One Pot Pasta with Ricotta and Lemon is an easy and tasty weeknight dish! Serve it as the main course or alongside a protein such as chicken or shrimp.
Lately, I have an obsession with ricotta. It's a cheese I ate often as I child, but I think I forgot about it along the way.
After creating my Whipped Ricotta Crostini recipe, I knew I had to share another recipe featuring the cheese.
This pasta will not disappoint! It is bright, fresh and delicious!
Table of Contents
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Why you'll love One Pot Pasta with Ricotta and Lemon:
- Quick - This recipe comes together in under 20 minutes from start to finish.
- Minimal ingredients - You don't need many fancy ingredients to make a fresh and delicious pasta.
- High in protein - Each serving has about 18 grams of protein per serving! That's pretty impressive especially because this dish is vegetarian.
- Less dishes - This entire recipe is made in just one pot! I don't know about you, but that's music to my ears!
Ingredients overview:
- pasta - Casarecce, Gemelli or Cavatappi shapes are best.
- frozen peas - Because we always like a little something green.
- reserved pasta water - This helps everything stick together!
- extra virgin olive oil - Use good quality extra virgin olive oil for this recipe. It makes a difference!
- whole milk ricotta cheese - Do not use any lower fat versions of ricotta cheese!
- parmesan cheese - You can also use percorino romano cheese.
- lemon - We will be using the zest and juice for this recipe. No waste!
- garlic powder, salt and pepper - The perfect seasoning trio for this recipe!
How to make One Pot Pasta with Ricotta and Lemon?
A complete list of ingredients, amounts and instructions is located on the recipe card below.
- Bring a large pot filled with salty water to a boil.
- Add the pasta.
- Boil the pasta until there are 1-2 minutes left of cooking time. Since we're cooking the sauce with the pasta, this will ensure the pasta will not be overcooked.
- Toss in the frozen peas when the pasta has a couple more minutes left until it's ready.
- Drain the pasta and peas, but reserve ¾ cup of the starchy water. Set it aside.
- Toss the drained pasta and peas back into the pot.
- To the pot, add ½ cup of the reserved pasta water, olive oil, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic powder and salt and pepper.
- Once you have added all the ingredients to the pasta, place the pot on medium-low heat for a couple of minutes and stir the mixture. As you stir more and more, all of the ingredients will come together. This will create the pasta sauce. Add more reserved pasta water (if needed) until the consistency is to your liking.
- Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and fresh lemon zest!
Expert Tips
- Don’t overcook your pasta. Cook pasta until there are 1-2 minutes left of cooking time. Since we're cooking the sauce with the pasta, this will ensure the pasta will not be overcooked.
- Use whole milk ricotta. Lower fat versions will be too watery for this recipe.
- Try to use good quality whole milk ricotta for a creamier texture. Some generic supermarket brands aren’t as luscious.
Frequently asked questions:
Can I make ricotta pasta in advance?
No, I don’t advise preparing this recipe in advance. This dish is best served immediately. If you store leftovers in the fridge, the pasta will dry out over time. I recommend adding a little water, olive oil and parmesan cheese when reheating the pasta.
Can I make this pasta gluten free?
Yes, just use your favorite gluten free pasta. Always check the ingredients you're using to be sure they are compliant with whatever diet you need to stick to.
One Pot Pasta with Ricotta and Lemon
One Pot Pasta with Ricotta and Lemon is an easy and tasty weeknight dish! Serve it as the main course or alongside a protein such as chicken or shrimp.
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta (Casarecce, Gemelli or Cavatappi shapes are best)
- ¾ cup frozen peas
- ½ - ¾ cup reserved pasta water
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oilÂ
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- ½ cup parmesan or percorino romano cheese
- juice of one lemon
- zest of one lemon
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot filled with salty water to a boil. Add the pasta. Boil the pasta until there are 1-2 minutes left of cooking time. Since we're cooking the sauce with the pasta, this will ensure the pasta will not be overcooked.
- Toss in the frozen peas when the pasta has a couple more minutes left until it's ready.
- Drain the pasta and peas, but reserve ¾ cup of the starchy water. Set it aside.
- Toss the drained pasta and peas back into the pot.
- To the pot, add ½ cup of the reserved pasta water, olive oil, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic powder and salt and pepper.
- Once you have added all the ingredients to the pasta, place the pot on medium-low heat for a couple of minutes and stir the mixture. As you stir more and more, all of the ingredients will come together. This will create the pasta sauce. Add more reserved pasta water (if needed) until the consistency is to your liking.
- Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and fresh lemon zest!
Nutrition Facts
One Pot Pasta with Ricotta and Lemon
Amount Per Serving
Calories 444
Calories from Fat 126
% Daily Value*
Fat 14g22%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 28mg9%
Sodium 187mg8%
Potassium 275mg8%
Carbohydrates 62g21%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 18g36%
Vitamin A 395IU8%
Vitamin C 7mg8%
Calcium 180mg18%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This nutrition information is an estimate and should not be taken as fact. The owner of this website is not liable for this estimation.
Tried this recipe?Tell me how it was!
Joann
This pasta dish is my new favorite summer recipe!! So easy and yummy.
So happy to hear that!!
Katherine DeMonico
M family loves this! And this is a perfect spring pasta recipe.
Love to hear that! 🙂
Richie
We had this pasta dish tonight and it was amazing! The pasta, ricotta, lemon and the peas make this my favorite dish. If you try it you will love it!
Yay! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and rating. 🙂