This artichoke pasta is creamy, buttery, and vibrant all in one bite, with no cream needed! With just a handful of simple ingredients, it’s ready to serve in 30 minutes with elevated gourmet flavor.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- A creamy, decadent sauce with no cream! Thanks to the reserved starchy pasta water, this classic Italian cooking technique gives this artichoke pasta a creamy finish.
- Bursting with bright and fresh flavors. Between the buttery artichokes and the vibrant lemon, these noodles have bold flavors with every twirl.
- Restaurant-quality pasta that’s simple to make any night of the week. With just 6 ingredients, this recipe is ready to serve!
Making a pantry pasta recipe elevated and delicious at home is a weeknight meal that’s always a winner in my book. This lemon artichoke pasta uses ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen to make a hearty yet gourmet pasta bursting with flavor.
It’s a quick weeknight meal that uses just a pasta pot and a large skillet, making clean up simple too. Serve with a simple salad or crusty bread for a dinner that shows simplicity at it’s finest.
Key Ingredients Note and Substitutions
- Linguine or spaghetti – Noodles of choice, I love a long noodle for coating in the silky lemon sauce.
- Garlic cloves – Fresh is best, mince them yourself.
- Quartered marinated artichoke hearts – The key ingredient, tender and delicate in texture with a rich, buttery taste.
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese adds nice cheesiness to every bite.
- Reserved pasta water – The secret ingredient that makes the sauce luscious and smooth.
- Fresh lemon zest adds brightness to the pasta.
- Fresh lemon juice – Squeeze it fresh for the best flavor.
- Fine sea salt and black pepper – Season well for every bite to pop.
- Chopped fresh parsley adds a beautiful green color and a little bit of freshness at the end.
How to make lemon artichoke pasta
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until just shy of al dente according to package instructions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water before draining. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds, until fragrant but not browned.
- Add the chopped artichoke hearts and cook for 3–4 minutes, allowing them to warm through and lightly caramelize.
- Add the drained pasta directly to the skillet. Pour in ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water and toss to combine.
- Sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese and continue tossing until the cheese melts and combines with the olive oil and pasta water to form a light, silky sauce. Add additional pasta water as needed to loosen and emulsify the sauce.
- Remove from direct heat and stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Finish with chopped parsley and an extra sprinkle of Parmesan before serving.
Expert Tips
- Reserve some of the pasta cooking liquid to help bind the sauce. This is something all the professional chefs do. Using that starchy pasta water creates a super creamy and rich sauce that coats the noodles beautifully.
- Add the parmesan towards the end of cooking. This prevents the cheese from clumping in the pasta and helps it to melt seamlessly into the sauce.
- Grate the parmesan cheese fresh. The best both for flavor and texture, use a microplane for ease.
- Always squeeze the lemon juice yourself and don’t use pre-bottled. This gives the cleanest and brightest flavor.
- Cook the pasta to al dente. According to the package instructions so that it isn’t mushy in texture.
- Add other veggies. This pasta would also be delicious with peas, baby spinach, zucchini, and other light, spring-time vegetables.
- Top with a protein if desired. This pasta is delicious with shrimp, steak, or chicken.
Storage
This pasta dish is best eaten right away. Making it ahead of time will cause the pasta and sauce to lose their fresh, silky texture.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop with a splash of water to help loosen the sauce.
I don’t recommend freezing this pasta as it will change the texture once it thaws.
FAQs
Yes, I recommend long pasta since they coat nicely in the sauce.
You can use them, but I recommend marinated artichokes for their rich flavor. Additionally, frozen and thawed artichokes can often change in texture and become mushy in the pasta.
You probably added too much reserved pasta water to the sauce. Slowly dribble in the starchy water, you may need less than you think.
More easy pasta recipes
Lemon Artichoke Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 oz linguine or spaghetti
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 (14oz) can quartered marinated artichoke hearts drained and roughly chopped
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.
- Add the pasta and cook until just shy of al dente according to package instructions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water before draining. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the minced garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds, until fragrant but not browned.
- Add the chopped artichoke hearts and cook for 3–4 minutes, allowing them to warm through and lightly caramelize.
- Add the drained pasta directly to the skillet. Pour in ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water and toss to combine.
- Sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese and continue tossing until the cheese melts and combines with the olive oil and pasta water to form a light, silky sauce.
- Add additional pasta water as needed to loosen and emulsify the sauce.
- Remove from direct heat and stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Finish with chopped parsley and an extra sprinkle of Parmesan before serving.
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Tips & Notes
– Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop with a splash of water to help loosen the sauce.
– This dish is best eaten right away. Making it ahead of time will cause the pasta and sauce to lose their fresh, silky texture.
– I don’t recommend freezing this pasta, as it will change the texture once it thaws.
Nutrition
