Creamy Lemon Pasta Recipe [easy, no cream, no butter] (2024)

FAQs

How can I thicken pasta without cream? ›

Cornstarch: Make a slurry of half water, half cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Cornstarch is a powerful thickener, so start by whisking in no more than 1 tablespoon of the mixture per 2 cups of simmering sauce; stir and simmer for 2 minutes, check the thickness, and repeat with more slurry as needed.

Cheese is an excellent way to add flavor to your pasta without having to rely on sauce. Try mixing your angel hair pasta with goat cheese, and toss in sun-dried tomatoes to make an amazing meal with just a few ingredients. Garlic butter is a terrific way to season all types of noodles.

Why Do You Put Lemon Juice in Pasta? Fresh lemon juice adds a fantastic bright flavor to pasta, and it's especially delicious when paired with savory Parmesan cheese, as in this lemon pasta recipe.

One regular-sized lemon contains about 2-3 tablespoons of juice. Since all lemons aren't exactly the same, we like to stay on the side of caution and assume that one lemon contains 2 tablespoons juice. This means, if a recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, you'll need to use about ½ a lemon.

Whole milk is an excellent substitute for heavy cream. It adds richness to your pasta sauce without the excess fat. Simply simmer your favourite pasta sauce with whole milk until it thickens to your desired consistency. The result is a velvety and indulgent sauce that pairs beautifully with pasta.

First, in authentic Italian cuisine, the sauce is always tossed with the pasta before it ever hits the plate. Just before the sauce is done cooking, the hot pasta is added to the saucepan. Generally speaking, we recommend cooking the pasta in the sauce together for about 1-2 minutes.

Substitute Tomato Paste For Tomato Sauce

If you have a can of tomato paste in your pantry, you are in luck—this is the best substitution for tomato sauce. All you need is the tomato paste and water. Mix together 1 part tomato paste and 1 part water until well blended.

Melt butter with garlic very slowly to avoid burning the garlic. Season with parsley, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Add cooked pasta to the skillet and toss until well coated with butter. Increase the heat to medium and cook until pasta is heated through and has absorbed some of the butter.

2: Lemon Zest

When you want whatever you're making to sparkle with bright lemony flavor, zest is the answer. It's less tart than juice as the essential oils in the skin are much more powerful for imparting flavor.

What doesn't go with lemon? ›

Lemon has citric acid, which when paired directly with milk or other dairy products may react and lead to curdling and spoil the texture. Apart from that, consuming the two can trigger acidic reactions and cause severe heartburn and acidity. Lemon is acidic in nature, which can intensify the heat of spicy foods.

Turns out, the acidity of the juice acts as a thickening agent, which reacts with the proteins in the dairy to increase the viscosity. It's a similar concept to adding vinegar to milk to make buttermilk, said Clark. Once combined, it was time for parm—18-month DOP Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese to be exact.

However, if you've ever tasted bottled lemon juice, you'll notice that the flavour is a little off – not bright and lemony like the real stuff. This is because bottled lemon juice usually contains additives and preservatives such as Sodium Metabisulphite (E223) or Potassium Metabisulphite (E224).

Nutritionally speaking, bottled and fresh lemon juice are the same. Both are high in vitamin C (although fresh contains much more), folate, and potassium, and low in calories and fat. But one thing that isn't the same is the taste. Bottled lemon juice just tastes different.

It may also irritate your mouth, throat, and stomach. To prevent these side effects, avoid drinking pure, undiluted lemon juice.

Use Tomato Paste:Tomato paste is concentrated and will thicken the sauce without diluting the flavor. Add a couple of tablespoons to start, and adjust to your desired thickness. Add Cornstarch or Arrowroot:Mix a tablespoon of cornstarch or arrowroot with a bit of cold wat.

Use Flour and Water

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency.

White Flour

Flours can be used to make a bit of a slurry and add to the sauce to make it thicker. 1 part flour to 2 parts liquid and then adding it to your sauce should thicken it nicely. Just make sure that when you make the slurry, there are no lumps in your mixture.

To thicken gravy with cornstarch and get smooth results, mix the cornstarch with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to make a liquid-like paste or slurry. Another method is to strain the dry cornstarch through a fine-mesh sieve, although using this method to thicken gravy may result in a more lumpy gravy.