• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sweet Ordeal

Food Blog

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Main Meal
    • Side Dishes
    • Desserts
    • Ingredients
      • Beef
      • Bread
      • Chicken
      • Pork
      • Turkey
      • Seafood
    • Cakes
    • Cupcakes
    • Italian
    • Mexican
  • Contact Us

Lemon Ricotta Pasta

January 4, 2021 by Sweet Ordeal Leave a Comment

1203 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
Jump to Recipe

Delicious pasta smothered in a rich lemon ricotta sauce. Flavors of garlic, spinach, parmesan, and fresh parsley take this easy pasta dish to a scrumptious level. Lemon Ricotta Pasta goes great with chicken, fish, and pork as a side dish, but actually, it’s so tasty, you might want to eat it as a stand-alone.

Bowl of pasta with wilted spinach, lemons.

Lemon Ricotta Pasta is an easy pasta dish to put together. Using your favorite pasta like linguine or spaghetti, stir in a delicious sauce of garlic, ricotta and parmesan cheeses, lemon juice and rind, plus wilted spinach. It’s easy and it tastes great.

Because lemon is such a complimentary flavor to so many other flavors, it’s the perfect side dish for some of my favorites like chicken, seafood, or pork loin.

A plate of linguine and sliced baked chicken.

Making Lemon Ricotta Pasta

First, choose your favorite pasta (for example: linguine, spaghetti, or maybe angel hair) and make it according to package directions until it’s al dente. You’re going to need some of the pasta water for the recipe, so be sure to salt the water for added flavor.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the garlic in the butter for about a minute or two, just don’t brown it.

Next, add in the lemon juice and rind, the parmesan and ricotta cheeses, and about 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. Just dip a measuring cup into the water while the pasta is still cooking.

For a little zing, add in a pinch (or more) of the crushed red peppers; it’s a great added flavor.

Stir this until the sauce looks smooth and creamy.

A pan of cooked linguine in a lemon cheese sauce.

What’s next?

When the pasta is done, go ahead and drain it. Play it safe, though, and take a little more pasta water (1/2 cup) just in case you want it. Pasta tends to absorb moisture, which thickens the sauce. Adding the water thins the sauce.

Next, add the drained pasta, and the spinach, to the skillet and stir to evenly coat.

Continue cooking over medium-low heat just until the spinach has wilted.

Lastly, top it all off with some freshly chopped parsley, then serve immediately while it’s good and hot. Enjoy!

Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Print
4.38 from 8 votes

Lemon Ricotta Pasta

An easy pasta side dish with spinach, garlic, and your favorite pasta smothered in a lemony ricotta cheese sauce.
Prep Time10 mins
Active Time30 mins
Total Time40 mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: baby spinach, lemon, pasta, quick and easy
Yield: 4
Calories: 379kcal
Author: SweetOrdeal.com

Materials

  • 8 oz. pasta (such as linguine, spaghetti, or angel hair)
  • 1 Tbsp. butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 lemon (juice and zest)
  • 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese (whole milk)
  • 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
  • pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 cups baby spinach
  • fresh parsley, chopped (optional topping)

Instructions

  • In large pot, cook your favorite pasta in salted water until al dente according to package directions.
  • Meanwhile, in another large pot or skillet, melt better. Add garlic and cook for about a minute on medium-low heat.
  • Add lemon juice and zest, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, reserved pasta water, and red pepper flakes. Stir until smooth.
  • Drain pasta. Add pasta and spinach to skillet, stir to coat. Simmer on low heat for 1 - 2 minutes until spinach is wilted. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 379kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 214mg | Potassium: 275mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1830IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 244mg | Iron: 1mg

Loving everything lemon?

Me, too, which is why I wanted to share some of these other lemony recipes.

  • No Bake Lemon Blueberry Dessert
  • Sugar Cookie Lemonade Crumble
  • Glazed Lemon Bread
  • Pomegranate Lemon Cream Pie
  • Lemon Oreo Cheesecake
  • Grilled Lemon Shrimp and Veggie Kabobs

In short, I hope you really love this recipe. Follow me on Pinterest and post a picture of your Lemon Ricotta Pasta. Below you can rate the recipe and leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers, so please feel free to reach out.

Lemon Ricotta PastaLemon Ricotta PastaCopyright © Sweet Ordeal. All content and images are copyright protected. Do not use any images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, make sure to re-write the recipe in your own words and only list ingredients making sure to link back to this post for the original recipe and directions.

Filed Under: All Recipes, Side Dishes, Uncategorized Tagged With: cheesy, lemon, pasta, spinach

You May Also Like

Homemade Lemon Curd
Easy Chicken Bruschetta Casserole
Banana Protein Smoothie
Previous Post: « Glazed Lemon Bread
Next Post: Meatballs and Gravy »
Subscribe
Notify of
Recipe Rating




Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

SWEET ORDEAL

Hello...and welcome. I love sharing a great recipe and I hope you find your next favorite right here. I'll be sharing recipes from appetizers to desserts, easy and moderate, some are even healthy and low-calorie. There's also a few dog treat recipes for any dog lovers out there.

Recent Posts

Bittersweet Chocolate Cheesecake

Chocolate Cheesecake Bites

Pesto Cheese Bites

Grilled Cheese Pesto Sandwich

Mango Peach Milkshake

Archives

Recent Comments

  • mike on Mango Peach Milkshake
  • Sweet Ordeal on Chocolate Milkshake
  • mike on Chocolate Milkshake
  • Sweet Ordeal on Shredded Beef Wet Burritos
  • Evelyn on Shredded Beef Wet Burritos

Categories

Footer

  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 sweetordeal.com. All rights reserved.

1203 shares
wpDiscuz