Best Lemon Basil Pasta Recipes

LEMON SHRIMP WITH PASTA AND BASIL

Steps:

• Cook pasta in a large pan of boiling water for 10 minutes or until al dente.
• Add shrimp and drain immediately.
• Return pasta mixture to the pan.
• Combine next 5 ingredients in a bowl.
• Toss with cooked pasta and shrimp.
• Sprinkle cheese over pasta and serve immediately.

LIGHT LEMON BASIL PASTA

Steps:

• First, finely chop about half a large onion and mince or press about four large cloves of garlic (organic, of course).
• Second, take about a handful of organic basil (I hate to admit I don't wash this because it is harder to mince) and then finely chop the basil.
• Third, shred about half to three-quarters cup of parmesan reggiano.
• Fourth, start a pot of boiling salted water.
• Open two cans of chicken broth (I like Ralphs because it is less sodium than Stater Bros.).
• Place about one large heaping tablespoon of cornstarch in a short water glass or coffee cup.
• Saute onion only over medium heat in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add about three or four shakes of ground white pepper (maybe a bit more if you like it spicy). After about two minutes of saute process, add garlic and continue to stir and heat for another one minute. This brings out flavor of garlic. Then add about 3/4 cup of white wine and raise heat to "high" to deglaze the pan. Boil to reduce the liquid until it is nearly gone.
• Add one can of chicken stock, keeping heat at high. Stir the pan to make sure that all accumulated flavor on side of pan is combined with liquid. Boil this down by about half. Then add most of the second can and boil down again by about 1/3.
• While the sauce is finishing, add pasta to boiling water.
• Using the balance of the unused can of chicken stock, slowly pour into the glass of cornstarch stirring to blend the powder into a paste and then add more stock to make it a thick cornstarch liquid. Add this liquid slowly to the sauce, stirring in to incorporate about 15 seconds after pouring. Continue to heat on medium heat until sauce has thickened slightly (won't be much thicker than a heavy liquid) - this won't take much more than 45 seconds. Turn off heat. Add juice from about 1 lemon, more or less if desired. Stir to blend lemon. Set aside.
• Drain pasta. Place in bowls. Add basil to each bowl of dry pasta. Mix. Add a bit of sauce. Mix. Then add a bit of cheese. Mix. Add more sauce and cheese and fresh ground black pepper on top.

CREAMY LEMON-BASIL SHRIMP PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes.
• While the pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season shrimp with salt and pepper; add to the pan and cook 30 seconds per side. Remove to a plate.
• Add shallots to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth, lemon zest, and 1/2 of the lemon juice; heat for 2 minutes. Reserve remaining lemon juice for another use.
• Add cream and bring to a simmer. Return shrimp to the skillet and cook until heated through and pink, 2 to 3 minutes. Add basil.
• Drain spaghetti, reserving 1/4 to 1/2 cup pasta water.
• Add spaghetti to the skillet. Add pasta water as needed and pepper flakes; toss to coat. Season with pepper if desired.

PASTA WITH CHERRY TOMATOES, BASIL, LEMON, AND CLAMS

Steps:

• Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta; return to same pot.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes; sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add drained clams and basil; stir 1 minute.
• Add clam sauce, 1 cup Parmesan cheese and lemon juice to pasta. Toss over medium-high heat until heated through, adding reserved clam juices by 1/4 cupfuls if pasta is dry. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

FILLETS OF SOLE FRANCESE AND LEMON-BASIL PASTA

Steps:

