This simple Lemon Pasta makes for a light and flavorful meal. Spaghetti noodles are tossed with freshly squeezed lemon, spinach, and fresh herbs. It’s quick and easy, vegetarian, and simple to make vegan too!
There are times when you are about to make dinner when you open the fridge or pantry and empty shelves stare back at you.
What do you make on those nights?
For me, it’s almost always one of my favorite pasta recipes.
If you have some spaghetti (or really any kind of pasta) on hand, a bit of parmesan cheese and fresh lemons – dinner is only a few minutes away.
Perfect when you have hungry hoards moaning that they need to be fed. But that never happens, right?
This Lemon Spaghetti is so much better (and healthier!) than resorting to takeout.
In a matter of minutes, you can have a delicious meal on your plate with hardly any effort. And you guys know I love easy- it’s why I wrote a whole cookbook full of one-pot recipes!
While our shelves aren’t exactly empty, we are trying to use up the contents of our fridge and some of the things in the pantry before we move homes at the end of the week.
So lemon pasta was what we had for dinner last night. I have to say the lemon spaghetti was absolutely delicious and was a hit with my husband, who requested lemon spaghetti for dinner again tonight!
This recipe is also completely vegan if you just leave off the parmesan cheese. It’s perfectly delicious without it! (And if you love vegan cooking, be sure to grab my free vegan substitution cheat sheet here.)
You can add a bit of fresh cracked black pepper for added flavor too.
While you’re here, don’t forget to grab a free copy of my Top 15 Reader-Favorite Recipes! It’s loaded with delicious vegetarian-friendly recipes that are surefire crowd-pleasers.
Lemon Spaghetti Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese optional
- 1/2 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 3/4 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper plus more to taste
- 1 pound spaghetti dried
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest grated
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and season well with salt. Add the spaghetti and cook until tender.
- Drain the spaghetti, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
- Return the spaghetti to the pan and add the lemon sauce, lemon zest, parsley and spinach. Gradually add the reserved cooking liquid,1/4 of a cup at a time, to moisten.
- Season the pasta with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
