This vegan lemon pepper pasta is made with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, and freshly ground black pepper. Vegan butter makes the lemon pepper sauce rich and decadent while still being a light meal perfect for springtime. It's a bright alternative to traditional garlic and olive oil pasta, and tastes even better with some chopped fresh herbs!
Lemon butter sauce is so delicious, and it find its perfect match in this recipe with spaghetti (or your favorite pasta shape). Given that it's practically 50% vegan butter, it's not health food by any means, but it's there for you in less than 20 minutes when you need some quick comfort food. You could even dress it up with fresh herbs, lemon zest, and cracked black pepper, serve it at a springtime dinner party, and seriously impress your guests with your "fancy" pasta dish.
Since every ingredient in this recipe has a starring role, I recommend using fresh ingredients every step of the way. I love those jars of prepared garlic and bottled lemon juice when I need to add a bit of somethin' somethin' to a stir fry or flavorful pasta dish, but they will not be able to hold their own in this recipe.
Grab a bag of fresh lemons, a head of garlic, some fresh herbs, and get your pepper grinder ready, and let's get started!
🍋 Ingredients
Fresh Lemons
We'll be using the juice and zest in the lemon pepper sauce, so make sure to get fresh lemons.
Vegan Butter
You can use any kind of vegan butter for this recipe. I prefer Earth Balance for baking, but lately I've been into the Country Crock Vegan Butter for cooking (I'm not a fan of it in baked goods though). It has a, well, buttery flavor, especially when paired with the lemon and garlic, and coats the pasta nicely.
Garlic
You know those memes about recipes that call for 1 clove of garlic and how that's cute and the appropriate amount of garlic for any recipe is a big ol' handful? I feel it.
Well you don't have to worry about "sizing up" the garlic in this recipe. I already did that for you. It calls for 6 cloves of garlic. I'd recommend using big cloves because that means more garlic, but if you have small cloves you could add 8-10. The sky's the limit.
Black Pepper
More specifically, black peppercorns and a grinder. None of that stale pre-ground black pepper nonsense.
Pasta
I like spaghetti, but any kind will work great. I envision lemon pepper pasta made with farfalle for a perfect springtime meal!
Fresh Herbs
See the fresh theme? When recipes have so few ingredients, the flavor and quality of the ingredients matters. I recommend adding some fresh thyme, basil, or oregano to this recipe.
You may have noticed I used green onions in the photos, but no herbs. Well, it was winter and I WISH I had used fresh herbs. Every time I've made this recipe since then, I add them and it makes all the difference.
🔪 Instructions
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente, according to the directions on the package.
Meanwhile in a separate saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the vegan butter. Add the garlic and cook until golden, 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the rest of the vegan butter and stir to melt and coat the garlic.
Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, freshly ground black pepper, and salt. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, then remove from heat.
Taste and adjust the flavors. The flavor of the lemon pepper sauce will be very concentrated, but will mellow out once added to the pasta.
Add the pasta to the pot with the sauce and use tongs to coat with the sauce. Add your herbs or green onions, and more salt and pepper if desired.
Serve immediately and top with chopped fresh herbs, lemon zest, and black pepper.
💭 Tips
- Be sure to use fresh lemons, garlic, pepper, and herbs. It really makes a difference!
- What kinds of herbs to add? I recommend fresh thyme, basil, or oregano.
- Don't skip the lemon zest. The lemon juice adds the tangy lemon flavor and the zest adds a concentrated dose of lemon flavor without the bite.
- Yes it's a lot of vegan butter, but I don't recommend reducing it TOO much, if at all. It will throw off the ratio of butter to lemon juice and you will have some very tart pasta.
📋 Variations
This is less of a variation and more of an addition, but you can add tofu, seitan, or sautéed veggies to the dish. Sliced onions and bell peppers would be great!
Lemon pepper chicken is a popular dish, but it's obviously not vegan. You could add some sliced Chicken Style Seitan to make this a heartier dish.
🥗 More lemon recipes
Need more recipes to use up your fresh lemons? I got you!
If you're a fan of lemon and garlic in savory dishes, you've got to try Greek lemon potatoes! The potatoes are baked until crispy, then baked again in an aromatic lemon garlic olive oil sauce until tender. They are absolutely heavenly.
Yes, lemon meringue pie can be made vegan! The flaky tender pie crust is filled with a jelly lemon filling, topped with aquafaba meringue, and baked or torched to brown the meringue, just like classic lemon meringue pie.
Can't forget a cocktail to round out your meal! This gin fizz is made with aquafaba instead of egg whites, and flavored with fresh lemon juice and thyme simple syrup.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Lemon Pepper Pasta
This vegan lemon pepper pasta is made with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, and freshly ground black pepper. Vegan butter makes the dish rich and decadent while still being a light meal perfect for springtime.
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter or olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh herbs and/or green onions, chopped
- 1lb pasta
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente, according to the directions on the package.
- Meanwhile in a separate saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the vegan butter. Add the garlic and cook until golden, 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the rest of the vegan butter and stir to melt and coat the garlic.
- Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, freshly ground black pepper, and salt. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, then remove from heat.
- Taste and adjust the flavors. The flavor of the lemon pepper sauce will be very concentrated, but will mellow out once added to the pasta.
- Add the pasta to the pot with the sauce and use tongs to coat with the sauce. Add your herbs or green onions, and more salt and pepper if desired.
- Serve immediately and top with chopped fresh herbs, lemon zest, and black pepper.
Notes
- Be sure to use fresh lemons, garlic, pepper, and herbs. It really makes a difference!
- What kinds of herbs to add? I recommend fresh thyme, basil, or oregano.
- Don't skip the lemon zest. The lemon juice adds the tangy lemon flavor and the zest adds a concentrated dose of lemon flavor without the bite.
- Yes it's a lot of vegan butter, but I don't recommend reducing it TOO much, if at all. It will throw off the ratio of butter to lemon juice and you will have some very tart pasta.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 428Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 325mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 3gSugar: 1gProtein: 7g
All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on seitanbeatsyourmeat.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimates.
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