Perfect weeknight dinner alert! This Lemon Pepper Pasta is packed with flavor and is SO easy to make. I like to toss the creamy fettuccine with shrimp, but you can substitute for chicken or salmon or make it without any protein at all. You can also add a vegetable in and customize it for your family's tastes.
In the Venn diagram of perfect weeknight dinners, sometimes it's hard to get the quick and easy circle and the flavorful and delicious circle to overlap.
But I'm happy to announce that this lemon pepper pasta does it. Not only is this dish quick and easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner, it's also made with all fresh ingredients and is packed with flavor. It's the kind of meal your family will likely request again and again.
There's something so satisfying about a meal that gets rave reviews when it feels like such a breeze to make. It's almost like you're cheating the system. In a really, really good (totally legal and ethical!) way.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
There are so many reasons to love this lemon pepper pasta, but I've already mentioned the top two reasons... It's so easy and so delicious!
It's also incredibly customizable, which means you can make it in a way that your entire family will love. Whether that means using a different protein (I love shrimp, but not everyone does), swapping out the pasta shape, or adding in a vegetable or two, it's easy to do!
Ingredients
The ingredients needed for this dish are fairly simple, but be sure to check out the substitutions section below if there's something you don't have or something you want to swap out. Here's everything I use for this dish (see recipe card below for ingredient amounts and full instructions):
- Linguine
- Unsalted butter
- Olive oil
- Shrimp, peeled and deveined (size of your choice)
- Salt
- Coarse black pepper
- Minced garlic
- Heavy cream
- Lemon zest
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Finely chopped parsley
How to Make Lemon Pepper Pasta with Shrimp
This recipe is incredibly easy to put together! I always start by boiling the water for my pasta since you never know how long that's going to take.
Add linguine (or pasta of your choice) to a large pot of salted boiling water and let cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain well, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water.
If you're making the lemon pepper pasta with shrimp, you should cook the shrimp while the pasta water is coming to a boil.
I use medium sized shrimp for this pasta dish, but you can really use any size you want.
Add butter and olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp to pan in a single layer (you can cook it in two batches if necessary) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. When shrimp start turning pink (about 2 minutes), flip and cook for another minute or so on the other side, until opaque.
Remove shrimp to a plate or bowl and set aside.
Now you're ready to make the lemon pepper sauce.
Add remaining butter to skillet and once melted, add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, until it's just turning golden
Add heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and black pepper to skillet and gently simmer, while stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until sauce is thickened.
Remove from heat and add pasta to skillet. Toss to coat in sauce.
Add ½ cup of reserved pasta water and continue to toss (add up to an additional ½ cup of pasta water if needed for consistency).
Add shrimp and fresh parsley to skillet.
Toss to combine.
Serve the lemon pepper pasta in bowls with additional lemon zest, pepper, and parsley sprinkled on top.
It's funny because I almost ALWAYS add cheese to pasta and can't remember the last time I made a pasta dish and didn't sprinkle on some parmesan cheese. I came close to doing so here, but then I took a bite of pasta in the creamy sauce and realized it didn't need anything else added to it.
The lemon pepper cream sauce is so flavorful and delicious that absolutely nothing else is needed. No cheese, no red pepper flakes (another almost always necessary addition for me to pasta), nothing at all.
Just forkfuls of lemon pepper pasta with shrimp in every bite. That's my idea of heaven!
Substitutes
One of the beautiful things about this pasta dish is that you can make lots of substitutions to it to make it work best for you and your family. Here are some ideas:
- If you don't like shrimp, you can replace it with chicken breast, salmon, any white fish, steak, or really any protein you want.
- You can skip the protein all-together if you want to serve the lemon pepper pasta as a side dish or prefer to make it a vegetarian dish.
- If you don't have linguine, you can make this dish with your favorite shape pasta.
- For extra nutrition, add in vegetables, like broccoli, asparagus, or zucchini.
- If you don't have any heavy cream, you can make the peppery sauce with whole milk or half-and-half. It obviously won't be quite as creamy, but will still be delicious.
What to Serve With
Obviously the one thing missing from this entree is vegetables. As I outlined above, you can certainly add some in! Or you can serve your favorite veggie on the side. Here are some sides that would be delicious to serve with lemon pepper pasta:
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
- Green beans
- Zucchini
- Bell peppers
- Brussels sprouts
- Green salad
- Garlic bread
- Bread sticks
More Easy Pasta Recipes
Besides being delicious, one of my favorite things about pasta dishes is that they're generally super easy and make for great weeknight dinners. Plus, lots of times there are leftovers! Here are some of my fave easy pasta dishes:
- Steak and Shrimp Scampi
- Salmon Fettuccine with Sour Cream Caesar Sauce
- Angel Hair Alfredo with Jalapeño and Pancetta
- Baked Lemon Ricotta Pasta
- Pasta Puttanesca with Sausage
- Butternut Squash Pasta with Fried Brussels Sprouts and Pancetta
- Mediterranean Pasta with Chicken Sausage
- Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Cajun Sausage Pasta (from Spicy Southern Kitchen)
When your family raves about this lemon pepper pasta, I give you full permission to pretend that you toiled over a hot stove all day making it.
And they'll be so thankful when you go ahead and make it again a couple weeks later.
What's your favorite pasta recipe?
📖 Recipe
Lemon Pepper Pasta {with Shrimp}
Ingredients
- 1 lb. linguine
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined (I use medium, but you can use the size of your choice)
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 ½ tsp coarse black pepper, divided
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest, plus more for garnish (from about 1 large lemon)
- 3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped parsley, plus more for granish
Instructions
- Add linguine to a large pot of salted boiling water and let cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain well, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water.
- While pasta is cooking, add 2 Tbsp butter and olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp to pan in a single layer (you can cook it in two batches if necessary) and sprinkle with ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp pepper. When shrimp start turning pink (about 2 minutes), flip and cook for another minute or so on the other side, until opaque. Remove shrimp to a plate or bowl and set aside.
- Add remaining 2 Tbsp butter to skillet and once melted, add garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until it's just turning golden
- Add heavy cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and black pepper to skillet and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until sauce is thickened.
- Remove from heat and add pasta to skillet. Toss to coat in sauce. Add ½ cup of reserved pasta water and continue to toss (add up to an additional ½ cup of pasta water if needed for consistency). Add shrimp and parsley to skillet and toss to combine.
- Serve pasta in bowls or on plates with additional lemon zest, black pepper, and parsley.
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