With a burst of citrus combined with beautiful strands of pasta, this lemon pesto pasta is a lemon lover’s dream. The lemon flavors of the pesto bring such a refreshing and delicious taste to your pasta dish, that you’ll be wishing it was lemon season all year-round!
Lemons are a wonderful ingredient in my kitchen. I use them for desserts, roasting vegetables, and slice wedges to enhance meat, seafood or pasta dishes, like my Italian chicken cutlets or my lemony ricotta pasta recipe. The citrus flavor makes a dish really stand out when you have guests, or just want a refreshing meal.
That’s why I’ve been really happy experimenting with lemon pesto, and creamy lemon pasta recipes! The lemon gives a nice twist to your pasta dishes, which makes them fresh, appetizing, and bright, and just perfect for those beautiful summer evenings with friends or family!
The ingredients of this recipe harmonize beautifully – the lemon rinds and lemon juice, provide a zesty flavor, and the olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, garlic, and salt all blend with the pasta to provide perfect amounts of richness, saltiness, and texture to make this dish sing!
The best part is it so easy to put together, you’ll have extra time to enjoy a glass of wine, or a limoncello spritz, if you’re carrying on with the lemon theme!
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Why you Should Make Lemon Pesto Pasta
- It has tons of lemony flavor – this recipe packs a citrus punch, which makes your pasta bold and zesty!
- It’s easy to make – this dish is easy to put together: blend ingredients, boil pasta, combine and done! This will give you plenty of extra time, while still enjoying a premium pasta experience.
- It’s different! – This pasta dish is a nice switch up from traditional pesto recipes, and perfect for hot summer nights.
Ingredients
- Lemon pesto – for amazing lemon flavor and texture. Made with lemon rinds, lemon juice, fresh basil, grated parmigiano, oliive oil and garlic.
- Pasta
- Salt (to salt the pasta water)
Pasta to Use
For this recipe, you could use long pasta cuts like spaghetti or linguine, but short pasta cuts would work well too, like penne, fusilli, trottole, radiatori - almost anything goes!
For a lemon pesto, I would use a packaged pasta made from semolina/water (which is most pasta in the grocery store), and not an egg noodle, as a dry packaged pasta will absorb the pesto and hold it much better.
How to make Lemon Pesto Pasta
Cook pasta until it's al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, add the lemon pesto to a cold pan or bowl. You want to avoid heating the pesto up or else it will oxidize and turn brown.
Add the pasta to the pesto, along with some pasta water.
Mix the pasta and the pesto together well until fully combined.
Plate and top with fresh basil, pine nuts and parmigiano reggiano if desired.
Storage Instructions
As most dishes, this recipe is best when consumed right after making it. However, if there are leftovers , store in an air-tight container and store in the fridge for up to three days. To reheat the pasta, heat olive oil in a pan, throw pasta in the pan, and warm through.
FAQs
This recipe works well with long cuts of pasta, like bucatini, spaghettini, and fettuccine. You could also use a short cut pasta like fusilli or radiatori!
Ensuring you use fresh basil helps to create a pesto that is not bitter, but adding citrus helps to cut down on bitterness. That's why you'll find this recipe is not bitter, as there is a ton of lemon flavor!
The name originates from the Italian word "pestare", which means to "crush" something, in this case, lemons and basil!
Top Tips
- If you would like a less intense lemon flavor, reduce the amount of lemon juice used.
- Try to avoid heating up the pesto - it will oxidize and turn brown. Add the pesto to a cold pan or bowl and add the cooked pasta in
- Add in a touch of pasta water to bind the pesto with your pasta for optimal flavor.
- If you make additional lemon pesto, save as a spread for bruschetta, or sandwiches, or use as a marinade for seafood.
More Italian Lemon recipes
- Creamy Lemon Pasta – Easy and Delicious!
- Lemony Ricotta Pasta with Zucchini and Arugula
- Fresh Peach Tart With Lemon Cream Filling
If you’ve tried making this Lemon Pesto Pasta, or any other recipe on the blog please let me know what you thought of it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, and TIKTOK to see more delicious food and what I’ve been up to.
Recipe
Lemon Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 batch lemon pesto
- 200 grams pasta spaghetti, fusilli, etc
- salt for the pasta water
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt, and drop the pasta in. Cook until it's al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, add the lemon pesto to a cold pan or bowl. You want to avoid heating the pesto up or else it will oxidize and turn brown.
- Add the pasta to the pesto, along with some pasta water, it will help loosen the pesto and create a creamy consistency.
- Mix the pasta and the pesto together well until fully combined.
- Plate and top with fresh basil, pine nuts and parmigiano reggiano if desired.
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