Category: Pastas

This one pot creamy sun-dried tomato pasta recipe is easy to make with the most delicious garlic-basil cream sauce.

This pasta. ♡

I almost hesitated to share this recipe, because it was one of those clean-out-the-fridge meals that is anything but fancy. But the combination of flavors here ended up being SO rich and cozy and delicious that I have a hunch you’ll instantly love it too.

The sun-dried tomatoes are definitely the star of the show here, intensifying the sweet-tart tomato flavor in the pasta, plus we’ll use the leftover oil to sauté the chicken and veggies for extra flavor. I’m also partial to a good chewy small pasta shape in this recipe, such as the gnoccheti sardi pictured here, which adds such satisfying texture to each bite. I went big on the garlic and basil for the sauce and light on the cream, since it doesn’t need much, and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes adds the perfect hint of heat. Then I definitely recommend adding a generous handful of freshly-grated Parm to each bowl just before serving. So delicious!!

Everything here comes together in one pot in just a little over 30 minutes. So the next time you’re craving a cozy bowl of pasta, grab a jar of sun-dried tomatoes and let’s make a quick batch of this one together! (more…)

This lemon brown butter pasta is tossed with roasted artichokes and fennel and sprinkled with the most delicious garlic toasted breadcrumbs.

Seriously one of my favorite pasta recipes I’ve made in recent memory. ♡

I know it has a long title, but this recipe actually requires less than 5 minutes of chopping (just fennel, artichoke hearts and some garlic) and is mainly more about cooking and layering ingredients together. The three essential components we’re working with include:

• roasted fennel and artichokes: a bulb of fennel and a jar of artichoke hearts are sliced and roasted until perfectly golden and caramelized
• lemony brown butter sauce: meanwhile, brown butter combines with lemon and Parmesan to create a bright, silky, and downright irresistible sauce in which everything will be tossed
• garlicky breadcrumbs: then we’ll sprinkle each serving with fresh basil and crispy, crunchy, garlicky breadcrumbs, which you absolutely must not skip here — they are magic

It’s another one of those pasta recipes that’s elegant enough for a dinner party yet easy enough for a regular weeknight. And I just can’t say enough good things about how wonderfully all of these flavors pair together. My husband and I absolutely love this recipe served vegetarian, as written. But please feel free to add in an extra protein if you’d like (shrimp, salmon, chicken, or Italian sausage would all be lovely) or swap in your favorite GF pasta and breadcrumbs if prefer to make this recipe gluten-free.

Let’s make some pasta together!

Lemon Butter Pasta Ingredients

Here are a few notes about the ingredients you will need to make this lemon butter pasta recipe:

• Pasta: I used a thick pappardelle pasta for this recipe, but any pasta shape that you love best will work here. Feel free to also use gluten-free or whole wheat pasta, if you prefer.
• Fennel: We will slice and roast an entire bulb of fennel to toss with the pasta. You’re also welcome to save and chop the fronds for garnish, if you would like.
• Artichoke hearts: To keep things easy, we will just use jarred artichoke hearts! Simply drain, halve and roast them along with the fennel until their edges are slightly golden and caramelized.
• Butter: I recommend using salted butter (or you can add a pinch of salt to unsalted butter), which we will lightly brown and toss with lemon and Parmesan to create our brown butter sauce.
• Lemon: We will use both the zest and juice (about 3-4 tablespoons) of one large lemon to make our sauce perfectly lemony.
• Parmesan: I recommend freshly-grating a block of Parmesan cheese by hand so that it will melt well into the brown butter sauce. Then be sure to sprinkle extra on top just before serving!
• Basil: Feel free to either julienne or roughly-chop the fresh basil leaves, which add a lovely fresh touch to this pasta as a garnish.
• Garlicky breadcrumbs: Also very easy to make with butter, garlic, Panko breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.

Tips for Making This Pasta

Full instructions for how to make this pasta are included in the recipe below, but here are a few extra tips to keep in mind:

• Don’t overcook the pasta: The pasta is meant to finish cooking in the lemon butter sauce, so it’s essential that you transfer it to the sauce when it’s just 1 minute or so shy of al dente. I find it’s easiest to quickly transfer the pasta directly into the sauce using a spider strainer or tongs (depending on your pasta shape), but you could also quickly pour the pasta into a strainer and then transfer it to the sauce.
• Keep a close eye on the brown butter: Butter solids can go from brown to burnt quickly, so always keep a close eye on the butter as it is browning on the stove.
• Fully toast the breadcrumbs: I like to let the breadcrumbs toast until they’re a deep golden brown, for extra flavor and crispiness. Just keep stirring and monitoring their color until they reach your desired level of doneness.

Potential Recipe Variations

Here are a few additional variations that you are welcome to try with this recipe:

• Add a protein: Shrimp, salmon, scallops, chicken, Italian sausage or bacon would all be great options if you would like to add a protein.
• Add cream: Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cream to the lemon brown butter sauce if you would like to make it creamier.
• Use different herbs: Finely chopped fresh rosemary, tarragon, thyme, parsley, oregano or chives would all be delicious mixed into the garlic breadcrumbs too, if you would like to add in some additional fresh herbs.
• Make it gluten-free: Use your favorite gluten-free pasta and gluten-free Panko breadcrumbs (or any style of breadcrumbs) to make this pasta gluten-free.

