Creamy Lemon Pasta Recipe

When it comes to comfort food, a delicious, creamy pasta dish is at the top of the list for many. There's nothing better than diving your fork into a cheesy bowl of noodles that's jam-packed with flavor. And while a baked ziti or even a lasagna are entirely delicious, this creamy lemon pasta just might become your new favorite.

"We don't often think of a creamy sauce and lemon being paired together," says recipe developer and food photographer Petar Marshall. "But in this case, it works beautifully."

This dish truly only requires five minutes of prep time and 10 minutes of cook time. Even better? You can pull it off with less than 10 easy-to-find ingredients. It's the perfect dish for when you need quick, simple comfort food or something impressive to put on the table for the family. You can enhance it even further by adding extra veggies or chicken, or simply enjoy it as-is. Either way, you're guaranteed to have creamy pasta with plenty of flavor in every bite.

To get started on making this creamy lemon pasta recipe, grab all of your ingredients ahead of time. Laying them all out on the counter will make the prep process so much simpler.

For this lemon pasta recipe, you'll need rotini noodles, butter, one shallot, three cloves of garlic, heavy cream, and two lemons. To dress up your finished dish, you'll need shredded Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

"You could garnish this dish with any other type of shredded cheese," says Marshall. "However, the Parmesan works well with the flavor from the lemon."

This recipe only requires a few steps. That's the beauty of it! First up, prepare the rotini noodles.

Place a large pot of salted water on the stovetop and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add in the rotini noodles and allow them to cook. "You want the noodles cooked just past al dente," says Marshall. "They should be fully cooked before adding them into the saucepan."

Once the noodles are cooked, drain the water in a strainer and set them aside.

The next step for this creamy lemon pasta is to make the sauce. According to Marshall, you can prepare your lemon cream sauce while the noodles are cooking or wait until they're done.

First, place a high-walled saucepan on the stovetop on medium heat. Add in the butter, and allow it to fully melt. Next, add in the minced garlic and the diced shallot and sauté it. Sauté the garlic and shallot until caramelized before moving on to the next step.

To finish the creamy lemon sauce, pour the heavy cream into the saucepan over top of the sautéed garlic and shallot. Next up, add in the lemon juice and lemon zest and stir the mixture to combine. Turn the stovetop down to low heat and allow the sauce to simmer for five minutes. "If you really love strong lemon flavor, you can certainly add additional lemon zest or lemon juice here," says Marshall.

Once the pasta is cooked and the lemon sauce has simmered for five minutes, it's time to combine the two. Stir the cooked rotini noodles into the lemon cream sauce in the pan. Once the pasta has been stirred to fully coat the noodles, allow it to cook on low for another two minutes before serving.