Ingredients You’ll Need
To make lemon ricotta spinach pasta, gather pasta, fresh spinach leaves (I use baby spinach), and kosher salt. You’ll also need whole milk ricotta cheese, shredded parmesan cheese, minced garlic, lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, salt, and black pepper for the ricotta lemon sauce. You may also choose to add red pepper flakes if desired.
How to Make Pasta With Ricotta Cheese
This ricotta lemon pasta recipe takes minimal effort and a handful of ingredients to prepare. Even beginner chefs can make this dish any night of the week.
How to Store
Say goodbye to wasted leftovers and complicated meal prep! With these simple storage tips, you won’t miss out on a single bite of your ricotta lemon pasta.
Make-Ahead: The dish comes together rather quickly but if you want you can make the ricotta mixture a day in advance and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. Store: To store your ricotta pasta, place the leftovers in an airtight container. The pasta will stay fresh for up to two days. Reheat: When reheating your pasta, it may help to add a little bit of water to the mixture. Then, warm the pasta in a large skillet over medium heat, adding more water as necessary. Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this dish, as the extreme cold will ruin the texture of your pasta.
Expert Tips
Elegant, tasty, and easy? Sounds too good to be true! I promise, though: This pasta recipe with ricotta cheese will come together in a cinch with these foolproof tips.
Add in cooked seasonal vegetables: Want to make this healthy ricotta pasta even more nutritious? For a summer-friendly twist, add blanched peas to the pasta water 1-2 minutes before the pasta is ready to drain. Or, top your comforting dish with pan sauteed asparagus or my Sauteed Mushroom and Asparagus for the perfect meal. Top it off with chicken: Transform your spinach ricotta lemon pasta into an easy dinner with one simple addition: protein! You’ll savor every bite of this recipe when you top it with Bone-In Chicken Breast or even leftover rotisserie chicken. Serve it as a side: This creamy ricotta pasta makes the ultimate side dish for countless mains, including my Air-Fried Drumsticks, Whole Roasted Chicken, and Baked Chicken Parmesan. You can even add this simple pasta recipe to your collection of side dishes for chicken parmesan for an easy weeknight fix. Enjoy it with a simple salad: If you are after a quick and filling meal, you can serve it with one of my Spring Salad Recipes such as Spring Mix Salad, Butter Lettuce Salad, or this delicious Chickpea Salad.
Use whole milk ricotta: If you want your pasta to come out creamy, flavorful, and rich, whole milk ricotta is the way to go. You can even make your own creamy Ricotta Cheese for the most delicious pasta dish without the extra trip to the grocery store. Season well: Ample seasoning is the key to making pasta with ricotta cheese. For maximum depth and flavor, be sure to taste this pasta dish as you go and season it well. Move fast: It’s important to move fast when making this lemon ricotta pasta recipe. When prepared correctly, the residual heat of the cooked pasta should warm the parmesan and ricotta, giving the dish its signature creaminess. However, if your ricotta sauce doesn’t reach the desired consistency, you can some cooking water to the pot, turn on the heat, and toss the mixture until ready.
It doesn’t hurt to have a little help when making ricotta cheese recipes with pasta. This handy guide will give you everything you need to make creamy lemon ricotta pasta like a pro.
Other Pasta Recipes You Might Like
It is no secret that creamy pasta recipes make easy weeknight dinners. If you liked this pasta with ricotta and lemon, I suspect you might enjoy the recipes I handpicked for you below.
Caprese Pasta Salad with Pesto Baked Ziti with Eggplant Roasted Eggplant Pasta Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce Green Spaghetti Sauce Warm Sesame Peanut Noodles with Chicken
