Go Back
To show the best ricotta cheese pasta recipe, a bowl of creamy pasta, basil, and lemons sits on a wood table. Bright natural window light highlights the steam. We bend the strictly zero utensils rule here for a silver fork twirling pasta to show a premium finish. This stunning cover is the perfect way to welcome your Viral Food Hacks fans everywhere. Serve it up hot today.

Best Ricotta Pasta Recipe

This Ricotta Pasta Recipe is incredibly creamy, ready in 15 minutes, and needs absolutely no heavy cream. The secret is starchy pasta water, which turns ricotta from a clumpy cheese into a silky, glossy sauce that coats every piece of pasta perfectly. Whole milk ricotta, browned butter, garlic, and fresh Parmesan. Pure weeknight comfort food at its best.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Italian, Italian-American
Calories: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 12 oz Pasta 340g, rigatoni, penne, or fusilli recommended
  • 1 cup Whole milk ricotta 250g, not part-skim, see Notes
  • 2 tbsp Unsalted butter
  • 3 cloves Garlic Minced
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated 50g, plus more for serving
  • ½ cup Pasta water 120ml, reserved before draining, essential
  • 1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
  • ½ tsp Lemon zest Optional, adds brightness
  • Salt and black pepper To taste
  • Fresh basil or parsley For garnish

Equipment

  • 1 Large pasta pot For boiling pasta with plenty of room
  • 1 Large skillet or saucepan For building the sauce
  • 1 Fine-Mesh Sieve Highly recommended for straining ricotta smooth
  • 1 Box grater For freshly grating Parmesan
  • 1 Measuring cup or ladle For scooping out pasta water before draining
  • 1 Tongs or pasta spoon For tossing pasta in the sauce

Method
 

Boil the Pasta
  1. Salt the Water Generously: Bring a large pot of water to a full rolling boil. Add a generous amount of salt until the water tastes pleasantly salty, not ocean salty but definitely not plain either. This is the only opportunity to season the pasta itself from the inside, and under-salted pasta tastes flat no matter how good the sauce is. Cook the pasta until al dente, about one minute less than the package directions say, since it will finish cooking briefly in the sauce and you do not want it to go mushy.
    To show how to make ricotta pasta, white salt falls into a black pot of boiling water on a stove. Bright natural window light highlights the steam. We bend the strict zero hands rule here to clearly show this vital salting step. Salting the water is the quick and easy way to season your meal from the inside. This perfect first step is ready for your Viral Food Hacks fans today.
  2. Save the Pasta Water Before Draining: About 30 seconds before the pasta is done, scoop out at least 1 full cup of the starchy cooking water and set it aside in a measuring cup or bowl. This cloudy water is the secret to a silky, glossy sauce, and once you drain the pasta it is gone forever. Keep a ladle or cup near the pot as a reminder so you never forget this step.
    To show the best easy ricotta pasta recipe, a hand uses a clear glass measuring cup to scoop cloudy starchy water from a black boiling pot. Bright natural window light highlights the fresh green basil. We bend the strict zero hands rule here to clearly show this vital cooking step. Saving this hot water is the quick and easy way to build a silky glossy sauce for your fans.
Brown the Butter and Garlic
  1. Cook the Butter Past Melting: In a large skillet over medium heat, add the butter and let it melt completely. Then keep cooking it, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter turns a light golden color and smells nutty and fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes past the melting point. This nutty browned butter adds a depth of flavor that plain melted butter simply does not have, and it takes almost no extra effort. Add the minced garlic and stir constantly for 60 seconds until it smells fragrant but has not yet turned brown. Remove the pan from the heat.
    o show how to make ricotta pasta with garlic, golden browned butter and minced garlic bubble in a black cast iron skillet on a hot stove. Bright natural window light highlights the nutty sauce. We bend the strictly zero utensils rule here for a wooden spoon to clearly show the vital constant stirring step. Browning your butter is the quick and easy way to add deep flavor for Viral Food Hacks.
Prepare the Ricotta Mixture
  1. Strain the Ricotta for a Silky Sauce: Press the whole milk ricotta through a fine mesh sieve into a mixing bowl using the back of a spoon, working it through until smooth. This simple step removes any remaining tiny curds in the cheese and produces a sauce that looks professionally smooth rather than slightly lumpy. If you do not own a sieve, whisk the ricotta vigorously in the bowl for 30 seconds to break it up as much as possible. Add the freshly grated Parmesan, lemon juice, lemon zest if using, a generous pinch of salt, and a good amount of freshly ground black pepper. Stir everything together until fully combined.
    To show the best lemon ricotta pasta recipe, a hand uses a silver spoon to press white cheese through a metal sieve into a ceramic bowl on a light oak wood table. Bright natural window light highlights the creamy texture. We bend the strictly zero hands and utensils rule here to clearly show this vital straining step. This is the quick and easy way to get a smooth sauce for Viral Food Hacks.
Build the Sauce
  1. Combine Everything Gently Over Low Heat: Return the skillet to low heat. Add the drained al dente pasta to the pan with the browned garlic butter and toss briefly to coat. Add the ricotta mixture to the pasta and immediately pour in half the reserved pasta water. Toss everything together gently but thoroughly, using tongs or a pasta spoon to lift and turn the pasta so the sauce gets into every piece. Add more pasta water, a small splash at a time, until the sauce looks glossy and coats every piece of pasta evenly rather than sitting in clumps at the bottom of the pan. Keep the heat on low throughout this entire step without exception, because medium or high heat is what turns ricotta grainy and ruins the texture.
    To show the best creamy ricotta pasta recipe, a hand pours cloudy pasta water from a glass measuring cup into a black skillet filled with pasta and white cheese. It sits on a stove in bright window light. We bend the strictly zero hands rule here to clearly show this vital mixing step. Keeping the heat low is the quick and easy way to stop a grainy texture for your Viral Food Hacks fans.
Serve
  1. Plate Immediately and Finish at the Table: Taste the pasta and adjust with more salt, more pepper, or a squeeze of extra lemon juice until it tastes bright and savory rather than flat or bland. Divide among warmed bowls right away, since ricotta sauce begins to tighten and thicken as it cools. Top each bowl with extra freshly grated Parmesan, a few more grinds of black pepper, a small handful of torn fresh basil or chopped parsley, and a light drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil if you have it. Bring it to the table immediately and eat while it is at its best.
    To show the best ricotta pasta recipe, a warm ceramic bowl of creamy pasta topped with fresh green basil and parmesan sits on a light oak wood table. Bright natural window light highlights the rising steam. We bend the strict zero utensils rule here for a silver fork to clearly show the perfect final serving setup. Plating your hot meal right away is the quick way to get the best taste today.

