Easy Lemon Ricotta Pasta

You'll love this lemon ricotta pasta recipe - it's easy, made with just 7 simple ingredients, and totally delicious.

📝 Ingredients

• 16 oz. cavatappi (or similar shape pasta)
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 lemon (about 1 Tbsp. zest and 1/4 cup juice)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 16 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Prepare pasta according to package instructions. Remember to salt the cooking water and reserve 1 cup of cooking water.
2. 2Prep ingredients: Melt butter in a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and add panko bread crumbs. Stir frequently and cook until golden brown, removing from heat and transferring to a bowl immediately to stop cooking. Thinly slice garlic. Zest and juice lemon.
3. 3Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add garlic. Cook for 30-seconds to a minute, being careful to not burn. Add in ricotta cheese and lemon juice and stir to combine. Pour in 1/2 cup reserved pasta water and lemon zest.
4. 4Whisk until creamy. Add in cooked pasta and toss until it coats the pasta, cooking a few more minutes to thicken sauce if necessary. If mixture is dry, drizzle in more of the reserved pasta cooking water.
5. 5Serve with toasted breadcrumbs sprinkled on top and freshly cracked pepper and flaky sea salt if desired.