Pasta al Limone Recipe

By The Cooking World, Editorial Staff

January 16, 2026

A Simple Pasta al Limone Recipe for Any Night of the Week

This Pasta al Limone recipe is a bright, pantry-driven classic that celebrates lemon at its most vibrant, showcasing the effortless, one-pan cooking philosophy found in Easy Wins by Anna Jones.

Part of our We Cook Books series, it transforms a handful of everyday ingredients into a creamy, citrus-laced pasta that feels both comforting and quietly elegant.

It’s the kind of recipe that relies on technique rather than excess, where starchy pasta water, good olive oil, and sharp Parmesan come together in a simple bit of kitchen alchemy.

PREP TIME

10 minutes

COOK TIME

16 minutes

serves

Ingredients

400 g spaghetti or linguine
2 large unwaxed lemons
1 clove of garlic, peeled and bashed but kept whole
100 ml olive oil
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
50 g salted butter or vegan butter
40 g Parmesan or vegan Parmesan-style cheese, grated
15 g ½ a bunch of basil, Leaves picked and torn (optional)

Special Equipment

Instructions

Put 400g spaghetti or linguine into a large lidded saucepan. Grate in the zest of 2 large unwaxed lemons and add 1 clove of garlic, peeled and bashed but kept whole, 100 ml olive oil and 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt.
Add water and cook. Add 1 liter boiling water, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. As soon as it boils, remove the lid and simmer for 8 minutes, using a pair of tongs to turn the pasta in the thickening pasta water every 30 seconds or so as it cooks.
Add the lemon juice. Once the pasta has had 8 minutes, squeeze in the juice of one of the zested lemons and simmer for a final 2 minutes with the lid off.
Once almost all the water has evaporated, take the pan off the heat, stir in 50g salted butter or vegan butter and 20g grated Parmesan or vegan Parmesan-style cheese and leave to sit for a minute or two, so the pasta can absorb most of the remaining water and form a lemony sauce. Taste and add more salt, lemon juice and butter or olive oil as needed. Tangle into 4 bowls and finish with the rest of the Parmesan and ½ a bunch of torn basil leaves, if you like.