Here’s a quickie recipe for those nights when you just need something fast and delicious. This Lemon Ricotta Pasta is super fast, light, and fresh, which makes it perfect for an easy weeknight dinner during the summer. The bright lemon flavor perfectly compliments the light and creamy ricotta, and the little pops of sweetness from the peas make every bite a little more interesting. Simple, fresh, and easy.
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Do I Have to Use Fresh Lemon?
This is one of those recipes where you really do want to use a fresh lemon instead of bottled juice. The zest from the lemon adds a ton of bright, summery lemon flavor to the pasta without making the sauce too sour. We add just a little of the juice to balance the creaminess of the ricotta, but the zest is where you’re getting all that gorgeous sunny lemon flavor!
Not All Ricotta is Created Equal
I find there is quite a bit of variation in the quality of ricotta from brand to brand. Some are smooth, mild, and sweet like fresh milk, while others are bland and grainy. My preferred brand is Galbani, but they didn’t have any at the store when I went, so I got the generic Kroger brand. It was definitely a bit grainy, but the pasta was still quite delicious despite that!
Also, make sure to get whole milk ricotta. Low-fat ricotta just doesn’t hit the same in this recipe.
What Else Can I Add?
This simple pasta is a great jumping-off point for making a more elaborate pasta, if that’s what you’re in the mood for. Try adding some sliced chicken breast, fresh basil, or fresh spinach. Garlic butter shrimp would also go great with this pasta!
What to Serve with Lemon Ricotta Pasta
This pasta is so light and fresh that I suggest keeping any side dishes really simple, light, and fresh as well. I would go with a super simple side salad, or maybe some roasted asparagus and tomatoes.
Lemon Ricotta Pasta
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 lemon ($0.89)
- 8 oz. pasta* ($0.67)
- 1 cup frozen peas ($0.50)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.11)
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta ($1.60)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.36)
- 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste) ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (or to taste) ($0.02)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper (or to taste) ($0.02)
Instructions
- Zest and juice the lemon. You'll need about ½ tsp zest and 1 Tbsp lemon juice.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions (boil for 7-10 minutes, or until tender). Before draining, reserve about 1 cup of the starchy water from the pot.
- Place the frozen peas in the colander before draining the pasta so the pasta will thaw the peas as it drains.
- Add the butter and minced garlic to a large skillet and sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the drained pasta and peas, and about ½ cup of the starchy pasta cooking water to the skillet with the butter and garlic. Stir to combine, then turn off the heat.
- Add the ricotta, Parmesan, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon lemon zest to the skillet. Stir until everything is well combined, the residual heat from the skillet and pasta have warmed the ricotta, and the ricotta has formed a creamy sauce. Add more of the warm reserved pasta water if needed.
- Season the pasta with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. Serve warm.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Lemon Ricotta Pasta – Step By Step Photos
Zest and juice one lemon. You’ll need about ½ tsp of zest and 1 Tbsp juice.
Cook 8oz. pasta according to the package directions (boil for 7-10 minutes, or until tender). Reserve about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.
Add 1 cup of frozen peas to a colander, then pour the boiled pasta over top to thaw the peas as you drain the pasta.
Add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 clove garlic to a large skillet. Sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic becomes very fragrant.
Add the still-hot pasta and peas to the skillet along with about ½ cup of the hot reserved pasta water. Stir to combine, then turn off the heat.
Add 1 cup whole milk ricotta, ¼ cup grated Parmesan, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and ½ tsp lemon zest to the pasta. Stir until the ingredients are combined, the residual heat from the pasta and skillet have warmed the ricotta, and the ricotta has turned into a creamy sauce.
Add more of the reserved pasta water if the mixture is too thick or too dry. Season the pasta with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste.
Enjoy the lemon ricotta pasta while still warm!
Absolutely delicious! I love how easy and inexpensive this meal was. The lemon and peas made this dish taste so fresh.
Can you add the reserved pasta water to the ingredients list? I check the ingredient list twice for it and didn’t see it so I dumped my water.
This recipe is delicious as written! No need to change a thing!
I’m never one to suggest changes on a recipe site, especially not this one, because the recipes are so great!
But, hear me out…if you do want to change it up…add bacon and sautéd onions. I basically made it exactly like the recipe calls for, but I sautéed onions and bacon until crispy in a pan while my pasta cooked. Instead of butter, I used the bacon fat to sauté my garlic. It was so tasty and still very easy.
Love how simple this technique is for getting a creamy pasta sauce. I think next time I make this, I might dissolve a little veggie bouillon in the hot pasta water to add some depth of flavor. Even half a tsp should make a pretty big difference.
Sorry posting again because I forgot the stars!
This was so good! I accidentally forgot the garlic but it was still really yummy. For those who have grainy/store brand ricotta…whip it in the food processor and be amazed! I almost bought the fancy ricotta that was $9 but it was just too much so I went with store brand even tho I knew it was grainy. I’d heard that you could whip it to improve texture and it does work! It was very smooth and creamy. Since I had dirtied up the food processor already I mixed up the rest of the sauce ingredients in there too. I was worried the sauce would become grainy again once I mixed it in the pasta but it stayed nice and smooth.
Thanks for this–my only minor quibble with this recipe was the texture of the ricotta and next time I’ll definitely try whipping it in the blender.
I had some sliced mushrooms I needed to use up so I sauteed them with the garlic, and it added a nice deepness of flavor (I loooooove sauteed mushrooms)
Excellent! I added grape tomatoes, more lemon and extra chili flakes and paired it with a nice lager for a delicious dinner
It was ok. I was the only one that liked it out of five people. It’s kind of bland and the ricotta had a grainy feel, but maybe that can be fixed by adding more pasta water. I made the garlic shrimp to go with it and it was good.
Anyone know if whipping the ricotta first would help create a smooth texture in the finished sauce? (Or would it re-grainify once heated?)
I think you should try making ricotta. It’s only a 2 ingredient recipe!
I used frozen spinach and sautéed some shrimp in olive oil and garlic and put it on top of the pasta. Was absolutely excellent! Thank you for an easy delicious recipe,
This was so quick and easy to make! My sauce turned out a more watery than in Beth’s photos (maybe too much pasta water, oops) but I’m not too bothered by this. I added grape tomatoes, as well as fresh basil and olives as suggested. Chicken would have been nice too but I didn’t have any.
Tried this to use up some extra ricotta I had, and it was very easy to make, and very filling!
When I make it again, I am thinking of adding some chilli flakes to give it a little kick, and perhaps a sprinkling of shaved/grated parmesan to boost the flavours. It was delicious (and smelled amazing!), but maybe lacked the strong flavours that I like.
Those would be great additions Tamara!
This was delicious and so easy!! Perfect for a weeknight meal. I used part skim ricotta and .5 T of butter to cut down on the calories a bit and it was a winner.
I’m not really familiar with American measurements. Do you know a good place to look that up? I tried some, but they all told me to multiply oz with 28 to get to grams and I think that doesn’t add up for this recipe. Normally I would take 125g pasta per person – according to this method this recipe would only have 224g for 4 people..
Thanks in advance
Yep, if you Google “weight conversion” Google opens a conversion calculator for you, and there are several others available online, like this one.
Thanks so much for your quick reply! My other sources were right then, I just thought there would be more pasta :D
Love your page!