• Place a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Salt the boiling water, add the pasta, and cook it to al dente; it should still have a bite to it. Heads up: you will need to use a ladleful of the starchy cooking liquid for the sauce before you drain the pasta.
• While the pasta cooks, rinse and pat the fish dry, then season with salt and pepper. Beat the eggs with the half-and-half or milk. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the butter. When the butter has melted and is hot, dip the fillets in the egg mixture, then transfer them to the skillet. Cook the fillets for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until deeply golden brown.
• While the fish cooks, zest the lemons. Heat the EVOO in a deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add the lemon zest and garlic to the EVOO. Sweat the garlic for 2 minutes, then add the wine and reduce for 30 seconds. Add a ladle of the starchy pasta water and the juice of 1 of the lemons and reduce for 30 seconds more. Turn off the heat.
• When the fish is done, transfer it to serving plates and add the juice of the remaining lemon to the pan. Turn the heat off. Let the lemon juice combine with the pan juices, then spoon the juices over the fish.
• Drain the pasta well and add to the garlic-lemon-wine sauce. Add the basil and toss the pasta for 1 minute to absorb the flavors. Season the pasta with salt and pepper. Serve the pasta alongside the fish garnished with cubes of plum tomato.

LEMON BASIL PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Fill a large pot 3/4 of the way with water and place over high heat. Add plenty of salt and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water to cool down.
• Put the pasta in a large serving bowl and add the tomatoes, basil, lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Toss well and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

BAKED LEMON-BASIL PASTA

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir in the bow tie pasta; return to a boil. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is cooked through, but still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Drain.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Season chicken with lemon pepper.
• Melt the margarine with the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir the chicken pieces until no longer pink in the center. Remove the chicken pieces, and place them in the bottom of a casserole dish.
• To the same skillet, add the garlic, white wine, sour cream, basil, lemon zest, and 1/2 of the lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove the skillet from the heat; stir in the pasta. Spoon the pasta and sauce mixture over the chicken. Cover with foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until heated through, about 15 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, parsley, spinach, and drizzle with the remaining lemon juice. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

LEMON-BASIL CHICKEN-PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Fill a 4-quart Dutch oven about half full of water. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt if desired. Cover with lid; heat over high heat until water is boiling rapidly. Add the pasta. Heat to boiling again. Boil uncovered 9 to 11 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender but not mushy. While water is heating and pasta is cooking, continue with recipe.
• Break off and discard the tough ends of the asparagus stalks where they snap easily; wash asparagus. Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces to measure 2 cups. Add asparagus to the pasta during the last 2 to 3 minutes of cooking.
• Peel and finely chop the garlic. Cut the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes to measure about 2 cups. Tear the basil leaves lengthwise into narrow strips.
• Place strainer or colander in the sink. Pour pasta and asparagus in the strainer to drain. Rinse with cold water; drain.
• In a large glass or plastic bowl, toss pasta, asparagus and chicken. Stir in garlic, basil, cheese, oil and lemon peel. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until chilled.

TURKEY CLUB PASTA SALAD WITH LEMON-BASIL DRESSING

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients for Lemon-Basil Dressing.
• Cook and drain pasta as directed on package. Rinse with cold water; drain.
• Mix pasta, dressing and remaining ingredients in large bowl. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours to blend flavors.

LEMON BASIL PASTA W/ CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• Drain and return pasta to pan.
• In a small bowl, combine butter, lemon juice, basil, garlic, and pepper.
• Add chicken and mix with the pasta.
• Sprinkle cheese over the pasta and serve.
• Yield 4 servings.

LEMON BASIL PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate. Season chicken breasts with salt and black pepper.
• Cook chicken breasts on the preheated grill until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Cut chicken into cubes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain. Season pasta with garlic salt.
• Whisk vegetable oil, lemon juice, basil, and Parmesan cheese together in a large bowl. Add pasta, chicken, and spinach leaves. Toss to coat.
• Cover and chill for 2 hours before serving.

TUNA, LEMON, BASIL, AND CAPER PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Boil the pasta in big pot of water with the red wine vinegar (gives the pasta a bit of a bite). Cook until al dente. When the pasta has about 2 minutes of boiling time left, toss the green beans in to blanch them. Drain together. To make the dressing- smash the garlic through a garlic press, or use the back of a knife and a bit of coarse salt to mash the garlic into a paste. In a small bowl, mix the garlic with some salt and pepper. Drain the olive oil from the can of tuna to make a garlic puree. Squeeze the whole lemon into the puree, and add the salt and pepper to taste. Add a bit of extra olive oil if dressing is thick. When all is prepaired, stir together the pasta and green beans, the dressing, tuna, capers, parsley, and basil. Toss it all together with the butter lettuce, and enjoy!

