Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Spinach and Red Peppers
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If you enjoy simple and light pasta dishes, then you will love this Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Spinach and Red Peppers! Lemony, creamy, light… The red peppers give a delightful crunch and the beautiful bits of green spinach add such gorgeous color to the dish, it’s hard to resist!
Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Spinach and Red Peppers
My neighbor gave me several Meyer lemons from her mother’s lemon tree as a thank you for taking their family portrait last month. (So in addition to this Lemon Ricotta Pasta recipe, prepare yourself for a few more lemon recipes over the next couple of weeks.) I’ve never cooked with Meyer lemons before, so I don’t know if all Meyer lemons are like this or if these were especially good since they were homegrown and allowed to ripen fully before harvesting, but these lemons were fabulous- they were a bit hard to zest, but they had so much juice in a single lemon!
I really like light pasta dishes and the combination of the lemon and ricotta in this Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Spinach and Red Peppers dish was really good.
The pasta dish was simple to put together and tasted so fresh and light. I tossed this dish together for my hubby and me the day after my little missy’s birthday party. I fed the kids leftover hot dogs instead of the pasta for dinner; so I can’t say whether or not this would be a hit or miss with my kids, but if your kids like pasta, I’m sure they would like this one too.
Look how creamy the pasta looks! This was with only 2/3 cup of Ricotta and the pasta water, yum! (and so pretty with the bright red peppers and just barely wilted spinach.)
Suggested Add-ins:
Of course, if you don’t like red peppers or spinach, the creamy lemon ricotta pasta mixture would be perfect for any type of add-in. You could try:
- peas
- asparagus
- fresh zucchini
- snap peas
- cherry tomatoes
- tofu
- chicken
You get the idea, lol.
Recommended Pasta
I love the way the finished dish looked with the fettuccine noodles, but any type of pasta that holds a lot of sauce would work great. A few good examples are:
- Penne
- Gemelli
- Farfalle
- Fettuccine
Recipe tips:
Be sure to salt your pasta water according to the package directions and DONT skip the red pepper flakes. They really make this dish pop!
More lemon-based recipe you might enjoy:
- Microwave Blueberry Lemon Mug Cake for Two
- Lemon Mousse w/ Strawberries
- Lemon Cheesecake Pie Recipe
- Homemade Lemon Curd Recipe
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Spinach and Red Peppers
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Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Spinach and Red Peppers
- Prep Time: 3
- Cook Time: 17
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: main dish
- Method: skillet
Description
If you enjoy simple and light pasta dishes, then you will love this Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Spinach and Red Peppers!
Ingredients
- 12 oz fettuccine
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 tbs fresh lemon juice (you might need more depending on what kind of lemon juice you are using, just give it a taste.)
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- plenty of salt and crushed black pepper (to taste, of course)
- 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper (increase to your taste level- this makes the dish pop!)
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 cups diced red bell pepper
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions, using the recommended amount of salt in the water. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta water.
- While pasta is cooking, in a separate bowl, thoroughly combine ricotta, lemon juice and rind, 1/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper. (I listed 1/8 tsp of crushed red pepper, but don’t be shy, this dish is even better with a bit of a kick from the red pepper, so adjust according to your taste level ).
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and garlic, saute for 3 minutes.
- Add pasta, ricotta mixture and 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water to skillet. Stir until combined, adding additional pasta water as needed to achieve desired creaminess.
- Add Spinach, cook about 1 minute or until spinach wilts. Top with extra salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper if desired.
- Enjoy!
Looking for more Quick and easy dishes? Check out these skillet recipes made in 30 minutes or less:
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