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I love this zesty lemon ricotta pasta with spinach, it makes a delish weeknight meal ready in less than 15 minutes. Simple, fresh ingredients, delicious flavor, and minimal effort.
This no-cook sauce is one of my go-to recipes from when I was at uni and can be made in no time. Mix creamy ricotta, parmesan cheese, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and refreshing lemon. Your pasta sauce is ready.
Easy peasy, economical, perfect for your carb cravings and so good.
If you’re a big fan of lemons like me, you’ll love how their juice and zest transform a simple dish into something that tastes pure sunshine. And what about the creamy ricotta? I love it, especially when I used to buy fresh ricotta from the cheese counter in Italy (ahhh distant memories!)
To make this easy pasta dish healthier and more filling, don’t forget to add your greens. You could swap spinach for other delicious vegetables, or even protein like grilled chicken or salmon. The sky is the limit!
Watch how to make it
What ingredients you need
- Pasta
- Ricotta
- Parmesan cheese
- Baby spinach
- Lemon
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic
- Salt and pepper
- Combine ricotta, parmesan, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper
- Mix well, taste and make sure you’re happy with the seasoning
- Meanwhile, cook your pasta until al dente
- Reserve some pasta cooking water
- Add spinach to the pot and cook for 1 minute
- Drain pasta and spinach and return to the pot
- Add the ricotta sauce, the cooking water, and stir well
- Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and lemon wedges (optional)
- Enjoy… Buon appetito!
Recipe notes & tips
If you fancy fresh and creamy spaghetti ready in no time, inexpensive, and kids approved, this recipe is for you!
Plus, if you go for whole grain pasta you’ll get more natural fiber and micronutrients than white pasta. Whole-grain is the healthier option also when it comes to a bowl of spaghetti, and makes you feel fuller longer which is a great bonus. We love it and we consume it nearly on a regular basis.
HOW TO ADD SPINACH TO PASTA?
Blanched (quickly boiled) spinach works fine in this recipe, and cooking spinach and pasta all in one pot saves time and washing up. However, make sure not to overcook it, which will result in the loss of nutrients, flavor, and green color.
Recipe updated: originally posted in July 2019, I’ve tweaked the post adding more notes and new pictures.
SUBSTITUTIONS
What about adding a twist? This terrific recipe is so versatile, feel free to add more vegetables or even protein of your choice. Here are a few variations that taste delicious along with the lemon and ricotta combo.
Add them to the pot when you stir in the ricotta mixture.
- Sauteed or grilled vegetables: asparagus, peas, zucchini, artichokes
- Arugula, basil, chives
- Cherry tomatoes or chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- Grilled chicken
- Grilled or smoked salmon
MORE EASY PASTA DISHES READY IN 15 MINUTES OR LESS?
- Cream cheese pasta
- Spaghetti with garlic and olive oil
- Garlic mushroom spaghetti
- Marinara sauce with spaghetti
- Walnut sauce pasta
If you make this vibrant lemon ricotta pasta with spinach, leave a comment, rate it, or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram.
I would love to hear from you!
Lemon ricotta pasta & spinach
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb (8oz/220 grams) pasta (spaghetti, linguine, penne, fusilli...)
- 1 cup (9oz/250 grams) whole-milk ricotta
- 8 oz (230 grams) fresh baby spinach, washed
- 1/3 cup (35 grams) grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
- 1 unwaxed lemon, zest and juice
- 3 lemon wedges, to serve (optional)
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 garlic clove, grated or pressed
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Meanwhile, make the ricotta sauce.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic, lemon zest and juice. Season with 1/4 tsp of salt and a good pinch of pepper.
- Stir until well combined, taste and make sure you're happy with the seasoning.
- In the last minute of the pasta's cooking time, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then and add spinach to the pot. Stir well and push the leaves down to submerge them in water.
- After 1 minute, drain and return pasta and spinach to the same pot.
- Add the ricotta sauce and part of the reserved cooking water. Stir well to evenly coat the pasta in the sauce, add more cooking water as needed, you want a smooth and creamy texture.
- Serve immediately and garnish with grated or shaved Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lemon wedges if desired (for extra freshly squeezed juice, but I leave it optional). Plus, I love adding a good pinch of red pepper flakes, you might give it a go. Enjoy!
