Lemon Ricotta Pasta

6 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Lemon Ricotta Pasta is an easy weeknight dinner of tender pasta tossed in a creamy lemon ricotta sauce with Parmesan cheese and fresh lemon!

Just as simple and delicious as Creamy Lemon Baked Pasta, this one pot Pasta Recipe is sure to be a family favorite. Easy enough for a quick weeknight dinner and fancy enough to be an Easter side dish!

Lemon Ricotta Pasta on serving plate

If you are looking for an easy Italian Recipe that will fill you up without weighing you down, this is the pasta recipe for you. This light, lemony pasta dish is the perfect weeknight dinner, especially for busy nights! It’s made in less than 30 minutes with a handful of simple ingredients, most of which you probably already have on hand. Plus it’s a one pan pasta dish so there is minimal clean up!

Since Lemon Ricotta Pasta only uses a few ingredients, you want to use the good stuff for the best flavor. Use whole milk ricotta cheese, fresh lemon juice and lemon zest, and a good quality olive oil for the lemon ricotta sauce. Grate the Parmesan cheese yourself or grab freshly grated Parmesan from the deli, not the packaged shelf stable kind near the dried pasta. Those Parmesan crumbles won’t melt and they just don’t have the intense nutty delicious flavor that makes Parmesan cheese unique.

This simple Lemon Ricotta Pasta recipe can be made in one pan to save on clean-up. Keep drained pasta in the colander while you make the ricotta mixture in the pasta pot. Return pasta to the large pot with ricotta sauce. If the pasta gets sticky while you make the ricotta sauce, drizzle with a bit of olive oil or pasta water before adding to the sauce. You can also transfer the cooked spaghetti and creamy ricotta sauce in a baking dish, top with more cheese 

Lemon Ricotta Pasta lemon sauce in mixing bowl

Serve this Creamy Lemon Ricotta Pasta with a side of Roasted Vegetables and arugula salad for a light, healthy dinner. Lemon Ricotta Pasta can be a side dish to an Italian main course like Easy Chicken Parmesan or an elegant holiday main like Garlic Pork Roast. The smooth sauce on Lemon Ricotta Pasta is so delicious, you are going to want to double it and store it for other easy weeknight dinners. You can use this creamy ricotta sauce on chicken, vegetables, rice, or just refresh pasta leftovers to make them extra creamy!

How to Make

  • Boil Pasta: Cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain pasta but do not rinse. Return to the pot.
  • Ricotta Sauce: Combine the ricotta cheese, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and lemon zest in a medium bowl until creamy and smooth. Mix in the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, if using.
  • Finish: Toss the cooked pasta in the ricotta sauce and a ¼ cup of pasta water. Add a little more pasta water at a time until it reaches the creamy texture you like. Serve with basil, Parmesan cheese, and a drizzle of oil.

Italian Main Dishes to Serve with Pasta

Lemon Ricotta Pasta cheese mixture added to cooked pasta

FAQs for Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Why do you use pasta water?

The natural starch on the pasta releases into the water as the pasta cooks and is a chef’s secret ingredient to the best pasta sauces! The starchy pasta water makes an extra creamy sauce that perfectly wraps around every tender noodle.

Do I have to use fresh lemon?

Yes you definitely want to use fresh lemon juice and lemon zest in this recipe for the best flavor! This is a no-cook sauce so lemon extract or concentrated lemon juice won’t have time to cook down to taste better.

Will ricotta cheese melt in the sauce?

Because of the way ricotta cheese is made, it doesn’t really melt no matter how hot it gets. That’s why it’s perfect for dishes like lasagna or this pasta dish. Its holds it’s shape and stays creamy without getting watery when you toss it with the hot pasta.

