Linguine with Lemon & Tomatoes

With a punch of savory flavor from roasted tomatoes, this simple, yet elevated, linguine pasta recipe is perfect for late summer evenings.

Linguine Pasta

So, you roasted a bunch of tomatoes after Monday’s post. Now what do you do with them? Make linguine pasta, of course! This linguine recipe has been one of our favorite dinners this summer. Along with finely diced roasted lemon, the tomatoes infuse the tangles of linguine noodles with rich, savory flavor. These little guys pack such a punch that all you need is a little cheese, a handful of herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil to perfect this simple, yet elevated, linguine recipe.

If you roast the tomatoes ahead of time, this one is super easy to toss together. So pour a glass of wine, kick back, and soak in the last days of summer with a big plate of pasta!

Linguine Recipe Ingredients

Summer Linguine Pasta Ingredients

Looking at the recipe below, you’ll notice that this pasta takes inspiration from a quintessential summer dish: Caprese salad! Because tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella are a match made in heaven, I put them front & center here. The tomatoes are the star of the show, while the mozzarella adds creamy richness, and the basil freshens it up.

I accent this classic combo with thyme leaves, crunchy pine nuts, zesty roasted lemon, fresh lemon juice, and bitter arugula for extra green. Salt, pepper, and a generous drizzle of olive oil tie it all together.

Linguine Pasta with Tomatoes and Lemon

Linguine Pasta Variations

This simple recipe is flexible, so feel free to play with it depending on your tastes and what’s in your pantry. Here are a few ideas for changing it up:

  • Use your favorite cheese! Crumbled feta or goat cheese would be excellent.
  • Switch the pasta! I love linguine pasta here, but another long-cut pasta, like fettuccine or spaghetti, would work too. Or for an all-veggie meal, swap the pasta for roasted spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles. This recipe is also fantastic with homemade pasta.
  • Simplify your pasta by omitting the cherry tomatoes. Add an extra handful of arugula and finish your linguine with a shower of grated Parmesan cheese.
  • Make pesto linguine! Skip the thyme, and toss your pasta with a few big scoops of pesto. It’s delicious with the roasted tomatoes, lemon, and fresh mozzarella.
  • Make it vegan by skipping the cheese. Add a few handfuls of roasted chickpeas in its place to make this pasta heartier.

Let me know what variations you try!

Lemon Linguine Pasta

If you love this linguine recipe…

Try another of my favorite pastas like this pesto pasta, roasted vegetable pasta, pasta pomodoro, roasted veggie lasagna, or fettuccine alfredo with cauliflower alfredo sauce. Then, find 25 more easy pasta recipes here!

For more easy dinner ideas, check out this post!

Get This Recipe In Your Inbox
Share your email, and we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus, enjoy daily doses of recipe inspiration as a bonus!

Linguine with Lemon & Tomatoes

rate this recipe:
4.98 from 49 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Serves 2
This roasted lemon & tomato linguine pasta is a simple, yet elevated, summer dinner. Roast the tomatoes ahead of time, and this recipe comes together in a flash.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Place the lemon slices on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for for 15 to 20 minutes or until they’re golden brown around the edges. Finely mince the lemons and set aside.
  • In the bottom of a medium-sized (cold) pot, combine the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon sea salt.
  • Prepare the pasta according to the package directions, cooking until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water. Scoop the hot pasta into the pot, along with the reserved pasta water, the arugula, and toss. If necessary, gently heat until the arugula wilts and the pasta is warmed through. Add the thyme, tomatoes, lemons, and toss again. Top with the mozzarella, pine nuts, and basil. Gently toss, season to taste and serve.

 

24 comments

Leave a comment:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Amy
    09.26.2022

    4 stars
    Loved this recipe, especially the steps laid out for marrying the pasta to the sauce. I’m wondering, though, if I’m doing something wrong with the lemons….they came out of the oven pretty moist, such that when I minced them, they ended up in a mush and didn’t integrate evenly throughout. Any advice would be appreciated!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.27.2022

      Hi Amy, hmmm, it’s hard to say without seeing what’s going on. My guess is they weren’t sliced thin enough to crisp up a bit. If they’re thicker, maybe they’re just getting soft and mushing up. I’d try slicing them thinner and waiting until they get golden brown and lightly crisp on the edges.

  2. Stacy
    08.15.2022

    5 stars
    Wow, this was a great recipe! I live in southern CA and have a meyer lemon tree that bears fruit in winter and early spring so I had to settle for a supermarket lemon and was dubious how it would taste. Roasting the lemon slices was delicious and I can’t wait to try roasting lemon slices the next time I make shrimp scampi pasta. The roasted tomatoes were delicius as well and so easy. Will make this again and again!

