Lemon Mascarpone Pasta

5 from 6 votes

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Lemon mascarpone pasta! We LOVE lemon zest so this is a major ode to that. This pasta is so EASY, creamy, and so so delicious. This pasta dish comes together so quickly, and I love that we will mostly have everything on hand in my fridge and pantry at all times, the flavors are amazing. Use store-bought pasta, or make this with our Homemade Pasta.

Lemon Mascarpone Pasta

What ingredients do you need for lemony mascarpone pasta?

  • Spaghetti (or pasta of your choice!)
  • Lemon juice and zest
  • Mascarpone cheese (cream cheese, heavy cream, or creme fraiche can work too!)
  • Pasta water (liquid gold, hello!)
  • Unsalted butter and extra virgin olive oil
  • Freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • Black pepper
  • Kosher salt
Lemon Mascarpone Pasta

Steps To Make This Recipe

Make your pasta

Boil a large pot of water for your pasta. When boiling, add kosher salt and pasta, and cook until al dente, according to the package instructions on your pasta.

Prepare your lemon mascarpone sauce

While your pasta is boiling, heat a skillet or pan with olive oil. Bloom your pepper and add in your butter to melt. Next, on low, you’re going to add in your cheese mixture and melt throughout, adding pasta water as needed to create your sauce. Stir to combine.

Toss your pasta together and serve

Toss in your al dente pasta, and finish cooking with the sauce and adjusting with pasta water and more parmesan of your choice. Finish with mascarpone and toss until everything is creamy and melted together. Turn off the heat and finish off with fresh lemon juice.

Serve with pepper, more parmesan, lemon zest and juice.

Lemon Mascarpone Pasta

Tips, Tricks and Substitutions

What happens if my pasta is too watery?

Two things you can do here! 1) it will most likely dry up as you keep mixing and cooking, so be patient. However 2) if it’s extremely watery, add more parmesan.

What happens if my pasta is too thick and not as glossy as I’d like?

If your pasta is getting all stuck together, and is not glossy, adjust with more pasta water. ALWAYS save extra pasta water! Do not throw that baby away, it is liquid gold.

What can I use if I don’t have mascarpone?

Feel free to sub for creme fraiche, heavy cream, or cream cheese!

Can I add protein to this lemon pasta?

You can add any protein to this pasta dish, like chicken or shrimp. You can also add any additional vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, spinach, arugula or bell peppers to name a few!

Lemon Mascarpone Pasta

Some ideas & inspiration to serve with this dish

Looking for more pasta ideas?

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Watch How To Make This Recipe

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Lemon Mascarpone Pasta
5 from 6 votes

Lemon Mascarpone Pasta

Lemon mascarpone pasta! I LOVE lemon zest so this is a major ode to that.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

  • 2/3 cup shredded parmesan, plus more for serving
  • zest of 1 lemon, plus juice
  • 1 pound spaghetti, or pasta of choice, or homemade pasta
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 cup pasta water, adjust with more if needed; if watery add parmesan, if too thick, add pasta water
  • 2 tablespoons mascarpone

Instructions 

  • Boil a pot of water for your pasta. When boiling, add kosher salt and pasta, and cook until al dente, according to the package instructions on your pasta.
  • While your pasta is boiling, heat a skillet with olive oil. Bloom your pepper and add in your butter to melt. Next, on low, you're going to add in your cheese mixture and melt throughout, adding pasta water as needed to create your sauce.
  • Toss in your al dente pasta, and finish cooking with the sauce and adjusting with pasta water and more parmesan of your choice. Finish with mascarpone and toss until everything is creamy and melted together. Turn off the heat and finish off with fresh lemon juice.
  • Serve with pepper, more parmesan, lemon zest and juice.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 590kcal, Carbohydrates: 86g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 38mg, Sodium: 16mg, Potassium: 276mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 463IU, Calcium: 46mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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2 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Thanks a lot for this recipe. Absolutely delicious and so easy & quick to prepare. I added shrimps and fresh parsley, all loved it! It was gone before I could take photos 😉