Simple, fresh, and tasty, you will love how easy but delicious this Lemon Ricotta Pasta is! This one pot pasta with ricotta and lemon is full of flavour and comes together in next to no time.
There's nothing easier than this pasta with ricotta and lemon, it only requires a few simple steps and it's perfect for any night of the week. Bright and flavourful, you'll definitely fall in love with this one pot pasta recipe.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This One Pot Pasta with Ricotta and Lemon
- It's beyond easy to make. Most of the "cooking" is boiling water to put the pasta in then you just stir everything together! How easy is that?
- Light, bright, and tangy, the coating on the pasta is so delightful.
- The variations you can taste on this is endless. Add some heat to make the pasta spicer, add some protein if you want it more hearty, etc.
Ingredients You'll Need
- pasta — I use tortiglioni pasta as I love the shape but you can use whatever pasta you have on hand.
- ricotta cheese — I use full fat ricotta. You can use a lower fat on but it's up to you.
- lemons — you will need to juice and zest the lemons. I use two small ones but one big one works as well. You can also add more to adjusut this to your liking.
- freshly grated parmesan cheese — I highly recommend grating your own cheese as there is a coating over pre-shredded cheese to prevent clumping. All you have to do is run the parmesan through a shredder attachment in a food processor to grate it quickly. It's more washing up but it's faster than a traditional cheese grater.
- garlic — minced or grated
- red pepper flakes
- Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper
- baby spinach — you can chop this if you'd like.
- reserved pasta water — the starch water helps make the lemon ricotta mixture into a creamier texture.
How To Make Lemon Ricotta Pasta
- Bring salted water to a boil and cook your pasta and cook until al-dente. Mine takes 6 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, before draining it and set aside. Do not rinse the pasta.
- To the same pot, add the ricotta cheese, lemon zest and juice, parmesan cheese, garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Mix until well combined.
- Add the pasta and ½ to ¾ cup of the reserved pasta water to the pot and mix to combine.
- With the pot on medium heat, add in the spinach and mix until the spinach has wilted. Usually the residual heat from the pasta will help cook the pasta but turning on the stove helps the spinach wilt faster.
Recipes Variations
- Add a few tablespoons of hot sauce or sriracha sauce to the ricotta mixture to make this pasta spicier.
- Add a protein to this to make it more hearty. Try grilled chicken, shrimp, salmon, or sliced steak. You can also make some tofu if you'd like to keep this meatless.
- Try using arugula or kale instead of spinach if you prefer.
Tips and Notes
- Don't rinse your pasta as the starchiness from the pasta will help thicken the lemon ricotta mixture.
- Always zest the lemon before juicing as its much more difficult to do it the other way around.
- Roll the lemon on the counter under your palm to loosen the juices of the lemon so you can get more juice from it.
How do I store leftover lemon ricotta pasta?
Transfer leftovers into an airtight container in the fridge.
How do I reheat this one pot pasta with ricotta and lemon?
You can enjoy this one pot pasta chilled or reheat the pasta in the microwave or stovetop. I prefer reheating this on the stovetop as I can add a splash of milk or broth to make the sauce a bit more creamy.
What kind of pot should I use?
I recommend using a heavy-bottomed large pot so you can toss your pasta with ease. In the photos, I use a Le Creuset Dutch Oven.
Recipe
Lemon Ricotta Pasta
Simple, fresh, and tasty, you will love how easy but delicious this Lemon Ricotta Pasta is! This one pot pasta with ricotta and lemon is full of flavour and comes together in next to no time.
Print
Pin
RateServings: 6 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 450 grams tortiglioni pasta
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 small lemons, juiced and zested
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced or grated
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- ¾ to 1 cup reserved pasta water
Instructions
- Bring salted water to a boil and cook your pasta and cook until al-dente. Mine takes 6 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, before draining it and set aside. Do not rinse the pasta.
- To the same pot, add the ricotta cheese, lemon zest and juice, parmesan cheese, garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Mix until well combined.
- Add the pasta and ½ to ¾ cup of the reserved pasta water to the pot and mix to combine.
- With the pot on medium heat, add in the spinach and mix until the spinach has wilted. Usually, the residual heat from the pasta will help cook the pasta but turning on the stove helps the spinach wilt faster.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 439kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 730mg | Potassium: 505mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3972IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 355mg | Iron: 3mg
More Recipes You May Like
- Stuffed Chicken Florentine
- Crispy Chicken Sandwich
- Mozzarella Chicken
- Chicken Sloppy Joes
- Dutch Oven Chicken
More places to find me: @onepotonlyrecipes on Instagram and One Pot Only on Pinterest.
Jeannie says
My go to meal for carbo loading cause I love pasta. This recipe is so easy and tasty.
nancy says
what a delicious and bright tasting pasta!
Jenn says
This recipe was alright. The ricotta and parmesan mostly stuck to the spinach and not the pasta which was not ideal
Carmy says
Sorry that was your experience! The parmesan and ricotta should be fully coating the pasta and not the spinach!
Margaret Lyn Grayson says
Hi, I just made this. I recommend cut way back on the red pepper flakes. Way too hot for me