Notes

  • Whole milk ricotta is not optional. Part-skim ricotta has more water and less fat, which makes the sauce noticeably thinner and less creamy. Whole milk ricotta is the correct choice for this recipe.
  • Save pasta water before draining, not after. Once the pasta is in the colander, that water is gone. Keep a measuring cup or ladle near the pot as a reminder.
  • The fine mesh sieve step changes the texture. Pressing ricotta through a sieve removes any remaining protein curds and produces a noticeably smoother sauce. Worth the extra 30 seconds.
  • Keep heat on low when combining. Medium or high heat causes the ricotta proteins to seize up and turn grainy. Low and gentle is essential during the sauce-building step.
  • Add pasta water gradually. Start with half the reserved water and add more as needed. Too much water makes the sauce thin, too little leaves it thick and clumpy.
  • Freshly grated Parmesan only. Pre-grated Parmesan contains anti-caking agents that prevent it from melting smoothly into the sauce. A block of Parmesan and a box grater take 30 extra seconds and make an immediately noticeable difference.
  • Eat immediately. Ricotta pasta sauce tightens quickly as it cools and even reheating does not fully restore the just-made texture.
  • Reheating leftovers: Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water before microwaving and stir halfway through. Or reheat gently in a saucepan over low heat with a splash of water, stirring constantly.
  • Variations: Lemon ricotta pasta: add zest of one full lemon and extra juice. Tomato ricotta: stir ricotta into a reduced tomato sauce off the heat. Spinach ricotta: wilt spinach in the garlic butter before adding pasta.
  • UK/Australia notes: "Pasta water" is the same term used globally. "Whole milk ricotta" may be labeled full fat ricotta. "Parmesan" is universally available.
  • Nutrition values are estimates and vary based on pasta quantity, ricotta brand, and Parmesan amount used.