Nice quick dish as main meal or side. The subtle lemon flavor with fresh garlic and pepper flakes makes this pasta truly my new go to. Awesome!
I’m so glad you liked it, Ginny… and thanks so much for sharing your feedback 🙂
This was so delicious! A wonderful combination of flavors.
Thank you! I’m so pleased you liked it 💛
I was looking for recipes to make with the spaghetti noodles that I had previously cooked (I did have to steam the spinach in the microwave while reheating the pasta), that wouldn’t heat up the kitchen. This was perfect and delicious!
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback! I’m so glad you liked it 💛
Can I make this vegan by using vegan ricotta?
Hi Ashley, I’ve never made a vegan version of this cake, and I don’t know how the heat affects the ricotta texture. I’m sorry if I can’t help x
Made this tonight. If we make it again, will cut by 25% (at least) The amount of ricotta cheese. We felt it was just too overwhelming and goopy mixed with the pasta. The other change I would make is to warm up the ricotta and Parmesan, and other ingredients in a separate pot before adding to the pasta and spinach. We did not do that, and even though we stirred the cheese mixture with the pasta over a low flame for a couple of minutes, the entire dish was only lukewarm when we sat down to eat it. I had hoped to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, but the ricotta mixture was just too much for me to want to eat again.
Hi Ginny, I’ve never received complaints about the amount of ricotta, but it’s all a matter of personal preference. Feel free to adjust the recipe according to your taste, it’s easy to modify, I hope you make it again and enjoy x
What changes would you make to accommodate zuchinni noodles instead of pasta?
I would add some liquid to the ricotta mixture (milk or even water). When you mix ricotta with the other ingredients, make sure it’s a bit runny and coats your noodles nicely, otherwise, you might end up with a block of zucchini noodles and cheese. And I would skip the spinach. Hope you enjoy it x
Fabulous. So easy. Love the lemon flavor. Used home made whole milk ricotta. Goes into my book!
I’m so pleased, homemade ricotta sounds delicious, thanks for sharing this lovely feedback! 💛
Instead of ricotta I used greek style yogurt. Given the other sauce ingredients I guess you could now call the recipe pasta in tsatsiki ?
I like the idea of using thick and creamy Greek style yogurt, why not? I’ll give it a go 🙂 Thank you for your comment! x
Beautifully flavored light meal. We added a Gavi and some reheated leftover veggies from. Covid takeout meal – we LOVED it. I’ll be doing it again also a perfect meal for the upcoming warm season.
Thankyou!
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Charlotte! I’m so so pleased you and your family loved it. All the best x
My 11 year old granddaughter helped make it, and said we HAVE to make it again
Thank you for your comment! I’m so pleased she loved it ??
I love this recipe!! So creamy and good without feeling too heavy.
I’m glad you loved it! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback, Sara 🙂
This was just so delicious! And oh so easy! I have a lemon salt I got when I was in Italy that made it even that much better. Sometime I’ll add grilled chicken or salmon on top for a great winter dish. Thank you for this wonderful dish
The Italian lemon salt sounds so delicious, not to mention the option of adding chicken or salmon 🙂 I’m so glad you loved it and thanks so much for your lovely comment, Debra! x
I think the calorie count is WAY off. 538kcal is 538,000 calories. 😉
Yes, that sounds a LOT, definitely 🙂 but there’re Cal/kcal/calories, and kcal and Cal are used interchangeably.
Basically: 1 kcal and 1 Calorie = 1000 calories. For example, I’m having a look at a pack of spaghetti right now and the label says 351kcal/100gr.
There’s no mention of calories or Calories, only kcal. I hope this helps xx
It came out Super delicious ?.
The combination of lemon zest and juice with spinach and recotta ….. heaven in mouth?
Thank you for sharing, Harmeet! I’m happy you loved it 🙂
I made this last night used peas instead of spinach loved it will make it again 👌
I’m so pleased you loved it! Thanks for sharing your feedback 😊
DELICIOUS! I served it with panko & parm baked scallops. I received rave reviews.
Wow, that sounds utterly delicious, I love baked scallops! Thanks for your comment 🙂
Really delicious. I love the flavor of lemon so much. The only change I would make in the future for my taste is a smaller clove of garlic. The one I used was a little on the bigger side. Since it’s being used raw in this recipe, it was a little overpowering. Otherwise it’s a light delicious change to eating pasta.
