Lemon Cilantro Pasta has a buttery sauce that is made with a hint of lemon zest and cilantro folded with ground almonds that are creamed with milk. This light pasta dish can be served hot or cold or as a base for a pasta salad.
There is nothing quite as summery as lemons paired with fresh herbs. It is certainly healthier than school lunches and not time-consuming. Being a picky mom, I paid attention to what my kids ate at home and the fresh lunches that I packed for them for school.
Besides making fresh dinner, I would think of quick and easy meals that I can prepare every morning for school. This is such a straightforward and quick recipe; my teenage daughter just loves to make this sauce sometimes for a quick brunch. My daughter is health-conscious, so she uses nonfat or low-fat milk, and varies the nut paste based on what she is feeling like. With a quick dash of lemon zest, a sprig of finely chopped cilantro, bejeweled with olives or sundried tomatoes, she gets this sauce done before you can say ‘al dente’. This unrefined, unprocessed Lemon Cilantro Pasta is one of her favorite pasta dishes. When my daughter is so inclined, she adds some parmesan or feta cheese as a garnish. Frankly, we have not seen this sauce in any restaurant.
My kids have grown up with these types of dishes, where they tangibly appreciate Nature’s bounty as I incorporate nuts and vegetables from all four seasons. Whether it is ferrying my kids from school to after-school activities or as an on-the-go meal for a play date by the lake, I use this recipe and its variations as a quick and tasty pick-me-up. These recipes have become a healthy, handy component of my everyday culinary tool kit. You could try my Pasta With Cauliflower and Peas for another quick healthy meal idea.
How to cook pasta?
The secret to the Lemon Cilantro Pasta is the al dente pasta served with a quick, healthy sauce. Al dente which in Italian means “to the tooth”, is a cooked state where the pasta is chewy, firm, and holds its shape. Studies have shown that raw pasta is difficult to digest and potentially unhealthy. In fact, raw, uncooked pasta contains large quantities of phytates and lectins. These anti-nutrients can block the absorption of nutrients. For example, phytates bind with minerals like iron and calcium, thus reducing the absorption of these food nutrients in the bloodstream.
Overcooked pasta is no better. The longer the pasta is cooked, the more sugars it breaks down and the more quickly your body digests these sugars. The more rapid the digestive process, the more likely it will cause a spike in your body’s blood sugar. This will be followed quickly by a sudden drop. This cause-and-effect leaves you feeling quickly hungry again, urging you to eat more.
The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly a carbohydrate-based food increases blood sugar level. The higher the number, the faster the sugar decomposition and absorption. Foods are classified as low, medium, or high glycemic foods and ranked on a scale of 0–100. Low GI, when a food has a score of less than 55, medium is between 56-69, and high is above 70.
Foods that are made of refined carbs and sugar are digested more quickly and have a high GI, while foods high in protein, fat, or fiber typically have a low GI. Foods, such as meat, fish, poultry, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, and oils contain no carbs and hence, are not assigned a GI. Al dente pasta has a score of less than 55 making it healthy, whereas overcooked pasta has a high GI.
Why you would love the Lemon Cilantro Pasta:
We are all aware that mass market sauces have added sugars. We use these sauces as we are pressed for time or because it is convenient. This homemade sauce is both healthy and quick without added sugars. Rather than using cream, I use reduced fat milk and ground nuts to create additional flavor profiles and act as a thickening agent for the Lemon Cilantro Pasta.
Whole nuts can be dry ground and stored beforehand, that will allow you to vary flavors and save time. The most important element of using ground nuts is the health benefit. Nuts are a nutritionally rich and one of the main sources of ALA omega-3 fatty acids. From reducing rheumatoid arthritis to protecting against Alzheimer’s and dementia, nuts are a form of superfood.
How to make Lemon Cilantro Pasta:
- Heat a pan and add butter, garlic, and onions. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Grind the almonds and sundried tomatoes to a fine paste with milk.
- Toss in the peppers, artichokes, and the ground sauce. Add salt, crushed peppers, lemon zest, and cilantro. Bring to a boil, and turn off the heat.
4. Add the cooked pasta with a little pasta water to the sauce and toss until combined. Serve the Lemon Cilantro Pasta hot with grated parmesan cheese on top.
1. Add cheese to the sauce if you like it that way. I used cheese as a garnish.
2. Other substitutions for almonds are macadamia, pine nuts or walnuts for this recipe.
3. Cilantro pairs well with lemon or you could use basil.
Lemon Cilantro Pasta
Equipment
- Stovetop
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 small red onion
- 6 sprigs cilantro chiffonade
- 1 orange pepper cubed
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bottle artichoke hearts in olive oil small
- 1 lemon zest
- ½ cup almond powdered
- 2 cup reduced fat milk
- ¼ cup sundried tomato chopped
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- ½ tsp pepper powder
- chili flakes for garnish
- Parmesan cheese grated, garnish
- 1 pack penne pasta small
Instructions
- Heat a pan and add butter, garlic, and onions. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Grind the almonds and sundried tomatoes to a fine paste with milk.
- Toss in the peppers, artichokes, and the ground sauce. Add salt, crushed peppers, lemon zest and chopped cilantro. Bring to a boil, and turn off the heat.
- Add the cooked pasta with a little pasta water to the sauce, and toss until combined. Serve hot with grated parmesan cheese on top.
Notes
- Reduced fat milk will still make a creamy sauce due to the addition of ground nuts. There is no need to add cream.
- I used the jarred artichokes in olive oil which contain salt which is why I went easy on the addition of salt in the sauce.
Nutrition
Great combo of lemon and cilantro!
this is so easy to make on a weeknight, thank you!
I didn’t know how cilantro and lemon would taste but it’s delicious!!
Thank you so much for sharing, Kanchan! I made this in 15 minutes at my dorm and it worked perfectly.