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    Home

    Lemon Arugula Pasta

    December 30, 2021 by sara 8 Comments

    Lemon arugula pasta is pasta made with a cheesy lemony sauce and tossed with arugula and sun-dried tomatoes.  It’s a great weeknight dinner option that everyone will love!

    Jump to Recipe
    close up overhead shot of lemon arugula pasta against a light background

    There is no chance that I will ever get tired of lemon flavored anything.  I love lemon so much that I’ve made it the icon on my blog.  I cant remember a time when I didn’t have a bag of lemons in my fridge, and I’ve even contemplated getting a lemon as my next tattoo.

    In that vein, this lemon arugula pasta with sun dried tomatoes is an incredibly simple meal to make and it comes together in a flash so it’s a great option for a quick Tuesday night before you have to dash out the door to soccer practice or out for drinks with friends. 

    Recipe Notes

    Flavor:  the pasta dish is sharp and tangy from the lemon juice and the sun-dried tomatoes, but it’s also smooth and creamy from the parmesan cheese.

    Texture:  If you don’t like large pieces of greens in your pasta, you can definitely chop up the arugula before adding it to the pasta.

    Ease:  a super easy recipe to put together.  Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl, toss the pasta in the sauce and add the mix-ins.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

    Ingredient List

    • Pasta
    • Lemon
    • Parmesan cheese
    • Olive Oil
    • Garlic
    • Red pepper flakes (optional)
    • Salt and pepper
    overhead shot of lemon arugula pasta against a light background

    Tips and Tricks

    Make sure to fully cook the pasta.  You wont end up cooking the pasta and sauce together in the pan long enough to finish cooking, so make sure you cook the pasta for the fully recommended time.

    Make sure to make the sauce in a separate bowl ahead of time.  It wont come together nearly as easily if you try to add it to the cooked pasta without whisking it all together first.

    If you do what I do fairly regularly and forget to scoop out some of the pasta water, you can sub plain hot water.  It wont have quite the same magic that the starchy pasta water has but it will still help the sauce form. 

    Pro Tip: I’ve started placing my colander in the sink with a measuring cup sitting inside it.  This is a great visual reminder to myself that I need to pour out some pasta water.

    FAQ's

    Do I have to use arugula?  Not at all!  If you don’t like arugula, you could sub in spinach, baby kale or watercress.  Any other tender green should work.

    Do I have to include the sun-dried tomatoes?  Nope!  If you don’t like them, you can leave them out altogether, or you could sub in fresh cherry tomatoes chopped in half.  You could use roasted red peppers, although that would give you a completely different (but not unpleasant) flavor profile. You could add in artichoke hearts instead, as well!

    What other kinds of cheeses would work here?  Personally I think the parmesan is the best option, but you could use Pecorino Romano or Grana Padano.

    overhead shot of lemon arugula pasta against a light background

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    Lemon Arugula Pasta

    Lemon arugula pasta is pasta made with a cheesy lemony sauceand tossed with arugula and sun-dried tomatoes. It’s a great weeknight dinner option that everyone will love!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American, Italian
    Servings 2 Servings

    Ingredients
      

    • 8 ounces of spaghetti or the long pasta of your choice
    • ¼ cup of olive oil
    • Zest and Juice of 1 lemon
    • 1 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese
    • 1 clove of garlic crushed or minced
    • Pinch of crushed red pepper optional
    • Salt and pepper
    • 2 cups of arugula
    • ¼ cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes
    • Extra parmesan and lemon slices for serving

    Instructions
     

    • Cook the pasta according to package directions.
    • While the pasta cooks, mix together the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, the parmesan cheese, garlic, crushed red pepper and salt and pepper in a large heat-proof bowl. Whisk together until well combined. Set aside until pasta is done.
    • Once the pasta is cooked, scoop out a half a cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta, but dont rinse it.
    • Pour the drained pasta into the large bowl with the lemon sauce, and toss to combine. Add a few tablespoons of pasta water at a time until the sauce gets silky smooth. Add in the arugula and sun-dried tomatoes and toss to distribute.
    • Serve with extra parmesan cheese and lemon slices.
    Keyword pasta, weeknight pasta
    « Marinated Olives and Cheese
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Luisa

      January 12, 2022 at 10:39 pm

      Are the sundried tomatoes the marinated kind in olive oil and herbs or just dehydrated ones. I do my own and have access to both. Thanks.
      L

      Reply
      • Sara Rauckhorst

        January 13, 2022 at 4:17 pm

        I use the kind that's marinated in olive oil for this recipe!

        Sara

        Reply
    2. Stacy Gende

      May 07, 2022 at 5:28 am

      Thank you! Love lemons anything! 💛 🍋

      Reply
      • sara

        May 08, 2022 at 1:27 pm

        I'm the same way!!

        Reply
        • Chris

          October 05, 2022 at 7:14 pm

          5 stars
          I love lemons, arugula & love this receipe. Its so easy to make. I made mini crab cakes to go on top.

          Reply
          • sara

            October 06, 2022 at 11:06 am

            I'm so glad you like it as much as I do!! And the mini crab cakes sound like an amazing addition!! I'll have to try it!

            Reply
    3. Roxanne

      February 21, 2023 at 7:57 pm

      I make this recipe frequently. It's super quick and easy! I really love the added heat from the crushed red pepper.

      Reply
      • sara

        February 23, 2023 at 1:34 pm

        It's on regular rotation at my house, too! Glad you love it!

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Sara! I’m a photographer, a recipe developer, and a blogger, but beneath it all, I’m just your average home cook.  I’m busy and I don’t always have time to spend hours in the kitchen.  I share quick, easy, and delicious meals that your family will love as much as mine does.  I taught myself to cook by trial and error.  Come along with me and I’ll help you get there too – hopefully with a little less “error” than I had!

    More about me →

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