EASY LEMON RICOTTA PASTA & SPINACH
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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!
Excellent recipe! Easy to make and absolutely delicious! I used it with Pumpkin Ravioli and it was a great combination. Thanks!
I’m very glad it turned out delicious. : )
Thanks for sharing, Donna. x
The recipe is great, but trying to watch the video is painstaking. Literally an ad before every step. LOL. Like 3 mins of commercials for a 1-min video.
Making a video recipe takes so much time and work, but the ads help me to get that time.
I’m so glad you loved the recipe, thank you! : )
I attempted this but I’m not very good at cooking. I undersalted the pasta water and the ricotta got lumpy at the end… still ate it good flavor. I’ll try again.
I’m so glad to hear that, Jenny – I’m sure next time it will be just perfect. : )
Thanks for sharing. x
Really enjoyed this dish! Doubled the garlic and added some fresh chopped tomato. Thinking of different things that could be added…many options. Peas, prosciutto, and artichokes are on my list ;0). Bon Appetito
Lovely! I’m very glad you loved this pasta recipe and I live your list of add-ins. : )
Thanks for sharing, Gina. x
Just made this dish it is a keeper absolutely delicious I added shrimp to compliment the lemon flavor so yummy thanks for sharing
Amazing! I’m so pleased you loved it, thanks for sharing, Debbie. x
can this be served as a cold pasta salad
Hi Linny, I wouldn’t enjoy this as a pasta salad, a cold ricotta sauce with spinach doesn’t work for a pasta salad recipe. x
Thank you! A yummy nutritious dish! Turned out well 😊 Wondering if it can be reheated and eaten the following day please?
Hello Alisha! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! : )
This pasta is best served immediately after cooking while still creamy and moist, but you can reheat leftovers adding a touch of milk or cream (either microwave or stove are fine). x
I felt like it was lacking in flavor. Kept adding red pepper and salt to no avail.
Maybe the pasta water wasn’t salty and the pasta alone had very little flavor? I have no idea.
But thanks for your feedback. x
This is DELICIOUS!! And easy to customize. I added some sliced up cherry tomatoes and shredded chicken. It is a huge hit in my house!!
Wonderful! I’m very pleased to hear that, thanks so much for sharing, Cindy. : )
Just finished making this recipe 😋. I had a taste which turned into a bowl full. Yummy and full of flavour. Will certainly make again.
Fantastic! I’m very glad you loved it, thanks so much for sharing. xx
This has become one of my granddaughter’s favorite dishes. In fact, she requested it after giving birth recently. So easy to make, but makes a beautiful presentation!
I’m so please to hear your lovely feedback, Sherry. Thank you for sharing! x
So easy and yet so delicious! I did add an extra fresh pressed garlic clove because who doesn’t love garlic. Along with some Sicilian EVOO, and crushed red pepper outstanding flavor in my opinion. Will definitely make again! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
You’re so welcome, Victoria! I’m so glad to read your lovely feedback. x
Good basic recipe, easy to customize. My youngest doesn’t care too much for lemon outside of lemonade, and she likes things pretty plain. So this, removing the lemon, was perfect for her. We added red pepper to ours and included the lemon zest and juice, and it was great. Next time may add peas, which we adore. We served for lunch with sliced peaches and half a grilled cheese panini sandwich. Next time may just serve with a fruit, as it was plenty filling.
Thanks, we will make this often.
I’m very pleased to read your feedback, Jody.
Thanks so much for sharing and have a lovely weekend. x
A wonderful dish! I loved the fresh flavour! I had frozen spinach on hand, so I thawed it out and used that instead of the fresh baby spinach. It worked out great and mixed in with the pasta with no problem. Definitely will be making this dish again! Thanks so much for the recipe!
You’re so welcome, Laurie!
Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback, I’m so glad it turned out wonderful . : )
Haven’t made yet but would this go OK with ravioli? Could you add cream and butter to make it a creamier sauce?
Hi Simone! I think the lemon ricotta sauce would work with 4 servings of ravioli.
Due to their higher fat content cream and butter make any sauce creamier, but I wouldn’t use them here. I like this dish to be fast to make and fresh, not that “rich”. x
This was so easy! Loved it! Hubby who is a chef loved it too. This recipe will be in my rotation. Thank you.
What a great feedback, that’s much appreciated, Ingrid. : )
My family loved it just the way it was.
I’m so glad your family loved it! Thanks for taking the time to share, Monica. x
While the recipe looks inviting and has good ingredients, when cooked and mixed together I found it to be a mouthful of mush. I had to add alot of S&P to enhance the flavor which was lacking. I ate 3 bites and ended up picking out and eating the fresh spinach which I felt was wasted on this recipe. I even added capers after my 3 bites to try to give it some flavor, but just wasn’t doing it for me. Sorry 🙁
Hi Donna, sorry to hear the recipe didn’t work you. x
I think I’ll add a bunch of seasonings- ricotta doesn’t have much flavor, so I’m not surprised it was bland. I would make this with goat cheese instead and add lots of rosemary and Italian seasoning. I also cook my noodles in chicken broth instead of water. Thinking of making this tonight this way.
I doubled the recipe and used a whole head of garlic and 16 oz of frozen (thawed) chopped spinach which I mixed in the cuisine Art with the rest of the ingredients. It was fabulous.
Wonderful, thanks so much for sharing, Donna!