The raw-garlic flavor might be pretty intense for some, but I’m glad you liked the recipe, and thank you for your comment! 🙂
I used 2 cloves of garlic but fried them off little in olive oil but we do love garlic. x
I love garlic too! Thanks for your comment, Carole x
Sounds delicious always wanted to know how ricotta works as a sauce.
Is the recipe for one or more and is the calorie for just one serving?
Please add me to your blog
Hi Suzanne, the recipe is for 3 medium-sized servings and the calories are an estimate for 1 serving. Added to the list 🙂 x
Delicious! Made with zucchini noodles and threw in shrimp and red pepper flakes and oregano.
I love zucchini noodles + shrimp, great variation, Christy! Thank you for your comment 🙂
What kind of olive oil do you use?
Extra virgin olive oil, the best vegetable oil in my opinion 😊
Absolutely my new favorite dish. This was so good! I will be making this often!
I’m so pleased, Liz 🙂 Thanks so much for your comment x
I hope to make this tomorrow. What do you suggest if I wanted to either use spiralised courgette noodles or grated courgettes? When to add them to the ricotta mixture?
Hi Courteney…
1. The ricotta sauce is for 3 servings (you need more than 1/2 lb of zucchini)
2. Thin out the ricotta mixture with some water or milk
3. I would skip the spinach
4. You can serve it cold: toss noodles and ricotta sauce in a salad bowl
5. You can serve it warm: toss noodles and sauce in a pan over medium heat until nice and warm.
In both cases, add some extra water or milk if you need to loosen up the sauce.
Enjoy 🙂
I was looking for some inspiration for tonight’s dinner and came across your recipe. Looks fantastic and can’t wait to try it. The bonus is I already have all the ingredients 🙂
Brilliant, Sam! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Could I use frozen spinach? If yes, how much would be equivalent?
Hi Yvonne, yes you can. You might use more or less 5-6 oz of frozen spinach (but you can add a bit more if you like). Then add your thawed and drained spinach to the pasta boiling water 🙂
I was looking for something different and this looks so good. I’m going to add some shrimp and red pepper flakes. Trying it later in the week. Can’t wait!
Sounds delicious, Terri! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Very simple.I used a lemon olive oil so extra lemon flavour. Next time I would really load up on whatever leafy green
I am using. Adjust the seasonings to your own preference. I rather heavily salted the pasta water and that could make
the difference.I will try some dried chilli flakes next time. We enjoyed it for a summer pasta meal and I would make it again.Thanks!
I’m glad you liked it, Jay! Extra veggies and chili flakes sound great, thanks a lot for your comment 🙂
I love this easy, low ingredient recipe. The flavor was great, but I had issues with my consistency. I admittedly think I used too much pasta, but my “sauce” got kinda clumpy and not smooth and creamy. Any ideas on what I might have done wrong? Possibly too much water or maybe not enough? I’m definitely wanting to try again and perfect it. Thank you!
Thanks or your comment, Liz! I think the wrong consistency is related to grainy or gritty ricotta rather than the amount of water you used. Next time, if your ricotta turns to be grainy again, place it in a colander for at least a couple of hours and let the excess liquid drain out. Plus, when you make the sauce, add a tiny amount of milk and whisk vigorously. This should be enough to give you a smooth texture 🙂
I found I needed to use all the reserved water. To thin it down. Thank you for the tip on the ricotta, do you have a brand you recommend?
I use Galbani. I’m based in the UK, but I used to find the same brand in the USA 🙂
I love this recipe. It is sure to be a go to quick and easy dinner. Seriously, one bowl, one pan AND done in the amount of time it takes to cook the pasta. ?? Soooo flavorful. I used peas instead of spinach, it’s what I had on hand, I loved it with the peas!!! I added a pinch of red pepper flakes and used basil salt. Thanks for such a great dish.
You can’t go wrong with peas, creamy ricotta, and lemon 🙂 Thank so much for sharing your feedback, Lola! x
I have a container of fat-free ricotta. Will that work? Or does it really need to be whole milk ricotta?
Thanks for your question, Penny! Go for fat-free ricotta then, it’s less rich than full-fat ricotta but it works. I would add extra parmesan cheese to enhance the flavor x
Thanks for the tip on the extra parm, Katia! I don’t normally buy fat-free, but I made a mistake so will be happy to use some up.
