Easy Creamy Lemon Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil: Your Go-To Weeknight Recipe
Prepare to fall in love with this incredibly quick and undeniably delicious pasta dish: linguine enveloped in a simple, creamy lemon sauce, brightened by sweet fresh tomatoes and aromatic basil. It’s a flavor combination that truly sings, making it a staple in many kitchens.
For my family, this creamy lemon pasta with tomatoes and basil is on a constant rotation, especially as soon as the warmer months arrive and our backyard garden bursts with juicy tomatoes and fragrant basil. There’s something truly special about cooking with ingredients picked fresh from the vine, enhancing the already delightful flavors of this dish. Even the pickiest eaters among us (yes, the kids too!) happily devour every last strand.
The magic of this recipe lies in its perfect balance. The zesty, bright lemon cream sauce beautifully complements the burst of sweetness from the fresh tomatoes and the peppery notes of basil. It’s a harmonious blend that creates a light yet satisfying meal, ideal for a relaxed dinner or a speedy weeknight solution. This dish isn’t just food; it’s a celebration of fresh, simple flavors coming together to create something extraordinary.
Table of Contents
- Reasons to Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Lemon Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil
- Tips for Cooking Pasta
- What to Serve with This Pasta Dish
- Variations and Customizations
- Storage and Reheating
- Get the Recipe
- More Pasta Dishes to Try
Reasons to Love This Easy Pasta Recipe
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Minimal Ingredients, Maximum Flavor: With just 7 core ingredients, you can whip up an incredibly flavorful dinner in under 20 minutes. This makes it perfect for those busy weeknights when you want something homemade and delicious without a long list of groceries or complicated steps.
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Almost a One-Pot Wonder: Both the pasta and its delightful creamy lemon sauce are prepared in the same pot. This significantly reduces cleanup time, allowing you to spend less time scrubbing dishes and more time enjoying your meal and relaxing.
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Comforting Yet Light: This pasta strikes a perfect balance, offering the comforting warmth of a pasta dish with the refreshing lightness of fresh ingredients. The creamy texture provides richness, while the lemon and fresh produce keep it from feeling heavy, making it an ideal meal for any season.
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Perfect Year-Round Appeal: While it truly shines during the summer when tomatoes and basil are at their peak, this dish also serves as a wonderful pick-me-up during colder months. It brings a burst of bright, fresh flavor that can brighten even the dreariest winter day, easily adapting with store-bought ingredients.
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Family-Friendly and Versatile: This recipe is a proven crowd-pleaser, beloved by adults and children alike. Its simple, fresh flavors are universally appealing, and it can be easily customized to suit various preferences or dietary needs.
Essential Ingredients for Your Creamy Lemon Pasta
Gathering fresh, high-quality ingredients is key to making this lemon pasta truly exceptional. Here’s what you’ll need, along with a few tips:
- Fresh Cherry or Grape Tomatoes: These small, sweet tomatoes are perfect for bursting with flavor. Halving them allows their juices to mingle with the pasta and sauce. Look for plump, firm tomatoes with bright colors.
- Fresh Basil: The unmistakable aroma and peppery-sweet flavor of fresh basil are crucial here. Choose vibrant green leaves and chop them just before using to retain their freshness. Dried basil won’t give the same vibrant result.
- Linguine, Fettuccine, or Spaghetti: A long, flat pasta like linguine or fettuccine, or even a classic spaghetti, works wonderfully to cradle the creamy sauce. The texture of these noodles ensures every bite is coated in deliciousness.
- Lemons (for Zest and Fresh Juice): The star of the show! You’ll need both the zest for intense citrus aroma and the fresh juice for that bright, tangy kick. Always use fresh lemons – bottled juice won’t deliver the same vibrant taste.
- Olive Oil: A good quality extra virgin olive oil will add a subtle richness and help tie all the flavors together, especially for marinating the tomatoes and forming the base of the sauce.
- Heavy Cream: This provides the luxurious creaminess and smooth texture that makes the sauce so irresistible. Don’t substitute with lighter creams, as they may curdle under heat.
- Parmesan Cheese: Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese melts beautifully into the sauce, adding a salty, umami depth that complements the lemon perfectly. Grate it yourself for the best flavor and texture.
- Salt and Pepper: Essential seasonings to enhance and balance all the other ingredients. Taste and adjust as you go to achieve your preferred level of seasoning.
