This is a silky lemon garlic pasta that comes together quickly with no fancy ingredients and it's economical, fresh and tastes delicious.
Prep Time5 minutesmins
10 minutesmins
Total Time15 minutesmins
Course: pasta
Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean
Keyword: Lemon garlic pasta
Servings: 4
Calories: 317kcal
Author: Katia
Ingredients
Pasta
8oz(225 grams)Linguine or spaghetti (or your fav pasta shapes)
Lemon Garlic Sauce
2 tablespoons(40 grams)unsalted butter
4garlic cloves, minced
⅛ teaspoonchili flakes (optional)
¼ cup(60 ml)pasta cooking water
¼ cup(30 grams)grated parmesan cheese, plus more to serve
2tablespoonslemon juice (approx juice from ½ lemon)
1lemon zest
fine salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
10basil leaves, shredded (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Instructions
Pasta
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook pasta per packet instructions.
When the pasta is nearly done reserve ½ cup of pasta cooking water (you need it for the sauce), and stop cooking and drain the pasta when it's al dente.
Lemon garlic sauce
When the pasta is about 4 minutes away from being done, add the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once it melts, add garlic, chili flakes and cook for about 60 seconds until it's fragrant and smells nice.
Add only ¼ cup of the reserved hot pasta pasta water (keep the rest aside), then the lemon juice, the zest, grated parmesan and a few grind of freshly ground black pepper. Stir until emulsified and smooth, taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking if needed. Turn the heat off.
Now the pasta should be ready and al dente, drain add it to the skillet along with the fresh basil leaves. Toss until well combined and juicy, and add an extra touch of hot pasta water if needed.
Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
Storage: you can store this lemon garlic pasta leftovers in airtight container in the fridge for up 3 days. Reheat it with a touch of olive oil or water if needed. and toss well until combined. Nutrition facts: the nutrition values are for one serving and they are based on an online nutrition calculator. It’s an estimate only and it should not be considered as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice (extra parmesan cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to serve are not included). Please see my disclosure policies.