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This creamy lemon pasta recipe is simple and fast to make with everyday ingredients! The zesty lemon brightens the decadent parmesan sauce.
You may also enjoy this White Wine Cream Sauce for Ravioli or Best Penne alla Vodka Recipe.
Why you’ll love it
I’m so excited about this creamy lemon pasta sauce! I just love how easy and quick it is, and it’s great that you don’t need a ton of ingredients or time to make something so comforting. Butter, cream, a touch of garlic, parmesan, and lemon juice are always in my kitchen.
The lemon cream sauce nicely coats those tasty little tubes of pasta. You could say it’s inspired by pasta al limone, which you’ll find on restaurant menus, but it’s super simple to make at home. It makes a bright and impressive side dish or main course!
What you’ll need
- Pasta – rigatoni is the perfect complement for the sauce
- Butter and flour – to make a simple roux and give the sauce a thicker consistency
- Garlic – for a pop of savory flavor
- Chicken broth – or for a fancy touch, use a dry white wine like sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio
- Lemon – we’re using both fresh lemon juice and zest
- Heavy cream – for that silky, luscious texture
- Parmesan cheese – always grate your own!
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- To zest the lemon, I use my handy Microplane zester/grater.
- I highly recommend grating your own parm. It tastes and melts better! I always keep a wedge in my fridge, and I use my Zyliss grater here.
- The is the cast iron skillet I use to make the sauce, and here is whisk pictured.
How to make creamy lemon pasta
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, in a skillet, melt the butter and stir in the flour to make a roux. Add in the garlic, broth, lemon juice, and zest, and bubble for a minute or so. Whisk in the cream. Simmer until thickened up as desired.
Stir in the parmesan, and remove from the heat. Season generously with salt and pepper. Toss with the drained pasta, and garnish with extra parm and chopped fresh parsley if you like.
Pro tip
If the sauce gets too thick, simply add a little bit of the pasta water to thin it out.
Substitutions and variations
- I used rigatoni, but feel free to sub with whatever pasta you’ve got on hand. Penne would work great as well.
- I don’t recommend subbing anything else for the cream in this recipe. The citrus is very likely to curdle the sauce, and heavy (or whipping) cream can withstand it due to the higher fat content.
- You could add some shrimp or cooked chicken (like rotisserie chicken) if you wanted to add a protein to this dish.
What to serve with creamy lemon pasta
- This pasta is delicious as a side dish. Try serving it with my Parmesan Crusted Chicken, Easy Pan Seared Pork Chops, or Easy Pan Seared Salmon.
- If it’s your main event, I recommend serving it alongside a light salad like my Super Simple Parmesan Arugula Salad.
- Or you could make breadsticks, garlic knots, or my Cheesy Garlic Bread.
Leftovers and storage
- This pasta recipe is one I highly recommend eating fresh, but if you do have leftovers, store for 3-4 days in the fridge and reheat over a low heat.
- I don’t recommend freezing leftovers.
Will you give this pasta with a lemon cream sauce a try? Questions? Let me know in the comments below! I’d love if you left a star rating and review, or tag me on Instagram.
Creamy Lemon Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta rigatoni or penne recommended
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 tablespoon flour
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- 1/4 cup chicken broth/veg broth or dry white wine
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice + zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Garnish: fresh parsley & extra parm optional
Instructions
- Boil a salted pot of water for the pasta and cook it al dente according to package directions.
- When the pasta is about 10 minutes away from being done, add the butter to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once it melts, sprinkle the flour in and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring fairly often.
- Add in the garlic, followed by the broth (or wine) and lemon juice + zest. Let it bubble for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the cream and cook it for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened up to your liking.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese and take the skillet off the heat. Season with salt & pepper as needed (I am generous with both).
- Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss until coated (I like to add a tablespoon or so of the pasta water to the sauce prior to draining it, especially if it's become a tad too thick). Garnish with more parmesan and a bit of chopped parsley if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
- This pasta makes 4 reasonably-sized portions with plenty of sauce, but if you’ve got really hungry people and you’re not serving it with anything else, I would double the recipe. Serves 2-4 depending on how much people eat.
- I do NOT recommend subbing the heavy cream for anything with a lower fat content (e.g. half-and-half or milk) because the lemon in the sauce is very likely to curdle it, and you’ll have to add more flour to thicken the sauce.
- This pasta recipe also appears in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can I use other pasta i.e. macaroni or spaghettini? If so, same quantity? Thank you for getting back to me.
Hi Rachel! Yup, any shape will work, and I’d keep it around the 8 oz. If using a small shape like macaroni, I’d probably measure out 2 cups (uncooked) if you’re looking to make 4 reasonably sized portions. That works out to around 8 ounces.
The sauce for this is AMAZING! I could eat it by the spoonfuls. I had lobster raviolis and wanted a sauce that would compliment the flavor of the lobster. This was such a good combination of flavors. SO GOOD and easy! This will be my new “go to” sauce from now on.
I’m so happy to hear that!! 😀 Now I’m craving lobster ravioli…
Great recipe!!! I mince a shallot and sauté it first before adding the garlic. It adds something.
Good idea!! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Lisa!
Made this recipe and it was DELICIOUS! Nice presentation too!!! My family loved it. And it was fast and easy to make. I added grilled chicken to it, but I bet grilled shrimp would be good because of the lemon. I would definitely recommend you make it soon!
I’m so happy to hear that!! Totally agree re: the shrimp! Thanks for your review! XO
Holy Rigatoni! I can’t believe I’ve lived without this for 34 years. We recently went to a restaurant while traveling and I got a lemon cream linguini with pancetta and italian sausage. It was so good I set out to find a recipe and this one definitely delivered! I used Pinot Grigio for the 1/4 liquid. We paired it with grilled Italian marinated chicken that used fresh lemon juice and herbs. It’s perfectly creamy and balanced and I loved the Rigatoni for the pasta choice. It’s going in the monthly meal rotation. Thank you!
Aww I’m so happy you enjoyed it!! 🙂 That’s awesome! Thanks for your review.
McCormick lemon pepper, cream cheese, lol fat milk does in a pinch
Im literally eating this dish as I’m typing this – EASY AND INCREDIBLE. I was worried the flavors would be too delicate but they’re not. Definitely making this again. If I was sharing, I would double it. I subbed creme fraiche and some pasta water for the heavy cream and used a sharp English cheddar instead of parmesan, just things I already had on hand. No issues. Delicious!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it and the subs worked out!! 🙂
This is delicate and creamy. I added a little more lemon than called for because I only had Meyer lemons on hand. So easy and the result is memorable!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Amy! Thanks for your review!! 🙂
this is one of my favorite dishes to make! so easy and everyone in my house loves it!!
So happy to heat that, Adora! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Pastas are my favorite to make and this one is soooo simple and so yummy . I grilled up some chicken with it and it was a quick dinner hit! So quick and easy I loved it
Excellent!! So glad you enjoyed it, Taylor!