Lemon Ricotta Pasta in cooking pot

Key Ingredients

  • Pasta: This recipe uses thin spaghetti because it gives a lot of surface for the sauce to cling to evenly, but really any pasta shape would taste delicious tossed in this rich, lemony creamy sauce. Make sure the pasta is cooked all the way because you won’t be cooking it any further in the sauce.
  • Pasta Water: You almost always want to reserve the bit of the starchy pasta water when making pan sauces. The pasta water not only thins out the sauce but it helps the sauce cling to the tender pasta so you get the perfect saucy bite every time.
  • Ricotta Cheese:  There are only a few ingredients in this pasta dish so using full fat ricotta cheese really makes a difference in taste and consistency. Whole milk ricotta cheese is going to give this creamy sauce the best silky smooth texture.
  • Olive Oil: Since this is a no-cook sauce, using a good quality extra virgin olive oil is perfect because you don’t have to worry about high heat breaking down the flavor. Reserve a tablespoon olive oil to drizzle as a garnish when serving.
  • Parmesan Cheese: Fresh grated Parmesan cheese is always going to have much more flavor than the packaged shreds or crumbles. Plus it doesn’t have any anti-caking agents so it will melt beautifully in the sauce.
  • Lemon: Fresh lemon juice and fresh lemon zest add so much flavor that you’d never get with bottled lemon juice or lemon extract. A large lemon should add plenty of zesty, bright lemon flavor to the ricotta sauce.
  • Red Chili Flakes: This is an optional ingredient but a pinch of red chili flakes adds the perfect amount of heat to balance out the rich and creamy lemon ricotta sauce. If you want a similar flavor but no heat, try paprika instead.
  • Basil: Lemon and fresh basil taste amazing together and the bright herb really brings out the delicious flavors in this dish. Make fresh basil ribbons by rolling the whole basil leaves and then cutting the rolls in very thin slices.

Can Lemon Ricotta Pasta be made ahead of time?

Lemon Ricotta Pasta is a great potluck dish because you can make it ahead of time in a casserole dish and just warm it in the oven to serve. Double the recipe and store one pan of Lemon Ricotta Pasta in the freezer for an easy weeknight dinner meal prep. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until hot. 

Variations

  • Meat:  Sliced Grilled Chicken Breasts, leftover Roast Chicken, or browned Italian sausage are easy, delicious meat to add to this pasta recipe.
  • Pasta: Instead of thin spaghetti, you can use other pasta you have on hand like penne, linguine, gemelli, or a gluten-free pasta you like. Follow the package directions to cook pasta to al dente. 
  • Veggies: Toss the pasta and ricotta sauce with sautéed mushrooms, cooked spinach, or fresh arugula. For more flavor, add Roasted Garlic Butter Mushrooms to this pasta dish.
  • Spices: For more flavor, add fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary to the ricotta sauce. For garlic lovers, brown minced garlic in the extra virgin olive oil before adding it to the ricotta mixture. 
Lemon Ricotta Pasta on serving plate

Baked Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Easily make this a baked pasta dish. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta to just under al dente, drain, and retain pasta water. In a large mixing bowl, prepare ricotta mixture using ? cup pasta water. Toss pasta in sauce and coat completely. Pour pasta into a 9×13 casserole dish and bake for 15-20 minutes.

More Easy Italian Pasta Recipes

How to Store

  • Serve: This creamy pasta dish can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 hours before you need to store it.
  • Store: Keep Lemon Ricotta Pasta in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. It’s best to reheat in the oven or low heat on the stove, adding splash of cream or tablespoon olive oil if its too dry.
  • Freeze: To freeze, cool pasta completely and place it in a sealed container. Freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat thawed pasta (overnight in the fridge) on the stovetop over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for best consistency.

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Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Lemon Ricotta Pasta is an easy weeknight dinner of tender pasta tossed in a creamy lemon ricotta sauce with Parmesan cheese and fresh lemon!
Yield 6 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound thin spaghetti
  • 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • Zest and juice from 1 lemon
  • Kosher salt
  • coarse ground black pepper
  • Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
  • Freshly sliced basil , for serving

Instructions

  • In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package directions.
  • Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain. Return pasta to pot.
  • In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, oil, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and zest.
  • Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
  • Add ricotta mixture and ¼ cup reserved pasta water to pasta and toss. Add more reserved pasta water if sauce is too thick.
  • Serve with basil, more parmesan cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Nutrition

Calories: 546kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 173mg | Potassium: 230mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 248IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 200mg | Iron: 1mg
Keyword: Lemon Ricotta Pasta
Lemon Ricotta Pasta collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

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Comments

  1. So fresh and delicious! I made this with grilled chicken and asparagus and it came together so easily. It is so lemony and bright and very easy to make. Definitely one to keep in the rotation for when I need a quick weeknight meal.