How to Make Lemon Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil: Step-by-Step Guide
This recipe is designed for ease and speed without compromising on flavor. Follow these simple steps to bring this delightful dish to your table:
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Marinate Tomatoes for Enhanced Flavor: Start by halving your cherry or grape tomatoes and thinly slicing the fresh basil. In a medium bowl, gently toss the tomatoes and basil with a tablespoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a dash of freshly ground black pepper. Setting them aside to marinate while you prepare the pasta and sauce allows the flavors to meld beautifully, softening the tomatoes slightly and infusing them with the basil’s aroma.
Fresh tomatoes and basil marinating in olive oil, salt, and pepper. -
Cook Your Pasta to Perfection: In a large skillet or wide pot (a deep skillet works perfectly here), add your linguine, fettuccine, or spaghetti. Cover the pasta with cold water, ensuring it just barely submerges the noodles. Add a generous pinch of salt to the water – this is your only chance to season the pasta itself! Bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the noodles from sticking. Simmer until the pasta is al dente, typically 7-9 minutes, or according to package directions. Before draining, remember to reserve about 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water; this will be crucial for achieving the perfect sauce consistency. Drain the cooked pasta in a colander.
Al dente pasta cooked and ready for the sauce. -
Whip Up the Zesty Lemon Sauce: While your pasta is cooking, take this time to prepare the remaining sauce ingredients. Zest your lemons, then juice them. Have your olive oil, heavy cream, salt, and pepper ready. Once the noodles are drained in the colander, quickly return the now-empty pot to the stove. Add the fresh lemon zest, lemon juice, the remaining olive oil, heavy cream, salt, and pepper to the pot. Bring this mixture to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a low simmer. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously, until the sauce begins to slightly thicken and coat the back of a spoon.
Returning cooked pasta to the pot with the simmering lemon cream sauce. - Combine and Serve: Return the drained pasta to the pot with the simmering lemon sauce. Add the freshly shredded Parmesan cheese. Toss everything together vigorously until the pasta is thoroughly coated in the creamy sauce. If the sauce appears too thick or sticky, gradually add a tablespoon or two of the reserved pasta water until it reaches a loose, smooth, and glossy consistency. Stir in about half of your marinated tomatoes with the pasta, ensuring they are well distributed. Then, artfully arrange the remaining marinated tomatoes on top for a beautiful presentation.
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Enjoy Immediately for Best Flavor: This creamy lemon pasta is best savored right away, when the flavors are brightest and the sauce is at its perfect consistency. Garnish with a little extra fresh basil or Parmesan if desired.
The final touch: adding vibrant marinated tomatoes to the finished pasta.
Expert Tips for Perfectly Cooked Pasta Every Time
Achieving perfectly cooked pasta is a simple art. These tips will help you get that ideal al dente texture and ensure your sauce adheres beautifully:
- Start Pasta in Cold Water: While unconventional for some, adding pasta to a pot of cold water (just enough to cover the noodles) and then bringing it to a boil actually uses less water and can save time. It allows the pasta to cook more evenly from the inside out, resulting in a more consistent texture. Give it a try – you might be surprised!
- Generously Salt the Water: This is arguably the most important step for flavorful pasta. The water should taste like the sea! A general rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon of salt for every 5-6 quarts of water, or for 1 pound of pasta. However, I often just add a very heavy pinch, trusting my instincts. Salting the water seasons the pasta from within, which cannot be truly rectified later.
- Stir Frequently as it Cooks: To prevent your pasta from clumping together or sticking to the bottom of the pan, stir it every minute or two, especially in the initial stages of cooking. This ensures even cooking and keeps the noodles separate and perfectly textured.
- Always Save Some Pasta Water: This starchy, salty water is liquid gold for your sauce. Before draining your pasta, reserve about 1/2 to 1 cup of this water. If your sauce is a little too thick once combined with the pasta, add a few tablespoons of the reserved water at a time. The starch in the water helps emulsify the sauce, making it silky smooth and ensuring it clings beautifully to the noodles.
What to Serve with This Light and Zesty Pasta Dish
This lemon pasta with tomatoes and basil is a complete meal on its own, but if you’re looking to round out your dinner with some perfect accompaniments, here are a few suggestions that complement its fresh flavors beautifully:
- The Best Caesar Salad: A crisp, garlicky Caesar salad provides a fantastic textural contrast and a savory counterpoint to the bright pasta. Its robust dressing and crunchy croutons are a classic pairing.
- Easy No-Knead Breadsticks: Perfect for soaking up any leftover sauce, these soft and chewy breadsticks are simple to make and always a hit. A little garlic butter on them wouldn’t hurt!
