Giada de Laurentiis’ Lemon Spaghetti Features a No-Cook Sauce That’s Ready in Minutes

Here at Kitchn, we’re huge Giada fans. From her takes on classic Italian dishes to her suggestions of the groceries you should always keep in your pantry — there’s no advice we  wouldn’t take. She’s even ventured into gluten free baking recently and well Giada, we’re totally here for it!

A few days ago, however, she caught our attention for another reason: a tasty recipe worth making over and over again. Taking to her Instagram and posting a Reel, Giada delivered a spin on an already popular recipe of hers: Lemon Spaghetti. In her recipe, she makes this no-cook sauce with spaghetti, but switches it up this time with fusilli lungi. It’s a super fun pasta shape that’s basically a longer version of fusilli making it perfect for clinging to light sauces like Giada’s lemon sauce. 

The sauce itself is super simple to prepare. You don’t even need to cook it! In a bowl, simply combine olive oil, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. At this point, you can either refrigerate the sauce for up to eight hours or use it right away. After boiling your pasta of choice (and reserving a cup of the pasta water), add the pasta to the sauce along with basil and lemon zest. Then, just toss the pasta with as much of the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce out to your liking. Season to taste with more salt and pepper and that’s it!

Personally, I was already a fan of Giada’s lemon spaghetti, but I’ll definitely be adding this revamped version into my weeknight meal rotation. It’s simple, bright, and summery and honestly, it already has me daydreaming of sunny trips to my favorite beach!

You can get Giada’s recipe for lemon spaghetti here, but if you want more easy weeknight meals like this one, this list of 50 one-pot meals will give you some inspiration for the busiest nights during the week.