I admit—I’ve been dropping the ball lately. While I love the idea of being able to post on this blog every day, some weeks, well, that just doesn’t happen. These past few weeks I’ve been kind of focusing on a new project that has required a good amount of my attention. Don’t worry, I’ll share what that project is hopefully with you soon. Thanks for always being a part of this online community with me. It’s been a joy to write this blog in this hellish of a year—and I love to share new cooking ideas with you. So for today’s post, let’s talk lemon vegetable linguini.
So this lemon vegetable linguini recipe actually comes with a fun little story. I was recently asked to help teach an online cooking class for some teenagers and pre-teens, which I was excited to take on. As I was planning out what to cook I realize…pre-teens chopping with knives? I got fearful of little fingers being sliced off. So I figured I should make a recipe that requires absolutely no slicing.
Think of this as a next-level pasta dish that’s perfect for the first-time cook. When I first started cooking for myself in college, I would make all kinds of easy items. Mac and cheese, ravioli, or pretty much any other dump-and-go pasta you could think of. This lemon vegetable linguini is perfect for the first-time cook to throw together something fancy for a friend (or someone they want to impress) without having to know a ton about cooking. Skip the jars of tomato sauce and the boxes of penne, my friends. We’re going for it.
This lemon vegetable linguini is also the kind of recipe that you can doctor up. Sure, you can follow my recipe to a tee. But if you’re feeling it, you could always throw in a little Alfredo sauce to make it creamy or play around with different cooked vegetables in the dish. And hey, if you’re in need of some protein, throw in some cooked chicken as well. Have a leftover rotisserie chicken? Shred it up and add it to the pan.
This recipe is vegetarian, but you can also make it vegan if you like by avoiding the cheese. I admit the cheese does add to the dish, so if there’s some kind of vegan parmesan alternative that you like, I recommend snagging that and giving it a try.
Lastly, I actually write in this recipe that you should grated parmesan cheese. But as you see in the picture, I actually used shaved parmesan. If you want that fancy photo like I have, swap it out! And throw it a bit more in there. I would say 1/2 cup of shaved parmesan would do nicely if swapping with a 1/4 cup of grated.
Are you in the market for even more easy dinner ideas? You can always snag this free cookbook. Or try one of these ideas perfect for the first-time cook.
- This lemon garlic shrimp is ridiculously easy to throw together. Grab a fresh-baked baguette for dipping.
- Skip the easy mac and make this one-bowl mac and cheese instead.
- Sheet pans for the win! This cajun shrimp sheet pan is a favorite, along with these chicken nachos.
- Chicken is boring? Nah. Make this three-ingredient pesto chicken.
- All you have to do for this kale parmesan flatbread is throw on the ingredients and stick it in the oven. So easy!
And now, you can add a lemon vegetable linguini to your recipe arsenal!
Lemon Garlic Vegetable Linguini
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz. box of linguini
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 5 oz. bag spinach
- 1 pint grape tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup grated paremsan cheese plus some for garnish
- Red pepper flakes optional
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Break the pasta in half and place in the boiling water, adding 2-3 dashes of salt.
- Heat up a large skillet on medium-low. Pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Once warm, add the minced garlic. Stir, then let it become fragrant for 30 seconds.
- Add the cherry tomatoes into the skillet. Mix to coat the tomatoes, then cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the bag of spinach to the skillet, stir to combine. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Drain the pasta, then add it to the skillet.
- Pour in the lemon juice and toss in the grated parmesan cheese, then combine using a pair of tongs.
- Serve warm with extra cheese, fresh cracked pepper, and red pepper flakes, if desired.
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