- Buttery Garlic Green Beans: For a simple green vegetable side, these tender green beans sautéed with butter and garlic offer a delicate crunch and a savory taste that won’t overpower the pasta.
- Grilled Chicken or Shrimp: While delightful as a vegetarian meal, adding some simply grilled lemon-herb chicken or quick pan-seared shrimp would transform this into a heartier dish, perfect for protein lovers.
- Crusty Artisan Bread: A simple loaf of crusty bread, perhaps with a little olive oil for dipping, is always a welcome addition to any pasta meal.
Variations and Customizations for Your Lemon Pasta
This recipe is wonderfully versatile and can be adapted to suit your preferences or what you have on hand. Here are some ideas to make it your own:
- Add Protein: For a more substantial meal, consider adding cooked chicken, grilled shrimp, pan-seared scallops, or even crumbled Italian sausage. Add cooked protein during the final mixing step.
- Extra Veggies: Enhance the vegetable content by stirring in sautéed spinach, asparagus tips, roasted bell peppers, or sun-dried tomatoes along with the fresh tomatoes.
- Spice It Up: A pinch of red pepper flakes added to the sauce will introduce a subtle heat that pairs beautifully with the lemon.
- Make it Vegan/Dairy-Free: Substitute heavy cream with a rich plant-based cream (like full-fat coconut milk for a subtle sweet note, or a nut-based cream). Nutritional yeast can replace Parmesan cheese for a cheesy flavor, or use a dairy-free Parmesan alternative.
- Herb Alternatives: While basil is iconic here, you could experiment with other fresh herbs like chopped parsley, chives, or a hint of fresh oregano for a different aromatic profile.
- Cheese Swaps: If you don’t have Parmesan, Pecorino Romano or even a good quality Grana Padano would work well.
Storing and Reheating Your Lemon Pasta Leftovers
While this pasta is truly best served fresh, leftovers can be stored and enjoyed the next day with a little care. The sauce might thicken slightly and the pasta might absorb more liquid upon cooling.
- Storage: Allow the pasta to cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
- Reheating: To reheat, place the pasta in a pot or skillet over medium-low heat. Add a tablespoon or two of water or a splash of milk or broth. Toss the pasta gently and continuously until it is warmed through and the sauce has loosened and smoothed out again. Avoid high heat, which can cause the sauce to separate or dry out. You can also microwave it in short bursts, stirring in between, adding a splash of liquid if needed.
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Lemon Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil
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Ingredients
- 1 dry pint cherry or grape tomatoes , halved (about 350 grams)
- ½ packed cup fresh basil , chopped (20 grams)
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil , divided (80 ml)
- 1 teaspoon salt , plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper , plus more to taste
- 1 lb linguine, spaghetti or fettuccine pasta (455 grams)
- 2 lemons , zest and juice
- ⅓ cup heavy cream (80 grams)
- 1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (100 grams)
Equipment
Instructions
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In a bowl, toss halved tomatoes and chopped basil with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the pasta and sauce.
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Add pasta to a large deep saucepan, cover with cold water, and add a generous pinch of salt. Set over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook pasta until noodles are al dente, about 7-9 minutes.
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Meanwhile, while pasta is boiling, get all of the sauce ingredients ready to go, zesting and juicing lemons, etc.
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When pasta is done, reserve ½ cup of pasta water and drain the noodles in a colander.
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Working quickly while noodles are in the colander, add the lemon juice and zest, olive oil, heavy cream, and salt and pepper to the now empty pasta pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Simmer for 1-2 minutes until slightly thickened, stirring often.
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Add the drained pasta back to the pot along with the parmesan cheese and stir until coated. Add enough pasta water to make a loose sauce. Adjust seasonings as needed.
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Stir in half of the marinated tomatoes to the pasta, and add rest of tomatoes to the top. Serve immediately.
Notes
To reheat pasta leftovers, add pasta to pot or skillet and place over medium low heat. Add a little water if needed, and toss pasta until warm and sauce is smooth.
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
More Delicious Pasta Dishes to Try
If you’re a pasta lover, you’re in good company! Here are a few more tempting pasta recipes that might just become your next family favorites:
We hope this detailed guide encourages you to try this delightful Creamy Lemon Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil. It’s a testament to how simple ingredients can create extraordinary flavors, perfect for any occasion, from a quick weeknight dinner to a leisurely weekend meal. Enjoy the vibrant tastes of fresh lemon, sweet tomatoes, and aromatic basil in every creamy, comforting bite!