This delicious One-pot Ricotta Lemon Pasta brings rich and creamy ricotta cheese and bright lemon flavors to your table any night of the week. It's a viral recipe for good reason!
If weeknight dinners are leaving you bored and reaching for delivery, add this delicious creamy sauce to your rotation. It feeds a crowd, or works as easy meal prep. Leave it as a vegetarian wonder, or add in your favorite protein (Grilled Shrimp, anyone?)
And don't sleep on that crunchy walnut topping. I want to sprinkle it over everything in my kitchen - it's rich, herbaceous and spiked with bright lemon flavor.
The combination is unforgettable and the whole thing is prepped, cooked and ready to eat in under 20 minutes.
What you'll need to make this pasta recipe:
Before we get into the step by step directions, a few notes about the ingredients:
Orecchiette pasta: the recipe calls for this little ear-shaped pasta, which works well scooping up the cheesy sauce and peas. But grab the pasta shape of your choice, or whatever you have in the pantry.
Ricotta cheese: the recipe calls for whole milk ricotta cheese, which gives you the creamiest sauce. If using a lower fat variety, you may want to supplement the sauce with a few tablespoons of cream.
Walnuts: the optional, but delicious, nutty topping adds so much flavor and texture to the dish - it's what everyone will go home talking about. Substitute almonds or even panko crumbs for the crispy topping.
Full ingredient list and measurements included in the printable recipe card below.
Step by step instructions:
1. Toast walnuts
If making the walnut herb topping, begin by adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil and ½ cup of walnuts to a large skillet over medium heat. Toast for 3 minutes, until the walnuts smell like popcorn. Add 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest, 2 tablespoons of diced parsley, and a healthy pinch of salt and black pepper. Stir and transfer the nutty topping to a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Cook pasta al dente
Fill the same large skillet with water and return to a high heat burner. Salt the water generously and, once boiling, cook your pasta for 1-2 minutes less than package instructions.
3. Make ricotta mixture
While the pasta cooks, combine your lemon ricotta mixture in a bowl, including the fresh ricotta, lemon zest, parmesan, grated garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper and red chili flakes (if using).
When the pasta is just about al dente, use a measuring cup or ladle to reserve one cup of the pasta water. Then drain the pasta and set it aside.
4. Combine pasta and lemon ricotta mixture
Return the skillet to the heat along with ½ cup starchy water Add the warm pasta back into the pan, along with the ricotta mixture and frozen peas. Toss quickly to combine and allow the sauce to heat through and thicken - about 2 minutes.
Add the juice of a half of a lemon into the pasta and stir to combine. Taste the creamy lemon ricotta sauce and adjust seasoning. Add more of the reserved pasta cooking water, if needed, to thin the sauce.
5. Garnish and serve
Plate and serve pasta with sliced fresh lemons, lemon zest and dust with toasted walnut herb topping.
Looking for more easy pasta recipes?
- Shrimp Rasta Pasta Recipe
- Italian Orzo with Tomatoes, Basil and Goat Cheese
- Spicy Rigatoni Vodka (Carbone Copycat!)
FAQ's, Variations and Serving Suggestions:
Absolutely. I tested this recipe using spaghetti, linguini, and even lentil fusilli pasta. All worked beautifully. I prefer the short pasta shapes for this dish, so I recommend bow tie, rigatoni, penne or some version of a corkscrew. The orecchiette does such a beautiful job of scooping up the creamy ricotta sauce and bright green peas...it's hard to beat!
Fresh spinach (I recommend baby spinach), arugula or even asparagus would be delicious with this lemon and ricotta flavor combination.
While technically this dish could be a meal in one, I like serving it with a simple Tossed Salad and OF COURSE, Best Ever Garlic Bread. Because are you really even eating pasta if there's no garlic bread on the table?
To store, transfer leftover pasta to an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, add a few tablespoons of milk or water to a saucepan or skillet and heat creamy lemon ricotta pasta over medium to medium-high heat until just warmed through.
One Pot Lemon Ricotta Orecchiette Pasta
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
1 pound orecchiette pasta
12 ounces whole milk ricotta
½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
3 cloves of fresh garlic, grated
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
¾ cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Optional crunchy topping:
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, diced
Pinch of salt and black pepper
Instructions
- For the walnut herb topping, begin by adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil and ½ cup of walnuts in a large skillet over medium heat. Toast for 3 minutes, until the walnuts smell like popcorn. Remove from the heat and add lemon zest, diced fresh parsley and a healthy pinch of salt and black pepper. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- Fill the large skillet with water and return to a high heat burner. Salt the water generously and, once boiling, cook your pasta for 1-2 minutes less than package directions.
- While the pasta cooks, combine your lemon ricotta mixture in a bowl, including the fresh ricotta, lemon zest, parmesan, grated garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper and red pepper flakes (if using). When the pasta is just about al dente, use a measuring cup or ladle to reserve one cup of the salted pasta water. Then drain the pasta and set it aside.
- Return the skillet to the heat along with ½ cup pasta water Add the warm cooked pasta back into the pan, along with the lemon ricotta pasta sauce mixture. Toss quickly to combine and allow the sauce to heat through and thicken - about 2 minutes. Squeeze a half of a lemon juice into the pasta and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve with sliced fresh lemons, lemon zest and dust with toasted walnut herb topping.
Notes
Almost any shape of pasta will work in this recipe, although in testing, I preferred the short pasta shapes as they seemed to hold onto that creamy ricotta sauce a bit better.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Easy Recipes
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Italian
Leave a Reply