Lemon Parsley Pasta

Lemon Parsley Pasta is bright, garlicky, and full of rich Parmesan flavor. It makes a great side dish or bed for chicken or fish.

Recipe by Adapted from Greg in San Diego on March 16, 2021

Prep time: PT10M

Cook time: PT20M

Total time: PT30M

Rating

4.62 stars (13 reviews)

Keywords

Easy Side Dish, lemon pasta

Ingredients

8 oz. thin spaghetti ($0.50)
1 fresh lemon ($0.89)
2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley ($0.70)
1/8 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
2 Tbsp butter ($0.14)
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan ($0.22)
1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)

Cuisine

American

Steps

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and boil until tender (about 7-8 minutes). Drain the pasta in a colander.
While the pasta is cooking, zest the lemon (you'll need about 1 Tbsp). Chop the parsley and combine it with the Parmesan, lemon zest, and pepper in a bowl. Set the bowl aside.
While the pasta is draining, add the olive oil and minced garlic to the pot used to cook the pasta. Sauté the garlic in the oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until it becomes fragrant.
Remove the pot from the heat and add the drained pasta and butter to the pot with the garlic. Toss the pasta until the residual heat has melted the butter and the pasta is coated in garlic and butter.
Add the parsley Parmesan mixture to the pot and toss to coat again. Squeeze about 1 Tbsp of the lemon juice over the pasta and season with salt (about ¼ tsp). Toss to combine, then taste, and adjust the salt, pepper, or Parmesan to your liking. Serve warm.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 309.98 kcal
Carbohydrates: 44.45 g
Protein: 8.55 g
Fat: 10.85 g
Sodium: 276.35 mg

Reviews

Christina Williams on 2025-06-16 (5 stars):
Made this for my husband, adult son and myself last night. There were no leftovers. It was very delicious and filling. Basil instead of parsley would probably work well too.
Veronica on 2024-01-23 (5 stars):
Made this tonight and paired it with your spinach feta turkey (I chose chicken) meatballs we made a couple of nights ago to refill our freezer. It was the perfect pairing and both recipes we so easy to make! We’re trying to lower our food budget while having great meals and we are enjoying revisiting some of the recipes that made our family follow Beth in 2009. Highly recommend this combo. 🤩
Edith on 2023-11-17 (5 stars):
What can I say … Thank you Beth. I did it with garlic marinated chicken OMG! Soo good. I am doing our dinner every day using your recipes. I tried different sites but this always works for us. I love all your cooking I can’t choose a favourite but if I have a list this pasta is on the top top definitely. You were born to be a chef. Never disappoint!☺️
Maren on 2023-09-18 (5 stars):
I love this pasta dish. I make it as a side for chicken all the time. Great go-to and a crowd pleaser. Highly Recommend!!
Monica on 2023-08-28 (5 stars):
Delicious, nutritious, gorgeous, easy. Actually, I could go on and on :). A new favorite. Thank you.
Clair on 2023-06-13 (4 stars):
This was bland for me but to be fair, I used more than the 8 oz recommended. I don't know how to measure that out and we eat a lot, so I used half the box. I ended up adding a bit more of the seasonings and topped it off with some chicken bouillon. I served it with your Garlic Marinated Chicken recipe which had a ton of flavor so it worked out perfectly. I will be keeping both recipes. Thanks!
fuzzilla on 2022-07-27 (5 stars):
I don't get the comments saying this is bland (although maybe because of them, I added more parsley, lemon, and cheese). Absolutely amazing! Restaurant quality, probably the best thing I've ever made. I added grilled chicken to make it a meal,
Eva on 2022-02-01 (5 stars):
Finally got around to making this and it’s absolutely delicious!!! I used Angel Hair pasta and vegan parmesan. The flavors are so well blended with a pop of lemon. Thank you for this amazing recipe!