Creamy, dreamy, spaghetti with Lemon Cream Sauce. A delicious but light cream sauce with a fresh citrus twist! A tasty and quick meal, perfect for a busy day.
If you haven’t realized this already, there’s something you should know about me. I’m a pasta LOVER. Probably because of my very strong, 100% Italian heritage on my mother’s side. It’s just in my blood!
Developing pasta recipes is my absolute favorite. I came up with this Spaghetti with Lemon Cream Sauce a couple of weeks ago. Creamy sauces are my favorite, but I was getting tired of my go-to recipe so I developed this one with a lemony twist. I love it!
This recipe uses a shallot, but if you don’t have one simply use an onion and it will still taste amazing. A shallot is just a milder and slightly sweeter onion, so it’s great for a dish with pretty mild flavors, like this one.
Since this sauce simmers for a while, I just add the garlic cloves in whole and then remove them to finish the sauce. You still get all the flavor with less work!
One of my goals with this lemon cream sauce was to lighten it up a little bit more than a traditional cream sauce and give it a really fresh edge. I actually only use a splash or two of cream, and the base of the lemon cream sauce is chicken stock.
I added the lemon at the very end after I’d reduced the sauce so it wouldn’t be too strong of a flavor. I used one lemon, and that was enough for me. However be sure to taste the sauce and adjust it to your preference. Always taste!!
I also like to throw in some sausage sometimes – it makes having pasta more appealing to Andy. Ha! This is totally optional and up to you. If you do add meat, you’d cook it before you cook the onions, and just add the onions and garlic in when the sausage is almost cooked through.
I also use the term “deglaze” in the recipe. Don’t be afraid! All this means is that you’ll be adding a liquid to a hot pan and then scraping the bits of cooked onion and meat off the bottom of the pan with your cooking utensil of choice.
This gives you great flavor and makes any sauce incredible. If you like to cook with wine, deglaze the pan with about 1/3 cup of some kind of white wine, and then after it’s almost reduced add in the remaining balance of chicken broth.
Last, sprinkle some fresh herbs on that pasta! Since this lemon cream sauce is a lighter sauce with a fresh lemon twist, a more mild herb like parsley pairs beautifully. But be creative and mix it up! That’s another thing I love about pasta, the herbs you use can totally transform an old favorite into a newly flavored favorite.
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Spaghetti with Lemon Cream Sauce
Creamy, dreamy, spaghetti with Lemon Cream Sauce. A delicious but light cream sauce with a fresh citrus twist! Great for a quick summer meal.
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 shallot minced, see note
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons cream
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese grated
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons Fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
Boil pasta water and cook pasta until al dente (cook while prepping sauce).
Melt butter in a large skillet. Add shallot and cook until soft and translucent.
Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add chicken broth to deglaze the pan and simmer for about 5-8 minutes until the sauce is reduced by about one third or one half and is slightly thickened.
- Add lemon juice and heat through.
- Add cream and heat through.
Add the parmesan cheese, stir to combine.
Add salt and pepper, adjust to taste.
- Toss with cooked pasta and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
If you don't have a shallot, 3 tablespoons of yellow onion may be substituted.
Sammi Windley says
I love all these pasta recipes! Keep em coming 😉