Easy Vegan Lemon Ricotta Pasta!

Healthy and satisfying, this Easy Vegan Lemon Ricotta Pasta dish is packed with fresh flavors that makes for a delicious and quick week night meal. Lemon and ricotta flavors blend to create a rich, tangy, and hearty dish even the most discriminating critics will love.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi there, Ameera here!

I fell in love with this dish on the first bite; however, it did take a few family members a moment or two to let those flavors seep in. Mind you, it took a few kitchen tests to get that perfect balance of lemon to ricotta flavor seasoned just right.

If you love that tangy ricotta flavor coupled with lemon, then this dish is just for you. You gotta give this one a try!

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile:  The traditional Lemon Ricotta pasta dish is made with Ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and lemons.  If you love ricotta cheese and lemon flavors, then this Whole Food Plant Based version will be right up your alley.  The ricotta is the prominent flavor profile in this dish.  You can adjust the lemon flavor by adding more lemon juice and lemon zest.  We had family members who at first weren’t quite sure what to think of it, but after the 3^rd bite, they loved it.  If you are not a fan of both ricotta and lemon flavors, then pass on this recipe.
• Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice: The taste of a freshly squeezed lemon is superior to bottled lemon juice.  We tend to use bottled lemon juice quite a bit, but for this recipe, freshly squeezed lemons is the way to go.  ½ of a lemon generally gives you about 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice.  If you use bottled lemon juice, then start on the lower side (2 teaspoons) and add more as needed.
• Vegan Ricotta Cheese: You can use your favorite Vegan Ricotta cheese recipe or purchase one. We like Kite Hill Ricotta Cheese as Kite Hill is Whole Food Plant Based. We like to use Kite Hill Ricotta Cheese on occasion for convenience.  Here’s a Where to Buy Kite Hill Products link.
• Vegan Parmesan Cheese: You can use our Vegan Parmesan Cheese or your favorite Vegan Parmesan Cheese.
• Sauce: You need to tend to this sauce to get the ricotta to break down and emulsify into the liquids.  Mash the ricotta with the backend of a wooden spoon and stir.  Keep repeating until the ricotta is smooth and emulsified to form a beautiful sauce.
• Reserved Pasta Water: This is the water that is used to boil the pasta.  It is a starchy water which helps the sauce stick to the pasta.  Don’t forget to pull the water off right before you drain the pasta.
• Rinsing the Pasta: If using a gluten free pasta, rinse the pasta in cold water to remove any excess starches.  Gluten free pasta tends to be excessively starchy.  Rinsing also helps retain some of the pasta integrity as some gluten free pastas tend to be fragile. Most Italians would cringe at the thought of rinsing pasta, but it works perfectly when using GF spaghetti.
• Pasta of choice: Please feel free to use your favorite pasta.
• Lemon Zest: If you are looking to really boost the lemon flavor, then feel free to add some lemon zest to individual servings.
• Pasta in the Sauce: The pasta will start to soak up the sauce as it sits. You may wish to add a tablespoon or so of water to help loosen up the sauce if it thicks up too much.
• Sea Salt: Our family was completed divided over the amount of sea salt for this dish.  Start on the low side since miso paste can be salty, build up from there.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered container.  Reheating can be done on the stovetop or in the microwave.

This dish can be frozen.

Pantry Products Used:

• Vegan Ricotta Cheese: We used Kite Hill Ricotta Cheese for convenience.  Feel free to use your favorite Vegan Ricotta Cheese.  If using a Vegan Ricotta Cheese other than Kite Hill, be sure to the ingredients label to ensure there is no added oil.  Here’s a Where to Buy Kite Hill Products link.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Products Used:

• Stock pot

If you try this comforting pasta dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

Easy Vegan Lemon Ricotta Pasta

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 15 Minutes
• Total Time: 25 Minutes
• Yield: 4-5 Servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

This healthy Easy Vegan Lemon Ricotta Pasta dish is packed with fresh flavors that makes for delicious and quick week night meal.

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Ingredients

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Sauce Ingredients:

• 8 oz. Vegan Ricotta Cheese *
• 1 to 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice *
• 1 ¾ to 2 cups reserved hot pasta water *
• ¼ cup Vegan Parmesan Cheese *
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ to 1 teaspoon sea salt *
• Pinch to ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
• Pinch to ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) *

Other Ingredients

• 14 to 16 oz. rigatoni (or pasta of choice) *

Optional Toppings:

• Freshly chopped basil
• Vegan Parmesan Cheese *
• Pinch lemon zest *

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Instructions

1. Fill a large stock pot full of water. Add a little sea salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil then add the pasta. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Boil the pasta until al dente.
2. Remove 2 cups of hot pasta water, set aside.
3. Drain the pasta, rinse with cold water to remove any excess starch (only if using gluten free pasta), shake well, set aside.
4. Place the empty pasta cooking pot back on the stove (or use a deep skillet). Then place the Sauce Mixture Ingredients (including the reserved 1 ¾ cups of the 2 cups of hot pasta water, note you may not need the remaining 1/4th cup of hot pasta water) into the empty pot (or skillet) and heat over medium-high heat until the sauce comes to a low boil, whisking constantly until all the ricotta cheese have becomes smooth and emulsified into the sauce, then immediately lower the heat. Simmer for several minutes.
5. Next add the cooked pasta to the pot with the sauce. Gently turn the pasta over until all the pasta is coated in the sauce.  Simmer over low heat to allow the pasta to absorb some of the sauce.
6. Remove from the pot from the heat and allow to sit and slightly cool for 3 minutes. Then serve with an additional sprinkle of freshly chopped basil, lemon zest, and Vegan Parmesan Cheese on individual servings.

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Notes

*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used. 

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Servings: 4 to 5

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