This lemon pasta is light and bright and it’s creamy without the cream! It’s loaded with lemon juice, lemon zest, Parmesan cheese and a generous ladle of starchy pasta water. The shrimp is lightly marinated with salt, white pepper and lemon zest. It’s a perfect meal for those busy weeknights.
30-Minute Lemon Pasta with Shrimp
Ingredients
Lemon Pasta
- 1 lb dried spaghetti
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 5 tbsp butter
- 1 cup Parmesan freshly grated
- 5 garlic cloves smashed
- zest of 4 lemons
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes optional
Lemon Shrimp Marinade
- 24 wild-caught jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined (I buy the cleaned shrimp from the market to save time on prep time)
- 3 tbsp olive oil for marinade
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- kosher salt
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tbsp olive oil for searing
Instructions
Lemon Pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.
- Set a large skillet over medium-low heat and melt the butter and oil for about 1-2 minutes.
- Once the butter has melted, add the garlic, red chili flakes, half of the zest and half of the lemon juice to the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove the garlic from the sauce. Then turn off the heat.
- Generously season the pot of boiling water with kosher salt. Cook the spaghetti al dente according to package instructions. Reserve 1.5 cups of pasta water. Drain the spaghetti and add it to the skillet with the lemon sauce.
- Turn the heat to medium for the skillet. Add 1 cup of the pasta water along with the remaining lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper. Then add the cooked spaghetti to the sauce.
- Toss the pasta vigorously to emulsify the sauce. Then add the grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Toss everything together again in the skillet. Add more pasta water if it needs more sauce.
- Plate the spaghetti and serve with additional grated parmesan cheese, lemon zest and basil. Serve immediately.
Lemon Shrimp
- In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, white pepper, lemon zest and 2 tbsp of lemon juice.
- Then toss the shrimp in the marinade and generously season with kosher salt.
- Set a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil to the skillet. Then add the shrimp and cook each side for about 2-3 minutes. TIP: If you overcrowd the pan with shrimp, it will steam the shrimp. Allow enough room between each shrimp so that they sear properly.
- During the last minute of cooking, add a splash of lemon juice to the pan. Then add the chopped parsley. Serve immediately with the lemon pasta. Enjoy!
