Lemon Pepper Pasta
Ready in 15 minutes, this lemon pepper pasta has a delicate lemon flavor balanced perfectly with fresh cracked black pepper.
Why is lemon pepper pasta so delicious?
Obviously, we make pasta all the time around here, but this pasta was such a great addition to our dinner time line up. It’s lemon flavor is delicate and light but it is absolutely full of flavor. Ready in 15 minutes, lemon pepper pasta make a perfect “fancy” weeknight meal.
make it lemon pepper chicken pasta – just add some seared chicken breast slices, or try it with shrimp!
What you’ll need to make it
Kitchen tools
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- Coarse ground black pepper – regular pepper just won’t cut it here if you really want the bite of the pepper.
- Lemons – this recipe gets is zippy flavor from the fresh squeezed juice AND the zest, so skip the bottled lemon juice this time.
- Heavy cream – this is important to create the creaminess, if you substitute anything with less fat the sauce could curdle and break.
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 lemon pepper pasta recipe
You can start this recipe off by cooking your pasta of choice according to the package directions, to al dente. While the pasta is cooking you can make the sauce, they should be done right around the same time, depending on the pasta type.
how to make this creamy & peppery lemon butter sauce for pasta
Melt the butter, on medium heat, in a sauce pan and add the garlic. You will want to allow the garlic to simmer for about 30 seconds to a minute. Now you can add the lemon juice and the zest, heavy cream, pecorino cheese, parsley, salt and black pepper.
It really is best if you can use fresh cracked black pepper or coarse black pepper to achieve the most flavor. I also threw some lemon wedges into the sauce while it was simmering, to make it extra pretty.
You are going to want to lower the heat and simmer the lemon sauce until the pasta is cooked. Before you drain the pasta, remember to reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water. Toss the drained pasta with sauce, adding about 1-2 tbsp of pasta water at a time. I ended up adding about ¼ cup total.
Top with grated or shredded pecorino romano cheese, lemon wedges and more fresh cracked black pepper to taste. Serving with lemon wedges allows for adding some extra lemon zing to the dish, but if you really are a lemon lover, add a bit more lemon zest for garnish!
FAQs and tip on making lemon pepper pasta
You do no have to add the lemon zest to the recipe. If you do not have a zester, you could skip this step. This will make the lemon flavor more mild, so if you want the full lemon flavor I would add an additional tablespoon of lemon juice instead.
You can carefully use a knife to “peel” some of the yellow skin of the lemon. The trick here is to only remove the yellow layer, as the white layer of the skin will add bitter flavor.
Adding some starchy pasta water to your sauce will bind the sauce to the pasta, meaning it helps it stick to the pasta. This makes the pasta so much more flavorful, and really completes the dish!
More quick & easy pasta recipes you will love
- Roasted tomato pasta
- Buttery lemon pasta
- Easy sesame noodles
- One pot pasta puttanesca
- The best pasta with broccoli
Lemon Pepper Pasta
Ready in 15 minutes, this lemon pepper pasta has a delicate lemon flavor balanced perfectly with fresh cracked black pepper.
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lightly dried, fresh chopped parsley
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup or more of pasta water
- 2 heaping tablespoons pecorino cheese
Instructions
- Boil large stock pot of water, salt the water, and boil pasta according to package directions to al dente.
- Melt butter in small saucepan.
- Add minced garlic and sautée for about 30 seconds.
- Add lemon juice and zest, heavy cream, parsley, and black pepper.
- Sautée for another minute or two and reduce heat to simmer until pasta is ready.
- Drain pasta, reserving about ½ cup of pasta water.
- Add lemon pepper sauce to pasta and toss to coat
- Optional: Add pasta water 1 tbsp at time until you reach desired consistency of sauce.
- Garnish with grated pecorino romano cheese, ledmon and fresh herbs.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 283
- Sugar: 1.8 g
- Sodium: 252.9 mg
- Fat: 7.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 43.4 g
- Fiber: 1.9 g
- Protein: 9.9 g
- Cholesterol: 20.7 mg
