This Lemon Pesto Pasta recipe is bright, flavorful, and cozy all at the same time. This super simple 4 ingredient weeknight dinner uses your favorite homemade pesto or packaged pesto, lemons, pasta, and pine nuts.
Love homemade pesto? Make this with one of my 7 Perfect Homemade Pestos including Classic Basil Pine Nut Pesto, Spinach Pesto, Almond Pesto, and even Sun Dried Tomato Pesto.
Lemon Pesto Pasta recipe
This Lemon Pesto Pasta recipe is a perfect weeknight meal. You can't go wrong with this 4-ingredient, 20-minute meal that is made of mainly pantry staples. You can make this recipe super easy using your favorite store-bought pesto or quickly make your own Homemade Pesto in a food processor.
This recipe is amped up from your basic Pesto Pasta by adding bright and flavorful lemon to the sauce. The rich basil pairs perfectly with your favorite pasta like spaghetti and then is elevated with pine nuts. If you are feeling fancy you can add some grated parmesan and pine nuts, or keep it vegan.
It elevates the dinner and brings out the gorgeous citrus flavors. Kids and adults will swoon over this crazy simple dinner and you'll be thrilled about how little effort it actually took to make it.
This recipe is inspired by the classic Italian dish called Spaghetti al Pesto di Limone which originated off the Amalfi Coast of Italy. The area is known for the fresh lemons and adding lemons to this classic pesto pasta.
Lemon Pesto Pasta - 4 Ingredient, 20 Minute Dinner! Share on X
Why You'll Love this Lemon Pesto Pasta recipe...
- This Lemon Pesto Pasta recipe is the ultimate EASY dinner to prepare that still feels fancy. The lemon elevates this dish from your regular pesto recipe.
- You can make this extra easy by using prepared pesto or amp up the flavors and make your own.
- Using packaged pesto, it's a great way to get classic summer flavors like basil year-round.
- You can customize it for your family's taste! It's easy to make this recipe vegan, and gluten-free with my notes below. You can also use this as a base to add your favorite protein or vegetables on top.
- Kids and adults will rave about it! My kids asked for seconds.
- 4 Ingredients, 20 minutes... what more do you need to love?
Ingredients:
Here's an overview of what you'll need to make this Lemon Pesto Pasta recipe, but keep scrolling for the full recipe amounts.
- Pasta: I used classic spaghetti when making my dish, but any type of pasta share will do. You can use angel hair or even shorter pasta like rotini, penne, or bucanini. I like to use this type of pasta that has some extra protein cooked into the noodles. After cooking the pasta, be sure to set aside about a cup of pasta water to help loosen the sauce.
- Pesto: You can either make your own basil pesto or use your favorite packaged pesto depending on the season and how much time you want to spend on the recipe. I have 7 Homemade Pesto recipes here that you can make with this pasta dish. It would be best with my Classic Basil Pine Nut Pesto, Almond Pesto, Cashew Pesto, Spinach Pesto, or Walnut Pesto, but any pesto combination will work. The basic 5 ingredients you'll need to make the pesto are fresh basil, garlic clove, extra virgin olive oil, pine nuts (or another nut,) and salt.
- Lemon: Bright lemon is the perfect addition to this pasta dish. It has a fabulous citrus flavor and really compliments the other ingredients. You can use whichever lemons you have. If you can find a Meyer lemon, they have the best flavors for this. Classicly this recipe uses Amalfi lemons, but they aren't readily found in grocery stores.
- Pine Nuts: I love adding pine nuts to my pasta to give this a fancy feel, but they can be pricy so this is an optional ingredient.
- Optional Garnish: If basil is in season, I love adding some fresh basil chiffonade to my pasta and as a garnish. If it's not in season, you don't have to have it. I also add some parmesan cheese to my pasta, but if you want or need to leave it vegan or dairy-free, just leave it off.
Instructions:
This is an overview of the instructions to make this Lemon Pesto Pasta recipe, but the full detailed printable recipe is below in the recipe card.
Step One: Prepare the Pesto
- If you aren't using prepared pesto, get out your fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts (or another nut,) and salt.
- Put the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Be careful not to over blend or you can make it bitter. Also, follow all my tips and exact steps to make your own pesto in my pesto guide here.
