s even coated within the lemon butter sauce combination and the cheese has been evenly melted and distributed all through the noodles.
- Take pleasure in: Take pleasure in contemporary, plating your pasta with thinly sliced lemon wedges and minced lemongrass for garnish.

Suggestions for Making Pasta al Limone
Pasta al limone is such an ideal recipe to have in your recipe guide! It’s easy, scrumptious, and filled with taste. If you’re on the lookout for methods to combine issues up, or simply need your pasta to prove good, strive the following pointers. It is going to prove completely each time!
- Add Heavy Cream: If you wish to make this extra of a cream sauce, you may add 1 cup of heavy cream to the pan whenever you add your different sauce substances. It provides the pasta a little bit extra physique and makes the pasta further creamy and scrumptious!
- Add a Protein: This pasta is ideal topped with hen. I listed a few of my favourite hen recipes above. Different hen recipes you may strive: Grilled Hen, Lemon Hen Piccata, and Hen Francese.
- Rasp Grater: That is my secret weapon! A rasp grater, generally referred to as a microplaner, is the right solution to grate parmesan. It crumbles it up so small that it fully melts into the sauce, leaving it so creamy. I additionally prefer to grate contemporary parm on the highest of the pasta after I plate every little thing.

Storing Leftovers
Pasta al limone is so yummy I doubt you’ll have any leftovers! In case you do occur to have some that you must retailer, right here is how.
- Within the Fridge: Retailer your leftovers in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 5 days. Chances are you’ll have to drizzle olive oil on prime when reheating to assist the noodles rehydrate.
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In a big pot, stuffed with salted water, boil your pasta till al dente. Observe the bundle directions. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.
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As soon as your pasta is cooked and drained, in a big skillet over medium warmth soften your butter. Sautee your minced garlic within the melted butter for just below a minute, add in your cooked pasta, half of your lemon juice, and half of the reserved pasta water.
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Cook dinner the pasta within the skillet, stirring repeatedly to coat the pasta within the butter combination. Keep watch over your pasta as you cook dinner, it ought to all the time stay evenly coated within the sauce whereas it cooks, if it turns into dry or in any respect, add a little bit extra of the reserved water, however don’t over water your pasta.
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As soon as your pasta has cooked within the skillet, being regularly stirred, for about 3 minutes add within the lemon zest, the remainder of the lemon juice, and your parmesan cheese. Proceed to stir and cook dinner the pasta, evenly distributing the cheese and zest.
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Add in salt and pepper and regulate the quantity to your liking. The pasta is able to serve when it’s even coated within the lemon butter sauce combination and the cheese has been evenly melted and distributed all through the noodles.
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Take pleasure in contemporary, plating your pasta with thinly sliced lemon wedges and minced lemongrass for garnish.
Serves: 6
Energy382kcal (19%)Carbohydrates45g (15%)Protein12g (24%)Fats17g (26%)Saturated Fats10g (50%)Polyunsaturated Fats1gMonounsaturated Fats4gTrans Fats0.5gLdl cholesterol45mg (15%)Sodium385mg (16%)Potassium162mg (5%)Fiber2g (8%)Sugar2g (2%)Vitamin A494IU (10%)Vitamin C0.2mgCalcium164mg (16%)Iron1mg (6%)
All dietary info relies on third celebration calculations and is barely an estimate. Every recipe and dietary worth will differ relying on the manufacturers you employ, measuring strategies and portion sizes per family.