Lemon Basil Pasta is my kind of comfort food! Linguine lightly coated in a creamy lemon sauce, tossed with fresh basil, and served up in less than 30 minutes is a quick and satisfying weeknight dinner.
lemon basil pasta brings summery flavors to the table, year round
Lemon and basil were meant to be together, they bring out the best in each other. Right now I have the luxury of lots of bushy basil in my backyard, but I know I can brighten the darkest days of winter with this sunny dish, lemons and basil are a supermarket staple, thank goodness! This meal is just as welcome on a late summer evening on the porch as it is by the fire in December (when lemons are at their peak!)
lemon basil pasta ingredients
It’s amazing what 6 ingredients and less than 30 minutes can get you for dinner
- pasta, of course. I used linguine, but almost went with bucatini. I think any strand pasta would work.
- the perfect amount of heavy cream makes for a satisfying dish without being too much. Distributed throughout a full pound of pasta, 1 cup of cream coats the noodles nicely but doesn’t make for a heavy, saucy experience.
- lemon, I use the zest and the juice for the best flavor payoff.
- a generous 3/4 cup of fresh basil leaves balances the flavor of the lemon without overwhelming it. If you love basil, though, feel free to use even more!
- salt ~ be sure to heavily salt that pasta water, too!
One of the easiest and most dramatic sauces you can make is a simple combination of lemon and cream. Fresh lemon juice blends with the cream without curdling (due to cream’s fat content) and even thickens it slightly, to make an instantly luxe sauce with a zingy flavor. Perfect for quick pasta nights! Any number of add-ins will vary it up. One of our favorite family meals is Farfalle with Salmon, Lemon, and Peas, and Creamy Lemon Asparagus Pasta is another.
what goes with lemon basil pasta
Pasta is one dish that really calls out for a salad, especially when there’s a creamy sauce involved. Fresh crisp greens balance out the starch in the pasta and make an elegant meal. I’d make my Chopped Italian Salad, or a simple Greek salad to go with this. If you want to double down on the creamy factor, you can’t go wrong with a classic Caesar salad.
lemon + herbs (they were meant to be)
- Creamy Lemon Dill Salmon
- Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Focaccia
- Ziti with Sausage, Lemon, and Sage
- Asiago Lemon Thyme Shortbread
- Whole Baked Trout with Herb Salsa
- Robertaโs Lemon Herb Fish (in parchment paper)
Lemon Basil Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried pasta (I used linguine)
- 8 ounces (1 cup) heavy cream
- zest of 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup finely shredded fresh basil leaves, plus more for topping
- black pepper and shredded Asiago or Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Lightly toss with a little bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking together, and set aside. Reserve a cup of the pasta water.
- While the pasta is cooking, add the cream to a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt, and stir to combine. Add the butter, cut into a few pieces, and stir it in until melted. (You may want to taste your cream sauce at this point and add a little more lemon juice if you'd like)
- Add the shredded basil leaves and stir them into the cream sauce.
- Add the cooked pasta to the saucepan and toss everything together to combine. Add a little of the reserved pasta water to loosen your sauce, if needed.
- Serve immediately topped with more shredded basil, or small basil leaves, pepper, and a generous shower of cheese.
I made this last night, it is an all time fav! Paired it with lemon pepper pork shoulder steak and some broccoli and felt like a queen eating it.
Love this ๐
Lemony pasta whatโs not to like?!?
Delicious with the basil.
the lemon made the cream curdle…unusable sauce, had to switch to another recipe
I’ve never had that happen Dane, the fat in cream prevents it. Is it possible you didn’t use heavy cream?
So easy, so good, use it for a sauce over grolled chicken. We carmelized scallops and served over the pasta
Perfect! Loved this recipe. Super easy! I used fresh basil from my garden. Amazing flavor!
OMGosh, I love basil,lemons and pasta!! This recipe is amazing,even though I added the cheese to my cream then add more to the top like I should have done LOl have told many friends about this recipe it is just that good, quick and easy too! Guess you could add shrimp to this to, but I just added my fork ??
My dad made this last night for dinner and it was SO good! I donโt know how much he tweaked it if at all, but overall it was awesome!
I made this with home made Whole Wheat Fettuccini and I Added shrimp it was Delish ๐
That sounds so good Dorene, I used to eat more whole grain pasta, I’ve got to get back to that!
A simply, and simple, delicious dish. I doubled the lemon because that’s who we are, and used long Fusili (which tends to be thinner than the small Fusili), the curls of which coated nicely with the sauce. Definitely filing this one in the “Tried and True” folder.
Thank you Victoria!