Step Two: Make the Lemon Pesto Pasta
- If you are using packaged pesto, skip to this step.
- In a large pot, cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Boil the pasta until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.
- While the pasta is cooking, cut the lemon in half. You'll use half for lemon juice. Cut the other half into wedges to garnish the dish.
- Turn the burner off. Add the cooked pasta back to the hot pot and add the pesto sauce. Toss until the strands of pasta are coated and well combined. Add a tablespoon or two of pasta water to loosen up the pesto, if desired.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the pine nuts and half of the juice from the lemon.
Variations
I love this Lemon Pesto Pasta recipe as written, but here are some fun variations.
- Make it Vegan: To make this a Vegan Lemon Pesto Pasta, leave off the parmesan cheese and be sure to choose a vegan pesto that is dairy-free and doesn't have parmesan in it.
- Make it Gluten-Free: Easily make this gluten-free by using your favorite gluten-free pasta.
- Make it Nut-Free: Have a nut allergy? Leave out the pine nuts and make sure your pesto is prepared without nuts. You can use sunflower seeds instead of nuts.
- Add a Protein: This base recipe is easily customizable to add your favorite protein including salmon, shrimp, mahi mahi, chicken breasts, steak, or pork.
- Add Vegetables: Amp up the meal by adding your favorite vegetables to the dish. Great options are artichokes, asparagus, tomatoes, or even roasted broccoli. You could even stir in fresh greens like spinach or kale.
- Make it Spicy: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the sauce.
- Make it More Lemony: Add the entire juiced lemon and some lemon zest.
FAQ
Storage & Leftovers
Store any leftovers of Lemon Pesto Pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat leftovers in a pan on the stove for 5 minutes or 2 minutes in the microwave. You can also eat this cold!
Freezing
I do not recommend freezing this dish.
Does lemon keep the pesto green?
Basil in pesto can naturally turn brown through oxidation but adding lemon to the pesto will keep it from turning brown and adds a big calorie-free flavor boost. Since the pH of lemon juice is more acidic than the basil, it keeps the browning process from happening.
Which pasta is better with pesto?
Pesto is one of those great sauces that tastes good with any pasta shape. Pesto does cling to certain pasta better though including linguine or spaghetti. It's also great with pasta that has twists, grooves, and curls like Gemelli, Fusilli, Farfalle, or Rotini. In terms of taste though, any pasta will work.
This Lemon Pesto Pasta recipe is the Best Easy Dinner!
This Lemon Pesto Pasta recipe is truly a winner. With its easy ingredients that are mostly pantry staples and simple preparation, you can't go wrong with adding this to your dinner menu. The bright citrus elevates this dinner and it's one that is so easy to love.
You can serve this warm right off the stove, or it even tastes great cooled as a cold pasta salad. It's great as an entire meal, or you can round out your menu with some of the recipes below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Serve it With:
- Roasted Broccoli
- Roasted Asparagus
- Lemon Pesto Salmon
- Blackened Mahi Mahi
- Blackened Salmon
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Tuscan Melon Salad
- Asparagus and Tomato Salad with Feta
Lemon Pesto Pasta - 4 Ingredient, 20 Minute Dinner! Share on X
More Pesto Pasta to Try:
- Salmon Pesto Pasta
- Creamy Gnocchi Pesto
- Pesto Tortellini Salad with Asparagus
- Healthy Pesto Pasta
- Pistachio Pesto Zoodles
- Pesto Quinoa with Shrimp
If you make this Lemon Pesto Pasta recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and a star rating ★ below. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook too!
Lemon Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.
- While the pasta is cooking, cut the lemon in half. You'll use half for lemon juice. Cut the other half into wedges to garnish the dish.
- Turn the burner off. Add the cooked pasta back to the hot pot and add the pesto. Add a tablespoon or two of pasta water to loosen up the pesto, if desired.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the pine nuts and half of the juice from the lemon.
Notes
Nutrition
Pin for later:
Cara says
You had me at four ingredients! This was the perfect way to freshen up some pesto from the freezer
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Adding lemon to the pesto pasta makes a big difference. I often make pesto pasta at home but the lemon flavor just takes it to a different level.