This 20-minute lemon garlic butter pasta is the perfect simple and easy pasta to serve with other dishes (or just by itself). It looks impressive, it's flavoursome and is fantastic on the dinner table when entertaining.
The crispy, delicious herbed breadcrumbs on the top add an extra layer of flavour and texture to the overall pasta.
Love quick and easy pasta recipes? Also check out my 15-min sausage pasta, 15-min garlic prawn (shrimp) pasta or creamy lemon chicken pasta recipes!
Ingredients
- Panko - is a Japanese-style breadcrumb. Compared to Western breadcrumbs, panko is lighter, crispier and slightly larger in size. Panko only uses white parts of bread (no crust) so it's much lighter in colour too. I always prefer using panko compared to the conventional breadcrumbs from the supermarket as it produces amazing crispy results! It works amazingly well as a coating for crumbed chicken like my panko chicken schnitzel or a crispy topping for a creamy tuna pasta bake.
- Spaghetti pasta - looks impressive on a plate especially when entertaining! Nonetheless, any pasta shape such as penne, fusilli or shell will all work just fine.
- Unsalted butter - ideal butter to cook with so you have full control of how salty you want your lemon garlic butter pasta to turn out (by adding salt separately).
- Parmesan cheese - best buy a block of cheese and grate at home. It melts better, tastes better and is more economical! Plus, no grainy texture! Grating cheese yourself is particularly important when making cheesy pasta dishes like lasagna, one-pot cheesy sausage pasta bake or creamy chicken orzo!
Cooking instructions
This easy lemon garlic butter pasta takes about 20 minutes to make from start to finish.
Allocate about 5 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of hands-on cook time.
To start, finely mince garlic and fresh parsley.
Then, cook pasta according to packet instructions to al dente (which means the pasta has a slight bite to it).
Tip: boil the pasta with plenty of generously salted water. You want the water to taste salty. Don't worry, the pasta will only take on very little of the salt when boiling and you'll end up with nicely seasoned pasta (and not bland).
Pasta usually takes about 9 to 11 minutes until al dente. So whilst the pasta is boiling away, make the crispy herbed topping.
How to make crispy herbed breadcrumbs
In a small to medium-sized frying pan, melt butter with minced garlic.
Gently fry the garlic until lightly golden over medium-low heat. Swirl the pan often for even frying and to prevent burnt bits.
Add panko, some lemon zest and lightly season with salt and black pepper.
Toss the breadcrumbs every 10 seconds or so over low heat until it's golden like the pictures above and below. This will take about 3 to 4 minutes.
Finish off with some parmesan cheese, and toss for a few seconds for the cheese to melt into the breadcrumbs. Turn the heat off and toss in finely chopped parsley. Set aside.
How to make lemon garlic butter pasta
By now, the pasta should be almost al dente. Time to get it lemony, buttery and garlicky!
In a large frying pan, gently fry garlic with butter over medium-low heat. Stir often for even colouring. Once the garlic is lightly golden, add lemon juice.
Then, add cooked pasta, ~1 cup of pasta cooking water, parmesan cheese, salt and black pepper.
Toss well for ~1 minute.
Finish off with a little extra butter, extra virgin olive oil and lemon zest.
Toss well for a further minute. That's it!
The butter and olive oil will give the pasta a lovely glossy and tasty finish.
To serve, top the lemon garlic butter pasta with a delightful crunch from the herbed breadcrumbs and maybe extra parmesan cheese (always a good idea).
For a show-stopping presentation when entertaining, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil around the rims of the plate.
Useful tips and tricks
- Generously season pasta cooking water - so that the pasta will not taste bland. The rule of thumb is about 1 tablespoon of salt for every 1 litre (quarter gallon) of boiling water. This may sound like a lot but don't worry, the pasta will only take on very little of this salt. This lemon garlic butter pasta is a simple one (like my garlic prawn (shrimp) pasta) so it's crucial to layer on the seasoning each step of the way.
- Boil pasta with plenty of water - for the best texture and so that the pasta does not get stuck together when boiling. Ideally, use about 1 litre of water to cook 100g of pasta. So for this recipe of 300g (11oz) of pasta, use about 3 litres of water (~¾ of a gallon).
- Toss the breadcrumbs often over low heat for even colouring. Keep both eyes on it as it can burn very quickly left unattended! The foolproof way is to keep the heat low and toss often so that it comes out golden evenly. If burnt, toss it out and start again as the bitterness will ruin the whole dish.
FAQs
The possibilities are endless! Best served with some protein and vegetables Here are some suggestions:
- chicken such as honey soy chicken drumsticks bake or easy lemon chicken thighs bake.
- pork such as 15-min pan-seared pork chops.
- beef such as steak, roast, ginger beef and kale stir fry or beef and vegetable stir fry
- fish such as simply pan-seared or honey-glazed baked salmon
-roasted vegetables or eggplant parmigiana for something extra special.
Pasta (like noodles) always tastes best freshly cooked. I recommend making this on the day for the best results. However, you can prepare the crispy herbed breadcrumbs 1 or 2 days in advance. Make sure to store it in the fridge in an air-tight container so it stays crispy.
Absolutely! A quick one is to pan-sear some simply seasoned chicken breasts, slice and mix in with the pasta. Tip: squeeze in extra lemon juice to taste.
Storage instructions
Store the lemon garlic butter pasta separately from the crispy herbed breadcrumbs. This way the breadcrumbs will stay crispy for the next few days.
Store both the pasta and the breadcrumbs in air-tight containers and they'll last for 3 to 5 days in the fridge.
Made this recipe? Let me know your thoughts or questions by dropping a note in the comments section below! I'd love to hear from you. 🙂
Happy cooking! - Gen
📖 Recipe
Lemon Garlic Butter Pasta
Ingredients
Lemon garlic butter spaghetti
- 300 g (11 oz) spaghetti or other pasta shapes
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice ~⅓ of the juice of a lemon
- zest of ⅔ of lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil best use extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese grated, plus extra to serve (note 1)
Crispy herbed topping
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 cup panko Japanese breadcrumbs (note 2)
- 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese grated (note 1)
- zest of ⅓ of lemon
- salt & black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh parsley very finely chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot of generously salted water, cook pasta according to packet instructions to al dente.
Make crispy herbed topping
- Whilst the pasta is boiling away, make the crispy topping. Melt butter with garlic in a small frying pan over medium-low heat.
- Once the garlic is lightly golden, add panko, mix through then add lemon zest. Toss the pan every 10 seconds or so until the breadcrumbs are nice and golden. About 3-4 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Toss well then turn the heat off and mix in parsley. Set aside.
Make lemon garlic butter pasta
- By now, the pasta should be almost al dente. In a large frying pan, fry the garlic with 2 tablespoon of butter over medium-low heat. Once lightly golden, add lemon juice, cooked pasta, and 1 cup of pasta cooking water. Mix well.
- Season pasta with salt, pepper, remaining lemon zest, remaining butter, olive oil and parmesan cheese. Mix well.
- To serve, top with crispy herbed breadcrumbs and extra parmesan cheese.
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