Lemon Pesto Pasta
Lemon Pesto Pasta, a simple pasta recipe with fresh pesto sauce, lemon zest, and lemon juice that’s great served warm or cold. An herby pasta with a citrus kick!
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Love pesto pasta? Try it with lemons! This easy lemon basil pesto pasta recipe can be made with homemade or store-bought pesto sauce and is great to make ahead and have for leftovers.
👉 Ready to learn how to make pasta with lemon pesto? Let’s do it!
🍋 Ingredients
- Pesto ingredients: you can purchase premade pesto, or make your own with basil, nuts or seeds, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese (or vegan alternative), salt, and pepper
- Lemons: fresh lemon zest and juice add a tang of citrus to this pesto pasta
- Pasta: any type of pasta shape will do, I used bucatini in the photos for this recipe but penne, rotini, spaghetti, or other shapes also work well
- Herbs and spices: fresh basil for garnish, salt and pepper for seasoning, red pepper flakes (optional)
- Recommended tools: food processor, pot, pan, citrus zester, citrus juicer
🥣 How to make (step-by-step photos)
1️⃣ Step One: Prepare lemon pesto sauce
Toss cleaned and dried basil in a food processor with lemon zest and lemon juice. Next, add nuts (or seeds) and garlic cloves. Pulse until finely chopped, slowly drizzling in olive oil until the chopped ingredients are well coated in oil but still chunky.
Finish by adding in the cheese (or nutritional yeast), salt, and pepper. Give the pesto a taste and add more seasonings until it’s flavored to your liking.
2️⃣ Step Two: Boil pasta
Bring a large pot of water and a generous pinch of salt to a boil. Add desired pasta and cook to al dente (or semi-firm) according to package instructions. Typically this means 8-10 minutes, depending on the pasta shape you choose (thicker pasta shapes require more time).
When pasta is done, reserve ½ cup of pasta water and then drain pasta and set aside.
3️⃣ Step Three: Prepare pesto pasta
In a large pan over medium-low heat, add pesto to pan with a small amount of reserved pasta water and heat for 1 minute.
Add cooked pasta and toss to coat it in pesto. Remove from heat and plate, then serve!
❓ Recipe questions + quick tips
Yes, you can use store-bought pesto as a time-saving alternative to making your own for this Lemon Pesto Pasta recipe. You can zest and juice the lemon to add to a traditional pre-made pesto sauce.
Make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free pasta. I like chickpea pasta to add more protein for a more satiating pasta dish.
To make this recipe nut-free, use pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds in place of pine nuts. You can also use white beans or chickpeas for a nut- and seed-free pesto.
💡 Ideas for serving
- Serve warm as a main dish. Serve as a main dish with a side of vegetables or a side salad.
- Serve cold as a pasta salad. Chill this recipe after making and eat as a pasta salad (best with smaller pasta shapes like rotini, fusilli, or penne).
- Add fresh greens to make it a salad. Use this pasta as a topping for salads with fresh leafy greens and vegetables like tomatoes (again, best with smaller pasta shapes).
🧊 How to store and reheat
- Refrigerator storage: Store leftover pesto pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezer storage: Freezing not recommended.
- Reheat instructions: To reheat, cook for 5 minutes in a pan on the stove or 2 minutes in the microwave.
👉 More pesto pasta recipes
Want more pesto pasta recipes? Try penne pesto with cherry tomatoes, pasta with beet greens pesto, spring pea pesto pasta, or pasta with carrot top pesto.
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Lemon Pesto Pasta
Equipment
- 1 food processor
- 1 large pot
- 1 citrus zester
- 1 citrus juicer
Ingredients
For Lemon Pesto Pesto Sauce
- 2 cups fresh basil
- 2 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ⅓ cup pine nuts or pumpkin seeds if nut-free
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast if vegan
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
For Pasta
- 16 ounces pasta (rotini, fusilli, penne)
- 1 tablespoon salt for pasta water
Instructions
- Prepare lemon pesto sauce: Toss cleaned and dried basil in a food processor with lemon zest and lemon juice. Next, add nuts (or seeds) and garlic cloves. Pulse until finely chopped, slowly drizzling in olive oil until the chopped ingredients are well coated in oil but still chunky. Finish by adding in the cheese (or nutritional yeast), salt, and pepper. Give the pesto a taste and add more seasonings until it's flavored to your liking.2 cups fresh basil, 2 tablespoon lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/3 cup pine nuts, 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- Boil pasta: Bring a large pot of water and a generous pinch of salt to a boil. Add desired pasta and cook to al dente (or semi-firm) according to package instructions. Typically this means 8-10 minutes, depending on the pasta shape you choose (thicker pasta shapes require more time). When pasta is done, reserve ½ cup of pasta water and then drain pasta and set aside.16 ounces pasta, 1 tablespoon salt
- Prepare pesto pasta: In a large pan over medium-low heat, add pesto to pan with a small amount of reserved pasta water and heat for 1 minute. Add cooked pasta and toss to coat it in pesto. Remove from heat and plate, then serve.