This creamy lemon pasta cost less than $15 to make, takes less than thirty minutes to come to life, and it feeds my family of six with leftovers for lunch the next day. This creamy lemon parmesan pasta has become my favorite warm-weather switch-up from the heavy tomato sauces I lean on all winter. The sauce is ridiculously simple to throw together: 1 cup half and half, 6 tablespoons of butter, lemon zest, grated parmesan, and fresh lemon juice at the end. Throw in whatever veggies you have on hand, and the real surprise? Sweet apple chicken sausage. Bonus points for the protein, but It also adds a subtle sweetness that really ties everything together.
This is the kind of meal that makes me feel like I have my life together. So what do you think, would you give this a try?
Ingredients
- 12 ounces chicken apple sausage, sliced into rounds
- 1 cup of half-and-half
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 lemon, freshly zested and juiced
- ⅓ bag baby spinach / kale
- ½ pint cherry tomatoes
- freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 pound pasta of choice
Instructions
- While your pasta is cooking to al dente, brown your sausage in a large pan, set aside.
- In the same pan, add lemon zest. Add in heavy cream, whisk until simmering, add in butter slowly.
- Mix in spinach and tomatoes, allow to cook down. Adjust seasonings, if needed.
- Turn off heat, add in lemon juice, then your cooked pasta and cooked sausage, and a bit of reserved pasta water, if needed to thin sauce. Serve with grated parmesan and more lemon zest, if desired.