Vegan Pasta al Limone (Gluten-Free, Allergy-Free)

A classic Italian pasta dish with the creamiest lemon sauce! This Vegan Pasta al Limone recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, allergy-free, and still so simple and easy to make! This authentic Southern Italian pasta sauce is cheesy, buttery, tangy, super creamy, and comes together in one pan for a quick and delicious meal ready in 10 minutes!

Creamy, cheesy, tangy....and PASTA? When life gives you lemons, forget the lemonade, make this pasta instead! This classic Southern Italian pasta dish literally means "Lemon Pasta". But it doesn't stop there! The lemon sauce is creamy, silky smooth, and so buttery and cheesy! The marriage of fat and acidity makes it a perfect summer comfort food recipe! Plus, this version is made without dairy and is gluten-free!

What is Pasta al Limone?

It's a popular summer pasta dish with origins in the Sorrentine peninsula and Silicly, due to the abundance and sustainability of lemons in Southern Italy. This authentic lemon pasta is made with long noodles (could be linguine or spaghetti) served in a creamy, dreamy lemon sauce. The sauce is high-fat which allows the acidity of the added lemon juice and zest to mix in smoothly and not curdle the sauce! Classically, the sauce is a combination of heavy cream, butter, Parmigiano, and lemon. Sometimes you'll find olive oil in place of butter and the addition of dry white wine.

Why You Need This Recipe

This traditionally dairy-heavy recipe is far from being vegan or gluten-free, but this recipe you can make, RIGHT NOW, is! This vegan pasta al limone is...

• Gluten-Free
• Vegan & Vegetarian
• Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free)
• Sugar-Free
• All Natural (No Mock Cheeses!)
• Health(ier) Comfort Food
• Easy & Quick with Minimal Ingreindts, Ready in 10 Minutes
• Kid-Friendly & Adult-Approved

Ingredients You'll Need

• Gluten-Free Pasta: Use your favorite gluten-free spaghetti or other long pasta. Of course, you can technically use any shaped pasta if you're in a pinch, but the long noodles are lovely for coating in that creamy sauce that just clings to those long and slurpable strands!
• Full-Fat Coconut Milk: You want FULL-FAT canned unsweetened coconut milk! This is the dairy-free replacement for heavy cream and makes this sauce creamy, dreamy, and hearty enough to play well with the acidic lemon juice!
• Vegan Butter: The butter adds more fat and that butteriness you want in the sauce!
• Nutritional Yeast: Here's where the vegan cheesiness comes in! Nutty and cheesy umami notes of nutritional yeast and the perfect natural dairy-free substitute for parmesan!
• Lemons: Clearly, the star of this sauce! You'll want FRESH lemon juice, as well as the zest of 1 lemon to bring the brightness and tanginess of this sauce sing!
• Seasonings: You can't have authentic Italian pasta without garlic, pepper, and some salt! Season the lemon sauce to you're liking, but take my word and don't skimp on the garlic and black pepper!

As you can see, this is basically LEMON mac and cheese! Creamy, cheesy, lemon pasta for days!

How To make Pasta al Limone

Better question is...how to make it in 10 minutes?

1. Boil your pasta according to package directions.
2. In a large pan, melt the butter, add the lemon zest and juice along with the garlic and seasonings.
3. Then slowly add in the coconut milk, whisking it all together so it's smooth, before adding in the nutritional yeast.
4. Drain the pasta (reserve at least ½ cup of pasta water), add the hot pasta to the sauce in the pan.
5. If you want a soupier sauce, you can add some of the reserved pasta water, otherwise, remove the pan from the heat and serve!

Additional Tips and Tricks

• This gluten-free pasta al limone is best eaten right away while it's hot! Serve it with extra cracked black pepper, fresh lemon zest, homemade vegan parmesan, and a pinch of parsley if desired.
• If you do have leftovers, store the pasta in a closed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in a pan on the stove over low heat. You'll need to add a splash of coconut milk or water to loosen things up again!
• When making the sauce, adjust the coconut milk amount while you're stirring in the nutritional yeast. The sauce you be thick and smooth, but if it seems too thick before adding the pasta, add more coconut milk.
• When you add the pasta to the sauce, you may find the high-fat sauce becomes too "tight" and thick which is why adding a few tablespoons of the pasta water can help keep the sauce fluid. Keep in mind that the cream sauce while thicken as it cools, so err on the side of a more liquidy sauce.

What to Serve with Pasta al Limone

You can serve your pasta as an entree with a side of gluten-free garlic bread, a fresh salad, or some roasted/blanched veggies! You can also serve smaller portions and add a protein to the pasta like chicken or fish for non-vegans, or use a grain-free legume pasta for even more protein as a vegan meal (the sauce is already jam-packed with protein!)

More Gluten-Free & Vegan Italian Pasta Recipes:

• Mom's Best Classic Baked Ziti
• Fettuccine Alfredo
• Lightened-Up Penne alla Vodka
• Classic Baked Manicotti
• Stuffed Shells with Almond Ricotta
• Brown Butter Garlic Gnocchi
• Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Print

Your new tangy and creamy vegan summer mac and cheese that's almost as quick as some microwave easy mac! This gluten-free pasta al limone is going to be a STAPLE in your weekly meal rotation!

So tell me:

+ What's your go-to pasta in the summer months? You can't beat cold pasta salad...

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