Best Lemon Pesto Pasta Recipes

LIGHT LEMON PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti at a boil until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 12 minutes; drain. Transfer spaghetti to a large bowl.
• Put cubed Romano cheese in the bowl of a food processor; process until coarsely grated, about 30 seconds. Put garlic into the food processor and process until the cheese and garlic are combined. Add spinach, basil, walnuts, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt; process until the mixture comes together into a thick paste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
• With food processor running, drizzle olive oil into the mixture. Continue processing until the oil is integrated smoothly.
• Pour sauce over spaghetti and toss to coat.

PASTA SALAD WITH LEMON-PESTO DRESSING

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
• Place pesto, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, tomatoes, scallions and cheese in a large bowl.
• Cook pasta to al dente then cold shock it and chill it down under cold running water. Drain well. Add to mixing bowl. Combine salad and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

ARTICHOKE LEMON PESTO CHICKEN PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 405 degrees (not 450, stop questioning me) Cut the squash in half lengthwise, place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes or until squash gives when you poke the outside of it. Use a spoon to remove the excess seeds then a fork to thread the strings from the squash. To make spaghetti, duh. But while the squash is baking, make the pesto and chicken. Place a large pan over medium-high heat, add a splash of fat and 1 minced garlic clove. As soon as the garlic becomes fragrant, add the halved artichokes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and let cook until slightly browned and tender on all sides. Once artichokes are browned, add them to a food processor along with the walnuts, olive oil, vegetable broth, and second garlic clove. Puree until smooth. Then add the parsley, basil, lemon, and salt and pepper. Puree once more until smooth. Taste and add more lemon and salt and pepper to your preference. Once pesto is done pureeing, add the chicken to the same pan that you sautéed the artichokes in. Cook chicken over medium-high heat until browned on all sides. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Once chicken is cooked through, add in about ¼ of a cup of the pesto to the chicken along with the spinach, in the pan and mix well to coat. Cover and let cook for 2-4 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Then add the threads of spaghetti squash to the pan (or a large mixing bowl if you need more room). Mix spaghetti squash, pesto, and chicken all together. Serve with some fresh basil on top.

LEMON PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Pan cook three chicken breasts. While doing that bring water to boil and cook pasta for 9-10 minutes. When pasta has about 3 minutes left, toss in broccoli.
• Drain off pasta and broccoli and place in bowl; cut chicken into bit size pieces and toss into bowl with pasta.
• Pour olive oil, basil pesto and juice of one lemon into bowl and stir until pasta is coated thoroughly. Sprinkle fresh grated Parmesan cheese over top and serve.

CREAMY LEMON-PESTO CHICKEN PASTA RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine lemon pepper marinade and dried basil. Pour over chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (I usually marinate the chicken overnight) Grill chicken for 12-15 minutes, or until done (165 degrees). While the chicken is grilling, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Set pasta aside and keep warm. Meanwhile, prepare the pesto sauce. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and lemon zest. Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Add pesto and mix well. To serve, slice chicken into strips. Toss cooked pasta in the pesto, top with chicken and garnish with tomatoes.

PESTO AND PASTA WITH LEMON AND SHRIMP

Steps:

• see above

LEMON PEPPER PANKO CRUSTED CHICKEN W/ PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil (if desired, you can cook directly on the baking sheet but foil makes for extra easy cleanup).
• 2. For the chicken, set up two wide shallow dishes for the breading process. In one dish, beat egg and add milk, salt and pepper and whisk to combine. In the second dish, add breadcrumbs. Pound chicken breasts to an even thickness approximately 1/2" thick. Dip each piece in the egg mixture, coating both sides and letting any excess drip off before transferring to the breadcrumbs. Coat both sides, lightly pressing the breadcrumbs into the chicken to ensure they are well-coated. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil. When the oil is hot, add chicken breasts and cook about 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown. Transfer to baking sheet and continue cooking in the oven until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken.
• 3. For the pasta, heat a large pot of water to boiling over high heat. Generously add salt and add pasta to boiling water. Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain and toss with pesto sauce.
• 4. For the pesto, combine basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, slowly stream in olive oil with processor running until uniform. Stir in cheese and pour over pasta

LEMON & GREENS PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Meanwhile, cook the broccoli for 4 mins in boiling salted water. Drain, then put in a food processor along with the basil, spinach and pine nuts. Pulse until combined.
• Stir in the garlic, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, peas, parmesan and soft cheese, and season to taste.
• Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pan and add the pesto along with a splash of water to loosen. Toss together, check the seasoning and serve.

PASTA SALAD WITH LEMON-PESTO DRESSING

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.
• Place pesto, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsely, tomatoes, scallions and cheese in a large bowl.
• Cook pasta to al dente then cold shock it and chill it down under cold running water. Drain well. Add to mixing bowl. Combine salad and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

PASTA WITH LEMON-PESTO, SHRIMPS AND ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to directions.
• Meanwhile, defrost shrimps and peel.
• Once defrosted, pat dry with paper towels.
• Snap and discard tough ends of asparagus, then slice asparagus in half diagonally. Add to boiling pasta water for last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain pasta and asparagus, then place in a large bowl.
• While pasta is cooking, finely grate 1 Tbsp peel from lemons and squeeze out about 1/2 Cup lemon juice. Melt butter in large frying pan over med-high heat. Add garlic and shrimps. Stir often until shrimps turn bright pink, about 3-4 minute, remove from heat. Stir in pesto, lemon juice, and peel, then turn over pasta until evenly mixed.
• Serve in pasta bowl and enjoy.

RIGATONI PASTA WITH LEMON-CHILE PESTO AND GRATED EGG RECIPE

Steps:

• Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente (pasta will still be opaque and very firm in the center). Drain pasta, reserving 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking liquid.
• Meanwhile, finely grate egg yolks on the small holes of a box grater and set aside.
• Heat 6 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add both kinds of lemon zest and juice and red pepper flakes, swirling pan to incorporate. Add pasta and 1 cup pasta cooking liquid and cook, tossing often and adding more cooking liquid to help finish cooking pasta, until pasta is al dente and sauce is thickened and coats pasta, about 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Add Pecorino and remaining 2 tablespoons butter to pasta and toss until melted. Serve pasta topped with reserved grated egg yolks.

PASTA SALAD W/ LEMON PESTO DRESSING

Steps:

• Boil water and salt to cook pasta al dente, cold shock after cooking. Place pesto, lemon zest, lemon juice, basil, tomatoes, scallions, and cheese in large bowl. Add pasta to seasoning and salt & pepper to taste. Add EVOO if dry. May add extra tomato and/or pesto.

LEMON PESTO TURKEY PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 Tbsp of salt for every 2 quarts of water. (While the water is coming to a boil, prep the ingredients to save time.)
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and pesto. Set aside.
• Add the pasta to the boiling water. The pasta should take 10 minutes to cook to al dente, cooked through but still a little firm. Cook on a rolling boil, uncovered.
• While the pasta is cooking, cook the onions in a large sauté pan in olive oil on medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and chopped cooked turkey meat. Cook until heated through, then remove from heat.
• When the pasta is ready, reserve 1/2 a cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta.
• Add the hot, drained pasta to the pan with the onions and turkey. Pour the egg mixture over everything and quickly stir to combine. The heat of the pasta will cook the eggs sufficiently, though keep the pan off the heat or the eggs in the sauce will curdle.
• Salt to taste (depending on the saltiness of your leftover turkey and the saltiness of the pesto, you may not need any additional salt). Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper to serve. (If you want, sprinkle with a little fresh lemon juice as well.) Add back a little of the reserved pasta water if you want the pasta a little more loose, or if it is too dry.