Garlicky Lemon Pasta, AKA your new BFF. Just 20 minutes and 5 main ingredients are all it takes for this insanely easy dish to come together! But don’t mistake simple for boring … because even though this recipe is effortless, it’s packed with flavor and totally slurp-worthy!

Garlicky Lemon Pasta so damn delicious and easy, you can eat every day

Sometimes my favorite blog recipes are one’s that I don’t make for the blog. This 20-Minute Garlicky Lemon pasta is one of those times.

Because of self-isolation and social distancing, my wife and I have been frequenting the grocery store much less than we typically do, so as you can probably guess, a lot of our meals are just a mash up of whatever the f*ck we can find in our pantry and/or fridge. A few weeks ago, we were running especially low on ingredients. Luckily, we had some produce that was just shy of going bad, a box of spaghetti noodles, parsley, a bulb of garlic, and some vegan parmesan. The rest is history – and since then, we’ve made a variation of this dish at least once  a week.

So, whatcha waiting for?! Grab a drink and let’s get to cookin’ the best 20-Minute Garlicky Lemon Pasta!

What you need for garlicky lemon pasta

Just five (yes, FIVE) ingredients is all you need to make this recipe … and from the title, I’m sure you can figure our what three of those five ingredients are, but I’m gonna tell you anyway. Here’s what you’ll need to make my easy 20-Minute Pasta:

• Pasta. Any kind will do, but I’m really diggin’ spaghetti at the moment.
• Garlic. No exceptions.
• Lemon. Duh. I prefer fresh, but bottled would work as well.
• Vegan Parmesan. Nutritional yeast works, too!
• Fresh Parsley. Don’t have it? Fresh oregano or basil work beautifully in its place.

That’s it, friends! Also, add in whatever veggies you’ve got! Fresh, frozen, or canned! We happened to have a pint of tomatoes, some kale, and a zucchini that were about to go bad, so that’s what we used this day … but any of your favorite veggies would work in this dish!

how to make 20-minute garlicky lemon pasta

Zesty lemon and beautifully pungent garlic are a powerhouse of flavor. Combined with fresh herbs and some creamy parmesan cheese, you’ve got the base of a pasta sauce that is seriously restaurant-worthy. Here’s how to make it:

1. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water, rinse, and set aside.
2. Prepare the ‘sauce’. While the noodles are cooking, sauté your veggies with a bit of oil or vegan butter in a large pot. In this recipe, we used cherry tomatoes, zuchini, and kale. Add garlic, vegan parmesan, fresh lemon juice, parsley, and reserved pasta water. Reduce heat to low and stir until most of the parmesan cheese has melted. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasonings. Toss with cooked noodles!
3. Enjoy! Finish with a few cracks of pepper, red chili flakes, fresh parsley and parmesan cheese!

the easiest and most delicious pasta, am i right?

I really hope you love this 20-Minute Garlicky Lemon Pasta as much as we do! If you make them, snap a photo and show me your noods by tagging me on Instagram at @eat_figs_not_pigs and #EatFigsNotPigs.  I love seeing all your recreations of my recipes! Until next time, friends!

XO

4.9 from 7 reviews

20-Minute Garlicky Lemon Pasta

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Garlicky Lemon Pasta, AKA your new BFF. Just 20 minutes and 5 main ingredients are all it takes for this insanely easy dish to come together! But don't mistake simple for boring ... because even though this recipe is effortless, it's packed with flavor and totally slurp-worthy!

Author: Ashley

Recipe type: Dinner, Entree

Cuisine: Vegan

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 12 oz spaghetti noodles (or any pasta noodles of choice)
• 2 TBS vegan butter
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 2 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
• 15 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 4 oz vegan parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast + more for serving
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely shopped + more for serving
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes + more for serving, optional
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook noodles according to package directions in a large pot os salted water. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water, and set aside.
2. While the noodles are cooking, melt butter in a pot on medium high heat. Add tomatoes and zucchini and cook for about 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add kale and garlic, and cook until the kale just starts to wilt and the garlic is fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add reserved pasta water, fresh lemon juice, vegan parmesan, parsley, and (optional) red pepper flakes. Stir until most of the parmesan has melted to create a "sauce". Taste and adjust seasonings.
3. Toss spaghetti with sauce. Serve immediately with fresh parsley and vegan parmesan.
4. ENJOY!

Notes

For a little added 'boost' of flavor, you can mix about ½ a teaspoon of veegtable bouillon in with the pasta water, or if you have it, replace the pasta water with hot vegetable stock.

3.5.3251