What we love about this buttery lemon pasta
- If you love lemons then this is the recipe for you! Without a lot of other ingredients, this lemon pasta really lets the lemon zest shine through – and like we mentioned before it’s our most lemony pasta yet – and of course it is super simple to make.
- Don’t be fooled by its simplicity – this buttery lemon pasta is a beyond versatile. Pair it with grilled chicken, pan seared shrimp, or even some fresh veggies to make this a more well rounded meal.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
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Kitchen tools
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Ingredients you might need to pick up
- Butter
- Lemons
- Bucatini
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make this buttery lemon pasta
Cook the pasta. In a large pot of salted water, cook the bucatini to al denté according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, drain and set aside. Toss the pasta in just a tiny drizzle of oil to prevent it from sticking.
Make the sauce. Melt butter in the empty pasta pot, over medium heat. When the butter is melted, sauté the garlic, lemon zest and crushed red peppers (if using) until fragrant. Then, whisk in the lemon juice and pecorino romano cheese until it is smooth.
Bring it all together. Return the pasta to the pot, stirring until it is well coated in sauce, adding a splash or two of pasta water to thicken the sauce. Garnished with additional lemon zest and some grated or shave Italian cheese before serving.
More bucatini pasta recipes you will love
Other lemon pasta recipes you should try
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Buttery Lemon Pasta
Ingredients
- 16 ounces bucatini
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 lemons (zested and juiced)
- 2 tablespoon pecorino romano cheese
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions to al denté. Reserve ½ cup pasta water, drain and set aside.
- Melt butter, add garlic, lemon zest and crushed red pepper flakes (if using).
- Whisk in lemon juice and pecorino romano cheese.
- Add pasta water if needed and return pasta to pot.
Nutrition
Saw this come across my feed on a Reel and I knew I had lemons that were getting very sad. I quartered the recipe to make a serving for me and one of my kids and we loved it!