TURKEY, BACON PASTA SALAD WITH LEMON BASIL DRESSING

Steps:

• Cook pasta as directed on package; omitting salt.
• Rinse pasta in cold water; drain.
• Mix together mayonnaise, basil, lemon peel and lemon juice in a large bowl to form dressing.
• Add pasta, bacon (reserving 2 Tbl for topping), turkey, lettuce, cheese and tomato to dressing.
• Mix well.
• Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours to blend flavors.
• Sprinkle with reserved bacon.
• Serve.

RACHAEL RAY'S LEMON-BASIL PASTA

Steps:

• Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil , for cooking the pasta. Add salt once water is boiling, then the pasta, and cook according to package directions. Note: you will need to use a ladleful (probably 1/4 to 1/2 cup) of the starchy pasta water to make the sauce, so gather that 1/4 to 1/2 cup before draining the water.
• While pasta cooks, zest the lemon. Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add lemon zest and garlic to oil. Sweat the garlic for two minutes, then add wine.
• Reduce the wine for 30 seconds, then add the reserved ladle of pasta water and the juice of the lemon. Reduce 30 more seconds. Turn the heat off.
• Drain pasta and then transfer it to the skillet with the garlic-lemon-wine sauce. Add in the basil; toss pasta for a minute to absorb flavors. Season pasta with salt and pepper.

GRILLED CHICKEN WITH LEMON BASIL PASTA (PW)

Steps:

• Cook pasta, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water when you drain. Set pasta aside in a colander. In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice of 3 to 4 lemons. Whisk together. Pour in cream and half-and-heat. Whisk until hot. Dump in cheese and whisk until melted. Add salt and pepper. Check consistency, adding some of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed. Pour pasta and sauce into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining basil all over the top, then add sliced chicken breasts. Serve immediately!

CREAMY LEMON BASIL-CHICKEN PASTA

Steps:

• Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic and pepper; cook 1 min. Add half the chicken; cook 2 min. or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining chicken; return all chicken to skillet.
• Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Mix reserved water with Neufchatel and bouillon until blended. Add to chicken with lemon zest; mix well. Cover; cook on low heat 5 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in pasta, lemon juice and basil; cook; uncovered, 1 min. or until heated through, stirring frequently. Add mozzarella; cook and stir 1 min. or until melted.

LEMON BASIL SHRIMP PASTA WITH PROSCIUTTO

Steps:

• Put oil, butter and red pepper flakes in large frying pan on med-high heat. Stir until butter is melted and oil is hot. Add onion and fry until translucent and stirring occasionally. Add prosciutto and fry until slightly browned. Add half of lemon zest and garlic. Fry 2-3m more but do not brown garlic. Increase heat to high and add wine. Reduce slightly. Add shrimp, cover and reduce heat back to med-high and cook til shrimp is cooked, turning once. Add rest of lemon zest,stir and keep warm. Meanwhile cook pasta of your choice, about 1 lb. Drain pasta when done and return to pot or put in a big pasta bowl. Toss pasta with shrimp mixture, basil and Parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste.

LEMON, BASIL & MASCARPONE PASTA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until firm to the bite.
• While the pasta is cooking, place the lemon juice, zest and mascarpone in a skillet over medium-low heat.
• Warm gently, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
• Add the pasta with the basil to the hot sauce.
• Toss well to coat, adding reserved water as needed.
• Serve immediately.

LEMON-BASIL ORZO PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook orzo as directed on package, omitting salt; drain. Place in large bowl.
• Whisk dressing, basil and juice until blended. Add to orzo with remaining ingredients; mix lightly.
• Refrigerate 1 hour.

PASTA WITH LEMON AND BASIL

Steps:

• Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water before draining.
• In a serving bowl, whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper. It should form a loose emulsion.
• Add pasta and basil to bowl and toss to combine. Add reserved pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, until the sauce has the consistency you desire. Serve with more grated Parmesan.