More Vegetarian Pasta Recipes

Looking for more vegetarian pasta recipes to try? Here are a few of our all-time favorites:

• Cacio e Pepe
• One-Pot Broccoli Mac and Cheese
• Baked Feta Pasta
• Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes, Burrata and Basil

Lemon Butter Pasta with Roasted Artichokes and Fennel

• Author: Ali
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Yield: 4 servings

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Description

This lemon brown butter pasta is tossed with roasted artichokes and fennel and sprinkled with the most delicious garlic toasted breadcrumbs.

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Ingredients

Pasta Ingredients:

• 1 large fennel bulb
• 2 (14-ounce) cans artichoke hearts, drained and halved
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 large lemon, zest and juice (about 3–4 tablespoons juice)
• 1 ounce freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pound uncooked pappardelle (or your preferred pasta shape)
• chopped fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Garlicky Breadcrumb Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 large garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• ½ teaspoon each: fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

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Instructions

1. Prep the oven and pasta water. Heat the oven to 425°F. Bring a large stockpot of generously-salted water to a boil.
2. Slice the fennel. Trim off the stalks and flat root base. (You’re welcome to save the fronds for garnish if you would like.) Halve the fennel, then cut into 1/2-inch wedges.
3. Roast. Add the fennel slices and artichoke hearts to the baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, then gently toss to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes. Then turn on the broiler and broil for another 2-4 minutes, keeping a close eye on the fennel and artichokes, until their edges are lightly browned and caramelized. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack.
4. Cook the garlicky breadcrumbs. While the veggies are roasting, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and stir to combine. Continue sautéing, stirring occasionally, until the Panko reaches a toasted golden brown color. Transfer the breadcrumb mixture to a clean bowl and set aside. Carefully use a paper towel to briefly wipe off any crumbs remaining in the sauté pan, then return the pan to the stove.
5. Cook the pasta. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until 1 minute shy of al dente.
6. Brown the butter. While the pasta is cooking, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in the large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Continue cooking until the butter begins to foam, stirring frequently to ensure that the butter cooks evenly. Add a few twists of black pepper and continue cooking the butter, stirring frequently, until it starts to turn golden brown and smells toasty. (Keep a very close eye on the butter so that it does not burn, since it can go from golden to burned very quickly.) 
7. Finish the brown butter sauce. Using a heat-safe measuring cup, scoop out 1 cup of the starchy pasta water from the stockpot and pour it into the brown butter mixture. (Be careful and pour slowly because it will bubble up furiously.) Let the mixture simmer and reduce for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add in the lemon zest and lemon juice and whisk until combined.
8. Toss the pasta. Once the pasta is 1 minute shy of al dente, use a spider strainer or tongs to quickly transfer it directly to the brown butter sauce. Add the Parmesan and toss everything together for 1-2 minutes until the pasta is al dente and the sauce is thick and glossy and coats the pasta evenly. (If the sauce seems too dry, just add in an extra 1/4 cup at a time of the remaining starchy pasta water as needed.) Add in the roasted fennel and artichokes and briefly toss to combine. Taste and season with extra salt or black pepper if needed.
9. Serve. Serve immediately, garnished with the garlicky breadcrumbs and fresh basil. Enjoy!

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This classic Pasta all’Amatriciana recipe is easy to make with 6 traditional ingredients and full of the best rich and savory flavors.

This past summer during our month in Rome, I made it my mission to sample the four classic Roman pastas as often as possible. It’s no exaggeration to say that these four pastas — Cacio e Pepe, Gricia, Carbonara and Amatriciana — are some of my favorite recipes in the entire world. (And one of the reasons I was so eager to return to Rome!) But while they will forever each hold a special place in my pasta-loving heart, it was pasta all’Amatriciana that stole the show on this trip. ♡

Maybe it was because we were traveling during the heart of Italian tomato season. But as the only one of the four pastas that features a red sauce, I’m convinced there’s just something extra-special that happens when tomatoes meet the other famous Roman pasta ingredients. Guanciale shows up to the party with its intensely-savory pork flavor, Pecorino brings the grassy and earthy notes, a splash of dry white wine helps to deglaze the pan, a pinch of hot pepper flakes add a subtle kick of heat, sea salt and black pepper round out the seasonings. Then when mixed with sweet San Marzano tomatoes and tossed with perfectly al dente pasta — well, let’s just say that there’s a reason that Amatriciana is the most famous red sauce in the capitol of Italy. It’s full-flavored, rich and hearty, and absolutely divine.

In Italy, Amatriciana sauce is always served with pasta that is just barely al dente (notably firm with a slight bite, which we learned apparently has the added benefit of giving the pasta a lower glycemic index and making it easier to digest). The versions I ordered in Rome were always served with either bucatini or rigatoni, with varying sizes of guanciale. But my favorites were definitely those that added in a generous amount of hot chili, whose heat was never overpowering but absolutely brings the sauce to life.

The good news for all of us is that classic pasta all’Amatriciana is relatively quick and easy to make. And, I might add, also much less finicky than the other three pastas in terms of technique, in case you’ve ever had issues with cheese sticking in your cacio e pepe or eggs scrambling in carbonara. I’d recommend serving the pasta with a fresh green salad and some roasted veggies, since the Roman pastas famously include zero greens. And if you feel like adding in a glass of wine, a good full-bodied Italian red would be perfect here.

Grazie mille to Italy for bringing the world all of these heavenly pastas. Now let’s make some Amatriciana!

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