  3. Lynn Eissler
    02.15.2022

    5 stars
    Jeanine, This recipe is simple and absolutely delicious! This is a restaurant-quality dish prepared simply at home. The roasted tomatoes and lemon along with the other yummy ingredients made for a flavorful satisfying dish! Wow, you did it again!
    For dessert we made your perfect brownie recipe. Doesn’t get better than this! Is a third cookbook in the works? Right now, we are cooking your recipes exclusively- nothing else compares. Your grasp on flavor and simplicity is exceptional! Can’t wait to try more! Thanks! 💜

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      02.15.2022

      You’re so sweet, thank you for taking a few minutes to leave such wonderful feedback – your comments have made my day! Next year 🙂

  4. Angelo Caravaglia
    11.21.2021

    5 stars
    Very good recipe. I made it tonight 👌

  5. R Lee
    07.06.2021

    5 stars
    We don’t normally like pasta but we make this one ALL of the time! Thanks for sharing! We also add sundried tomatoes in oil & crushed red pepper! I would’ve never thought to roast lemons but it is the extra kick that elevates this dish to the next level!

  6. Marie
    06.09.2021

    5 stars
    I’ve never roasted lemon before and was concerned about mincing it, rind and all, but my worries were completely unfounded and I’m SO glad I tried this! The roasted tomatoes and lemon add so much deliciousness to this dish, it was super simple to whip up & I’ll definitely be making it again!

    I used protein+ spaghetti and added roasted zucchini. Super versatile.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      06.10.2021

      I’m so glad you loved it – lemons and all!

  7. Beth
    05.17.2021

    5 stars
    This was a hit! Even the under 10 age kids liked it! I definitely will be making this again.

  8. Kathy
    02.16.2021

    5 stars
    I don’t post a lot of comments, but I had to for this recipe. I made it last night for my family of 4 as a last-minute meal, based on what I had on hand. I have to say, everyone LOVED it!! I had doubled the recipe and it was all gone in no time … and they still wanted more. I was feeling quite ambitious so I whipped up another batch (so easy!) as my family hung around for round two. This is an absolute keeper!

  9. Gabrielle
    11.11.2020

    5 stars
    I didn’t leave out the thyme but i added some pesto and charred some bread in the oven after rubbing it in the juices from roasting the tomatoes and lemon, it was super good

  10. John
    10.10.2020

    5 stars
    Thanks for the recipe! Although I deviated quite a bit from your instructions (I fried chicken thigh, crushed almonds, cherry tomatoes and lemon all in the pot and used the juice from that instead of the leftover water) it worked out great! Thanks.

  11. Elisa Stewart
    09.22.2020

    5 stars
    I’ve made this once before, exactly as the recipe is written and it was fabulous. Tonight, I was in a hurry after work, so thinly sliced the lemons and then diced them and tossed into a pan with Meyer Lemon Olive Oil and the pine nuts to saute a bit. I was out of linguine, so I used macaroni (I’m using up old pastas, pantry items, etc since converting to a whole food plant based diet 2 months ago). I also had some leftover Vegan Parmesan cheese from another of Jeanine’s recipes, so I tossed it in for additional nutrition. It added a very nice flavor that compliments everything else in this dish! This recipe is still amazing, even with these changes. Just wanted to give a shout out to those who may not have every item listed in the recipe on hand. Get creative like I did. This recipe is great as a base for using up stuff in your fridge and pantry.
    Thanks, Jeanine, for yet another home run recipe!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.24.2020

      Hi Elisa, I love hearing this! I’m so glad it was such a flexible recipe for you. Love the tip about sautéing the lemons!

  12. Kayla
    07.21.2020

    5 stars
    Made this today and loved it! Have never made slow roasted tomatoes before, this was such a great discovery, and so much fresher tasting than store bought pasta sauce!

  13. KHADIJAH BUTLER
    07.13.2020

    Where is the nutrition information for the recipes?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.18.2020

      apologies, I don’t post nutrition facts.

  14. shavon
    02.08.2020

    Is there a calorie count for this recipe?

  15. Sunil Dogra from indianrestaurantganesha.com
    09.11.2019

    5 stars
    These look so incredible. Thanks for sharing.

  16. Daisi from Mystircrazykitchen.com
    08.15.2019

    5 stars
    Made this tonight, everyone loved it!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      08.18.2019

      I’m so glad to hear!!

  17. Great combo of yummy fresh ingredients! I’m going to try it with the goat cheese for a little extra punch. Thanks!

    • Tuana
      08.03.2020

      5 stars
      made this today, even the kids were stuffing their faces! it’s amazing, would recommend!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.