So delicious. I added grilled jumbo shrimp, as we love lemon pasta with shrimp. I made a double batch so we can enjoy again. Thank you for such a nice quick recipe.
Wow, it sounds great with jumbo shrimp! 😍 Thanks so much, I’m glad you liked it x
I just made this last night. Bravo!!!!
My husband has to be the number 1 pickiest eater and he
Loved it! He said if we ordered this dish at a restaurant it would cost us 20.00 dollars. Love Pinterest 😍
Aahaha you’ve made my day, Rhonda! I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed it (and saved $$ LOL). Thanks for your lovely comment 💛
very nice. dinner. I loved the fresh lemon flavour layered within the garlic and cheese.s. I like that it is fast and easy and open to so may possibilities. Thanks for sharing this. I am sure I will make this again in many different ways. Geri
I’m so pleased you liked it, Geri! Thanks a lot for your feedback xx
Dear Katia – I did not see how much lemon juice or zest to use – can you give me an idea? I really want to make this!
Of course, Suzanne! You need the juice and the zest of 1 lemon, plus a few lemon wedges to serve if you wish (quantities are in the recipe).
Let me know how it turns out 😊 x
I I didn’t cook the spinach for the 1 min the recipe says. Just dumped it into the water, gave the pot a swirl, and then drained. Next time I make it, I will use more spinach – at least 10 ounces.
Thanks for your comment, Kisa! More spinach or more vegetables of your choice work beautifully in this recipe, I’m glad you liked it 😊
Katia this recipe was a big hit! Fresh flavors and so simple to make. I took your suggestion and added red pepper flakes(1/4 teaspoon) which gave the sauce a very subtle kick. Absolutely perfect! Thank you so much.
You’re so welcome, Rob! 😊 I’m glad it was a hit and thanks for your comment x
Awesome recipe! It was delish! I also added fresh roasted cherry tomatoes I made for an extra pop of flavor. Yum!!
Thank you so much, Michelle! Roasted cherry tomatoes sound delicious 😊
I made this with gluten free pasta and a container of Kite Hill almond milk ricotta. I added the red pepper flakes. Thank you so much. This is one of the best meals ever. So simple but bursting with flavor ❤️❤️❤️
I’m so glad you enjoyed it 😍 Thanks a million for your comment, Leigh! x
Hey! this looks great, but I’m out of ricotta cheese. Do you think cream cheese will work well?
Hi! Cream cheese is firmer than ricotta and with a richer flavor, less refreshing in my opinion.
However, I think it will work if you add a splash of milk (or pasta water) and extra lemon zest when you mix the ingredients for the sauce 😊
I made this with chicken for myself, my husband, and a very picky friend- we all loved it! It was simple to make and addictive to eat. I would highly recommend this recipe!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Karen! 💛
Hi! I love the recipe but my ricotta never got creamy it seized up against the pasta. Could it be because I left it on the heat when I mixed with pasta?
Hi Michelle! Sometimes ricotta is grainy, not as smooth as it should be, that depends mostly on its quality. A good thing to do would be to let the ricotta cheese strain in a colander for hours, ideally overnight. Then, when you make the sauce, add a tiny amount of milk and whisk vigorously. That should help x
Can I substitute lemon juice for fresh lemons/zest?
Hi Julie, I’ve never tried, but I’m sure that fresh lemon zest delivers so much flavor and makes a big difference. However, if you like the taste of your bottled lemon juice you might give it a go x
My husband and I did not like this recipe. It was very plain. I think it would be a good side dish maybe but not as the main meal. I would not make this again.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t like it, Rachel. To be honest, I do love this recipe and I’ve never got negative feedbacks about it, but appreciate yours anyway, thanks. The recipe is simple yet versatile, and it offers plenty of variations to those who think spinach and ricotta sound very plain x
Oh thank you for this delicious and easy recipe! Made with artichoke hearts and whole family loved it 🙂 you were right about the red pepper flakes 🙂 perfection 🙂
I’m so glad the whole family loved it! Thanks a lot for sharing your lovely feedback! 💛
We really liked this. So did my company. Added extra lemon zest and lemon juice.
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Donna! I’m very pleased you all enjoyed this zesty pasta x