Easy Butter Lemon Pasta with Broccoli

This creamy lemon pasta is the perfect weeknight meal — simple to make and just a few ingredients, yet full of flavor! This post is brought to you in collaboration with Minerva Dairy.

There is something so amazing, so simple, so satisfying, and just so delicious about buttered noodles.

When I was a kid, it was a common addition to our dinner table. I’m sure my grandma or mom loved its simplicity, cost effectiveness, or ease of execution. 

I didn’t care about any of those things. I loved it, and loved when it was on the dinner roster. It was one of my absolute favorite meals.

Just a few simple ingredients. Spaghetti (or sometimes angel hair or sometimes egg noodles). Quality butter. Salt. Plenty of black pepper. Generous portions of Parmesan — optional, yet highly encouraged.

If you’re a fan of this dish, you know exactly why it receives such praise. Such a simple combination of starch, fat, and seasoning creates a perfect harmony. Butter hugs each pasta noodle and adds creaminess and richness while still letting the pasta itself remain front and center. Plus, it’s highly customizable. A pinch of crushed red pepper? If you please. A sprinkling of fresh basil? As you wish.

Which leads me to this Butter Lemon Pasta with Broccoli — my grown-up version of my favorite childhood dinner.

Here, we add some veggies for good measure and elevate buttered noodles with plenty of lemon, both in zest and juice form. We also add toasted pine nuts for wonderful texture, nutty Parmesan, garlic, and shallot.

And don’t forget, the key to making excellent buttered pasta is in the sauce (spoiler alert: use that pasta water).

Lemon Butter Sauce for Pasta

The key component in this lemon pasta is the butter, and we’re not afraid to use it.

However, it has to be excellent butter. Do not skimp on quality here. 

Which is why I use and highly recommend Minerva Dairy. Minerva Dairy’s butter is 85% butterfat, slow-churned, and made in the US. As America’s oldest family-owned creamery, Minerva Dairy has passed down its butter-making traditions for six generations.

So creamy and delicious you could eat it off a spoon (hey, I won’t judge).

You only need a few simple things for this delicious lemon butter pasta sauce:

• unsalted, quality butter (psst: Minerva Dairy)
• lemon zest
• lemon juice
• shallot
• garlic
• pasta water
• Parmesan cheese

This lemon pasta is the perfect summer meal.

It’s fancy enough for a weekend or a get-together, but it’s simple and easy enough for a weeknight. Win win.

There’s also minimal cooking and the whole dish comes together in about 20 minutes.

Excuse us while we enjoy this bowl of zesty, buttery, delicious lemon pasta outside on the porch.

We hope that you make and enjoy this Easy Butter Lemon Pasta with Broccoli! For more pasta recipes, click here. What’s your favorite summer pasta dish? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to check out where you can find Minerva Dairy near you! 

Easy Butter Lemon Pasta with Broccoli

• Author: Tiffany
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

This creamy lemon pasta is the perfect weeknight meal — simple to make and just a few ingredients, yet full of flavor!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 cups chopped broccoli florets
• 8 ounces angel hair pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small shallot, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest, divided
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
• Toasted pine nuts, for topping
• Salt and pepper, to taste

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Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Add the broccoli and cook until crisp tender, about 2-3 minutes. Remove using a slotted spoon and bring the water back up to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the salted pasta water before draining pasta.
3. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce.
4. In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil. Add the shallot and cook until soft and translucent, but not browned. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Melt the butter and stir in the lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add in 1/4 cup (or up to 1/2 cup, as needed) of the reserved pasta water and simmer until slightly thickened. Toss the pasta with the sauce, broccoli, and Parmesan cheese.
6. Serve the pasta immediately topped with the pine nuts and additional cheese.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 serving
• Calories: 370
• Sugar: 1g
• Sodium: 246mg
• Fat: 19.6g
• Saturated Fat: 10.1g
• Carbohydrates: 37.4g
• Fiber: 1.3g
• Protein: 12.8g
• Cholesterol: 82mg