Easy Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Lemon Ricotta Pasta is creamy, delicious and easy to make. Simple ingredients come together in under 30 minutes for an easy weeknight dinner.

Jump to:

• 🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
• 🥘Ingredients and Substitutions
• 🔪Instructions
• 💭Recipe FAQs
• 👩🏻‍🍳Chef Tips
• 🥗Serving
• More Pasta Recipes
• 🍳Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe

• Great for busy nights. Lemon ricotta pasta is the best for nights when you don't have time to prep a bunch of ingredients and need to get dinner on the table for your family fast!
• Simple ingredients. The ingredients in this recipe are super simple, but full of flavor. It's a great pasta dish for adults and kids. It also makes a perfect dish to serve at a dinner party.
• Light and fresh. This creamy pasta is full of fresh ingredients and is the perfect comforting pasta dish for warmer weather.

🥘Ingredients and Substitutions

• Pasta- I love pappardelle with this sauce, but you can also use fettuccine, linguine or a shorter pasta like rigatoni. Essentially any shape of pasta should work with this sauce!
• Asparagus- you can omit the asparagus if you want or substitute another veggie, such as spinach or arugula.
• Lemon juice and lemon zest- you'll want 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of zest. Both will add some brightness to the pasta.
• Ricotta cheese- whole milk ricotta is best here as it provides a richer taste and is creamier.
• Parmesan cheese- use grated parmesan over shredded as this will help with the creaminess of the sauce. I prefer to grate my own at home.

See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.

🔪Instructions

1. Begin by cooking the pasta to al dente, according to the directions on the package. Make sure you reserve some of the pasta water after cooking to use for the sauce.
2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the asparagus for about 5 minutes.
3. Next, add in the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Season with salt, lemon zest and lemon juice.
4. Stir in the ricotta cheese, black pepper and parmesan cheese. Pour in the reserved pasta water, about ¼ cup at a time if the sauce appears to thick and clumpy.
5. Turn off the heat and mix the pasta with the ricotta sauce.

💭Recipe FAQs

👩🏻‍🍳Chef Tips

• The lemon ricotta pasta is best when served immediately after cooking. You can eat it the next day as leftovers, but just be aware that the sauce will not be as creamy after sitting in the fridge.
• Don't forget to save some pasta water. The sauce may be slightly clumpy or too thick and the best way to thin it out is with reserved pasta water.
• Customize the pasta by adding cherry tomatoes or spinach in addition to or in place of the asparagus.
• Don't overcook the pasta. Make sure to cook your pasta al dente. The pasta will cook a little bit more when added to the sauce.

🥗Serving

Serve the pasta hot and top with fresh cracked black pepper and red pepper flakes. It pairs great with a green salad and crusty bread. If you would like to add a protein to the meal, grilled shrimp or grilled chicken breasts will both pair great with this pasta.

More Pasta Recipes

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🍳Recipe