This bright summery pasta leans on a combination of whole milk ricotta and toasted walnuts to create a light creamy sauce that’s brightened up with fresh lemon and basil. Top it with a dollop of creamy ricotta and burst cherry tomatoes (optional but delicious!) for a nourishing and indulgent pasta that celebrates summer!
Ingredient Highlight
Ricotta cheese! is traditionally made from the leftover whey and curds after making other cheeses. This magical light, fluffy, creamy, and mildly sweet cheese is loaded with calcium and selenium and is a great source of protein, packing in 14g per 1/2 cup.
P.S. Use any leftover ricotta to make my favorite Whipped Lemon Ricotta Avocado Toast.
Servings 4 People
Prep Time 10 minutes 
Cook Time 15 minutes Ingredients
- 1 lb rigatoni or other short pasta shape
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese*
- 1 cup loosely packed basil**
- ½ cup toasted walnuts
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 clove garlic
- 4-5 cups loosely packed arugula
For the the tomatoes (optional):
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- *You could also try this with whole milk cottage cheese. See notes for instructions and how to make vegan/dairy-free.
- **I wasn’t able to find basil so I also tested this using a mix of the little basil I had left and arugula. See substitutions section.
Instructions
To make the tomatoes:
- preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or just use an oven-proof skillet). Add the tomatoes and toss them in the oil and salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the tomatoes have all burst open.
- In a large pot, bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil and season generously with salt (about 2 tablespoons). Cook the pasta to al dente according to the instructions. Reserve 1 ½ cups of pasta water before draining. Drain the pasta and then transfer back to the pot.
- In a high-speed blender, add the ricotta, basil, walnuts, oil, lemon, salt, pepper, garlic, and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the ricotta sauce over the pasta along with the arugula and ½ cup more pasta water. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook for 1-2 minutes so the noodles can continue to cook and soak up that sauce. You know it’s done when the sauce coats the noodles and is no longer watery at the bottom of the pot. If the sauce looks too dry or pasty, just stir in another splash of pasta water to loosen it up. If you run out of or forget to reserve the pasta water, just use hot water instead.
- Serve topped with the roasted tomatoes (if using), black pepper and a dollop of ricotta cheese, if you have some left.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Toast ½ cup walnuts
- Roast 1 pint cherry tomatoes
Substitutions:
- To make gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta.
- To make vegan, substitute my vegan lemon ricotta for the ricotta. This may result in a thicker sauce, so use your judgment and add extra pasta water to the pot after you add the sauce, if needed. Start with just 1 tablespoon of lemon juice since the vegan ricotta already has lemon in it.
- Substitute the whole milk ricotta with whole milk cottage cheese (or use a mix). This may result in a thicker sauce, so use your judgment and add extra pasta water to the pot after you add the sauce, if needed.
- As mentioned, you can use a mix of basil and arugula or use all arugula or just skip the greens/herbs all together.
- For nut-free, sub pumpkin seeds for walnuts.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Leftover pasta always soaks up the sauce and gets a little mushy – there’s no way around it, but it’s still delicious. I like to add it to a microwavable bowl with a splash of water and warm it up in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. That water will help to loosen up the sauce a bit.
- Top with warm burst cherry tomatoes, a dollop of ricotta, and black pepper. A squeeze of lemon is also nice to brighten it up.
- If you have arugula leftover, toss in some more of it with the warmed up pasta.
Servings 4 People Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 15 minutes Ingredients
- 1 lb rigatoni or other short pasta shape
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese*
- 1 cup loosely packed basil**
- ½ cup toasted walnuts
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 clove garlic
- 4-5 cups loosely packed arugula
For the the tomatoes (optional):
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- *You could also try this with whole milk cottage cheese. See notes for instructions and how to make vegan/dairy-free.
- **I wasn’t able to find basil so I also tested this using a mix of the little basil I had left and arugula. See substitutions section.
Instructions
To make the tomatoes:
- preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or just use an oven-proof skillet). Add the tomatoes and toss them in the oil and salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the tomatoes have all burst open.
- In a large pot, bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil and season generously with salt (about 2 tablespoons). Cook the pasta to al dente according to the instructions. Reserve 1 ½ cups of pasta water before draining. Drain the pasta and then transfer back to the pot.
- In a high-speed blender, add the ricotta, basil, walnuts, oil, lemon, salt, pepper, garlic, and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the ricotta sauce over the pasta along with the arugula and ½ cup more pasta water. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook for 1-2 minutes so the noodles can continue to cook and soak up that sauce. You know it’s done when the sauce coats the noodles and is no longer watery at the bottom of the pot. If the sauce looks too dry or pasty, just stir in another splash of pasta water to loosen it up. If you run out of or forget to reserve the pasta water, just use hot water instead.
- Serve topped with the roasted tomatoes (if using), black pepper and a dollop of ricotta cheese, if you have some left.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Toast ½ cup walnuts
- Roast 1 pint cherry tomatoes
Substitutions:
- To make gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta.
- To make vegan, substitute my vegan lemon ricotta for the ricotta. This may result in a thicker sauce, so use your judgment and add extra pasta water to the pot after you add the sauce, if needed. Start with just 1 tablespoon of lemon juice since the vegan ricotta already has lemon in it.
- Substitute the whole milk ricotta with whole milk cottage cheese (or use a mix). This may result in a thicker sauce, so use your judgment and add extra pasta water to the pot after you add the sauce, if needed.
- As mentioned, you can use a mix of basil and arugula or use all arugula or just skip the greens/herbs all together.
- For nut-free, sub pumpkin seeds for walnuts.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Leftover pasta always soaks up the sauce and gets a little mushy - there’s no way around it, but it’s still delicious. I like to add it to a microwavable bowl with a splash of water and warm it up in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. That water will help to loosen up the sauce a bit.
- Top with warm burst cherry tomatoes, a dollop of ricotta, and black pepper. A squeeze of lemon is also nice to brighten it up.
- If you have arugula leftover, toss in some more of it with the warmed up pasta.
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