Buttery Lemon Pasta With Almonds and Arugula

By Melissa Clark

Updated September 11, 2024

  • A white plate holding buttered noodles topped with herbs, toasted almonds and cheese is photographed from overhead. A fork sits to the right of the plate, entangled in some noodles. To the top is a small bowl with cheese and a smaller bowl with red-pepper flakes.
    David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
25 minutes
Rating
4(3,662)
Comments
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Brown butter, crunchy almonds and tangy lemon make a rich but balanced sauce for this pantry-friendly pasta. The arugula lends freshness and rounds out the pasta, turning this into a quick one-pot meal. If you want to increase the vegetables, you can double the arugula. (Just add a little more lemon juice.) And if you don’t have baby (or wild) arugula on hand, spinach or baby kale are fine, though slightly milder, substitutes. Don’t stint on the red-pepper flakes; their spiciness helps bring together the flavors.

Featured in: Pull From Your Pantry for This Easy Lemon Butter Pasta

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • Fine salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 pound linguine or spaghetti

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 cup sliced almonds

  • 2 fresh rosemary sprigs

  • ¼ teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste

  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more to taste

  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

  • 4 to 5 ounces baby or wild arugula, coarsely chopped, or use baby kale or spinach (4 to 5 cups)

  • Grated Parmesan, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

62 grams carbs; 34 milligrams cholesterol; 499 calories; 9 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 321 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 3 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until it is 1 minute shy of being al dente, usually a minute or 2 less than the package instructions. Scoop out about 1 ½ cups pasta water, then drain pasta.

  2. Step 2

    While the pasta cooks, in a large skillet or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the foam subsides, the milk solids turn golden-brown and the butter smells nutty and toasty, 3 to 4 minutes. (Watch carefully to see that it doesn’t burn.)

  3. Step 3

    Stir in almonds, rosemary and red-pepper flakes, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the nuts are toasted and slightly darker in color, about 1 minute.

  4. Step 4

    Add about 1 cup pasta water to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Add lemon juice, zest, ½ teaspoon salt and a large pinch of black pepper, then add drained pasta and toss well. Add arugula, tossing until it wilts. Simmer for another minute, if needed, to thicken the sauce until it’s thick and glossy. If the mixture seems dry, add more pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time.

  5. Step 5

    Taste and add more salt, red-pepper flakes and lemon juice, if needed. Serve topped with grated Parmesan and more red-pepper flakes, if you like.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
3,662 user ratings
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Comments

Alan

I love pasta with arugula in many recipes. However, I never add it to the hot pan. Instead, I put the uncooked arugula in a large serving bowl, pour the cooked pasta on top, and then toss everything with tongs. I find this keeps the arugula an appealing bright green, with a more intense fresh arugula flavor.

Max Alexander, Rome, Italy

Do as we do in Italy and don't drain the pasta--transfer it directly from the pot to the sauce using tongs or a spaghetti spoon. Besides avoiding a colander (one less thing to wash), you've got a pot full of hot pasta water on the stove, ready to ladle into the sauce as needed.

Charles Michener

Americans seem to love adding grated Parmesan at the table, but Italians will advise that you'll get a creamier sauce by adding most of it in the pan just after stirring the pasta vigorously with the cooking water and turning the heat way down or off so the cheese doesn't clump. (Serve the remaining parmesan at the table, if you must.) Cooked arugula has an unpleasant mouth feel. I prefer to chop it like parsley and add it last for brighter color and a fresher, more peppery accent.

michelle

Made exactly as directed. I love lemon and pasta but I found that initially the first taste was overwhelmingly lemon. Almost too much lemon. Still, we ate the entire pan, multiple servings and I’m not going to lie, I ran my finger around the pan during clean up and licked the spoon, because I have no shame . The crunchy almonds which kind of dropped to the bottom of the plate, were such a treat; just when you thought you were finishing up, well hello, crunch crunch. I used fresh arugula which I had grabbed at the farmers’ market. And a fresh lemon. With the red pepper and black pepper, and the naturally peppery arugula, this had a fantastic pepper kick. I also used good thing spaghetti which had a good starchy water. I think I will possibly lessen the lemon next time and leave each person a lemon wedge to use at the table. Or not. Since we polished it all off. Def a keeper, and we are contemplating other combos. An almond crusted chicken breast on top. Walnuts? Pistachio?

Disappointed from PNW

I'm a sodium fiend so probs my own issue but kinda bland. Not for me. I'd rather have rosemary crackers and hummus tbh. I really enjoy some of Clark's other recipes though!

Kairi Katana

@Julian Giordano Butter is pretty much made of milk solids, so basically she means until the melted butter is golden brown.

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