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Italian

Spaghetti al limone

Vegetarian

Spaghetti in a bright, creamy emulsion of butter, lemon zest and juice and Parmigiano, as cooked along the lemon-growing Amalfi and Sorrento coasts.

Spaghetti al limone is an Italian pasta dish from Italy, ready in about 17 minutes and made with dried pasta, lemon and parmesan. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Spaghetti tossed with lemon zest and grated cheese in a white bowl
Photo: Luca Nebuloni from Milan, Italy / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-2.0
Prep
5 min
Cook
12 min
Total
17 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
559

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Finely zest both lemons (opens in a new tab) and squeeze about 60 ml juice.

    Lemon being squeezed
    How it looks · Photo: Gu Ko on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Cook the spaghetti (opens in a new tab) in salted boiling water until 1 minute short of al dente.

    Salt the pasta water at about 10 g per litre — it should taste pleasantly seasoned, not like the sea.

    Pasta boiling in a pot of water
    How it looks · Photo: Gianpiero Ferraro on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile melt the butter in a wide pan over low heat, add the zest and 150 ml of the pasta (opens in a new tab) water and swirl to combine.

  4. Step 4

    Add the spaghetti (opens in a new tab) and lemon (opens in a new tab) juice and toss over medium heat for 1 minute. Off the heat, add the Parmesan (opens in a new tab) in handfuls, tossing until creamy; loosen with more pasta water if needed. Season with pepper (opens in a new tab), tear over basil (opens in a new tab) and serve.

    • 2 min
    • medium heat

About this dish

Origin
Campania (Amalfi Coast and Sorrento), Italy · Commonly attributedMore food from Italy
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Pasta · Main courses
Cooking method
Boiled
Taste
citrusy, buttery, fresh
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday
Cook more with
Dried pasta · Lemon · Parmesan · Unsalted butter
Techniques
Boiling

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom unsalted butter, parmesan
  • May contain: Eggsfrom dried pasta
  • Contains: Wheatfrom dried pasta
  • Contains: Glutenfrom dried pasta

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

559 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 175 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 14%
  • Carbohydrate 57%
  • Fat 29%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy559 kcal320 kcal
Protein19.9 g11.4 g
Carbohydrate79.2 g45.3 g
Net carbohydrate74.8 g42.8 g
Sugars3.8 g2.1 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4.4 g2.5 g
Fat18.2 g10.4 g
Saturated fat10.5 g6 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol44 mg25 mg
Sodium——
Salt equivalent——
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
301 mg
Calcium
243 mg
Iron
3.7 mg
Magnesium
64 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
139 µg
Vitamin C
23 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
0.2 µg
Folate (DFE)
397 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: basil.
  • Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): black pepper, salt — so sodium is shown as unknown.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Add the juice at the end and taste: lemons vary a lot in sharpness.

Common mistakes

  • Boiling the sauce after adding cheese, which makes it grainy.

Storage

  • Best eaten straight away.

Variations

  • With cream: Some Sorrento cooks add 100 ml cream to the butter for a richer, steadier sauce.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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