Garlic Capellini Pasta is a quick and easy Italian dinner of thin pasta tossed with Parmesan cheese, peas, and a creamy lemon garlic sauce.
Next time you need a quick and delicious Dinner Recipe, look no further. Pasta dishes like this are fast and easy, but always hit the spot. Try classic Spaghetti and Meatballs, Chicken Alfredo, and Bacon Carbonara pasta for more easy, classic pasta meals.
Sabrina’s Garlic Capellini Pasta Recipe
This simple pasta dish is a great weeknight meal when you want something delicious and family-friendly without the prep time. This cheesy pasta recipe will surely be a hit with the whole family. Even picky eaters can’t resist the incredible combination of pasta, creamy sauce, lemon, Parmesan, and garlic. It’s a simple and versatile dish you’ll return to repeatedly.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 pound capellini pasta
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese , shredded
- 1/2 cup frozen peas , thawed
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- parsley , for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the capellini pasta one minute shy of the time on the box, drain but do not rinse and set aside.
- Add butter to a large heavy skillet on medium high heat.
- Add the garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add in the heavy cream and lemon juice, stirring well.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Add in the cooked pasta, Parmesan cheese, thawed peas, and lemon zest.
- Garnish with additional Parmesan cheese and parsley.
Nutrition
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Table of Contents
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Large Pot or Pasta Pot: A pasta pot is a specialized cooking pot for boiling pasta. It typically features a large capacity, a straining lid, and sometimes a built-in pasta strainer. Choose a large pot of 6 to 8 quarts for an even cook.
- Colander: A colander is known as a pasta strainer.
- Tongs: Use tongs to grab the Capellini from the colander and put it into your sauce.
Can this be made ahead of time?
If you want to prep this recipe in advance, keeping the pasta and sauce separate is best. You can prepare the recipe a few days in advance, then keep the Capellini noodles and garlic sauce in two separate containers in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve the dinner recipe, add the sauce and pasta to a large pan. Stir the recipe together and reheat the dish over medium heat until the pasta is warm and the sauce is lightly bubbling.
What to Pair with Garlic Capellini Pasta
A simple garden salad with Italian Dressing Mix is an easy, homemade, zesty salad dressing mix with pantry seasonings like garlic salt, oregano, thyme, basil, and parsley.
You can serve Garlic Capellini Pasta on the side of a main course like Garlic Butter Salmon or Baked Rosemary Chicken. Creamy pasta can also be a main course with Garlic Bread and veggies on the side. To make it more filling, try slicing leftover chicken strips and adding them to the pan to simmer along with the pasta and sauce.
How to Store
- Serve: Don’t leave this creamy pasta recipe at room temperature for over 2 hours.
- Store: If you have leftover pasta, wait for the dish to cool completely. Then, transfer the sauce and noodles to a ziplock bag or another airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Unfortunately, the creamy sauce will separate if you freeze and thaw it, and frozen noodles don’t maintain their texture well. It’s better to serve this dish within a few days of making it than to try to keep it in the freezer.
Alternative Cooking Techniques
Instant Pot Garlic Capellini Pasta
- Place the Capellini pasta at the bottom of your instant pot.
- Then, cover the pasta with water. You can use broth instead of water for more flavorful pasta.
- Close the instant pot lid and set the vent to its sealed position.
- Pressure cook the noodles at high pressure for 5 minutes.
- When the instant pot beeps, quickly release the pressure. Then, stir and drain the pasta.
- Set the instant pot to saute mode, and add the butter and garlic.
- Using the saute setting, add the heavy cream and lemon juice and bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Then add the Parmesan, cooked pasta, peas, and lemon zest. Stir to combine, then serve the instant pot noodles warm.
Frequent Questions
These types of pasta are pretty similar. They’re both long, thin noodles. However, angel hair pasta is slightly thinner than capellini pasta.
Adding protein is an easy way to make this pasta recipe a more filling main course. Fortunately, the simple pasta sauce goes great with a variety of meat dishes. Grilled Chicken or seafood would pair beautifully with this dish. You could also use it as an opportunity to use up leftovers like Roast Chicken or Rotisserie Chicken.
Because Capellini is thin, it’s typically served with lighter toppings. The thin pasta is great for oil-based sauces and light vegetable or cheese toppings. This recipe uses a cream sauce that is still fairly light and not too heavy, so the thin noodles won’t fall apart.
Variations
- Seasonings: You can alter the flavor of this recipe according to your taste by introducing new herbs and spices. Add red pepper flakes, dried oregano, parsley, basil, lemon pepper, or an Italian seasoning blend to the butter mixture. Be careful not to go too heavy with the spices, or you can overwhelm the other unique flavors.
- Vegetables: Delicious vegetables can enhance this recipe’s flavor, texture, and color. At the same time you add the peas, try mixing in halved cherry tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, and bell peppers. If you prefer, you could substitute the fresh cherry tomatoes for sun-dried tomatoes.
- Cheese: Besides the parmesan cheese topping, you could sprinkle on mozzarella, gorgonzola, asiago, or provolone cheese.
- Types of Pasta: If you don’t have Capellini, you can make this recipe with other types of long and thin pasta. Regular spaghetti, angel hair pasta, or Fedelini are delicious pasta options that will work well for this recipe. You can even go with a thicker option like linguine.
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These photos were used in a previous version of this post
Love how quick this was and how tasty it turned out. The creamy lemon-garlic sauce made this feel a little special, even though it only took about 20 minutes. I added a bit of extra pepper and it became a new favorite for weeknight dinners.
Thanks Igor! Appreciated your feedback and thanks for the five star review!