Lately I’ve been loving this Creamy Lemon and Boursin Pasta. It’s the kind of weeknight recipe that checks every box. It’s got simple ingredients, big flavour, and a silky, bright sauce that makes you wonder why you ever settled for plain buttered noodles (ok, those are good too!). A few years ago, my mom started incorporating Boursin to her pasta dishes, and it completely changed the game. It melts right into the sauce, making it such a super simple way to add flavour and creaminess to any sauce.
This Creamy Lemon Pasta recipe is one of those recipes that proves you don’t need anything fancy to make something really good. Cooking the lemon right in the pan gives the onions and garlic a fresh, bright flavour while the Boursin melts down into the easiest creamy sauce ever. The mix of cream, parmesan, wine, and lemon is straightforward but so flavourful, and it sticks to every little shell perfectly. If you’ve liked my other simple pasta recipes like my French Onion Mac and Cheese or my Lemon Chicken Orzo, this feels right in line — nothing complicated, just a reliable, really delicious bowl of pasta that comes together easily.
😍 Why You’ll Love This Creamy Lemon and Boursin Pasta
Bright and comforting: the perfect balance of zesty lemon and rich, creamy sauce.
Restaurant-worthy: Boursin is an easy hack for making the silkiest, most flavourful sauce with almost no effort.
Weeknight-friendly: comes together with simple, accessible ingredients.
Customizable: add veggies, protein, or extra heat — it adapts to whatever you’re craving.
🍋 Ingredients To Make This Creamy Lemon Pasta
Small pasta shells: perfectly sized to catch all the creamy lemon sauce, but any short pasta works well here.
Reserved pasta water: the starchy liquid that helps loosen the sauce and make it glossy.
Olive oil and butter: a simple combo that builds a rich, flavourful base for the onions and garlic.
Garlic: minced for a savoury punch that deepens the creaminess.
Yellow onion: finely chopped so it softens quickly and melts right into the lemony sauce.
Lemon: halved and cooked cut-side down to infuse the sauce with bright citrus flavour.
Lemon zest: adds fragrant, fresh notes that lift the whole dish.
Boursin cheese: melts into the silkiest, tangiest cream sauce with almost no effort. Use whichever flavour you prefer!
Parmesan: finely grated for a salty, nutty finish that balances the lemon.
Heavy cream: gives you that luxurious, velvety texture.
Dry white wine: adds acidity and depth; chardonnay works great here.
Red pepper flakes: for a subtle warmth that complements the creamy sauce.
Salt: just enough to bring all the flavours into balance.
Fresh basil: optional, but perfect for a bright, herbal finish.
✔ How To Make This Creamy Lemon Pasta Recipe
Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add your pasta and cook until al dente, then reserve at least half a cup of pasta water before draining. Set the pasta aside while you prepare the sauce.
To build the sauce, heat the olive oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes. Stir everything together, then place your halved lemon cut-side down in the pan. Let the mixture cook for about 5 minutes, stirring the onions occasionally so they soften and take on that bright lemon flavour without browning too quickly.
Pour in the white wine and let it simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Once reduced, add the Boursin to the centre of the pan. As it begins to melt, gently stir in the heavy cream. Let the sauce come to a light simmer and taste to see if you’d like to add a pinch more salt or pepper.
Remove the lemon halves from the pan and squeeze the juice from one half directly into the sauce. Stir well and taste; if you’d like it even brighter, squeeze in the remaining half.
Reduce the heat to low and add the cooked pasta into the sauce along with the reserved pasta water and parmesan. Toss everything together until the pasta is glossy and coated in the creamy lemon sauce.
Finish with more parmesan, fresh basil, and lemon zest if you’d like. Serve immediately and enjoy!
🗒 Variations
Boost the lemon: add extra zest or squeeze in the full lemon for a brighter, tangier flavour.
Make it spicy: add extra red pepper flakes or a pinch of cayenne to give the creamy lemon sauce a gentle heat.
Add veggies: stir in peas, spinach, or roasted asparagus for a little freshness.
Creamier texture: finish with an extra splash of cream or a pat of butter for an even silkier sauce.
🗒 Substitutions
Pasta swap: shells, orecchiette, cavatappi, farfalle, or any short pasta that holds sauce will work.
No wine: replace with vegetable or chicken broth for a similar depth without alcohol.
Boursin options: garlic and fine herbs is my favourite, but shallot and chive or black pepper work too.
Cream substitute: half-and-half works in a pinch—just reduce the pasta water so the sauce stays thick and creamy.
🍴 Leftovers? Lucky you.
Store any leftover creamy lemon pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The sauce will thicken as it cools, so when reheating on the stove or in the microwave, add a splash of water, broth, or cream to bring it back to that same consistency.
🤔 FAQ’S
Can I make this Creamy Lemon Pasta without wine?
Yes — just replace the wine with a splash of vegetable or chicken broth. The sauce will still be bright, creamy, and delicious.
Does it matter which Boursin flavour I use?
Not really. The classic garlic and fine herbs is my go-to, but any savoury Boursin works in this creamy lemon and Boursin pasta. Just avoid sweet or unusual flavours.
How do I make the lemon flavour stronger?
Use all the lemon juice from both halves and add extra zest. You can also simmer the lemon halves in the sauce a bit longer for a deeper citrus infusion.
Can I add protein to this lemon pasta?
Absolutely. Grilled chicken, shrimp, or salmon pair great with the lemony cream sauce.
What pasta shapes work best?
Any small shape that holds sauce — shells, orecchiette, cavatappi, farfalle. Long noodles work too but won’t grip the sauce quite as well.
👩🏻🍳 Hungry For More?
If you loved this Creamy Lemon Pasta recipe, then make sure to check out a few of my other favourites you may also love:
- Stuffed Pasta Shells
- Skillet Lasagna
- Anchovy Pasta
- French Onion Mac and Cheese
- Lemon Chicken Orzo
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Salmon Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce
- Lemon Dill Salmon
💌 Let’s Stay Connected
Keep in touch with me on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Pinterest! If you do make this creamy lemon pasta recipe (or any recipe of mine) don’t forget to leave a review.
Creamy Lemon and Boursin Pasta
Equipment
- 1 pot
- 1 large pan
Ingredients
- 250 grams small pasta shells, or other smaller pasta similar in size
- 1/2 cup revered pasta water, for thinning the sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves, large, minced
- 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, sliced in half
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 150 gram Boursin
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1/3 cup heavy cream, 33%
- 1/3 cup dry white wine, chardonnay
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/8 tsp salt, or to taste
- fresh basil, optional, to garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add your pasta and cook until al dente. Ensure you reserve at least 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside until ready to use.
- To a large pan set to medium heat, add your olive oil and butter.Once melted, add your garlic, onion and red pepper flakes.Then, take the lemon you've cut in half and place both halves into the pan, ensuring the cut side (face) is down.
- Allow the garlic, onion and lemon to cook for about 5 minutes until they have softened. While cooking, you can stir the onions around the lemon halves; this step is just going to help the onions become infused with the lemon flavor, but be careful not to burn them.
- Next, pour in the white wine and cook on medium heat until the liquid has reduced by half, which should take approximately 3 minutes.
- Add your boursin to the middle of the pan, and once it begins to melt, add your heavy cream. Bring to a simmer and taste to see if you want to add more salt or pepper to taste.
- Remove the lemon halves. Squeeze the juice from one lemon half into the sauce and stir until well combined. Taste, and then squeeze the juice from the second half if you want more lemon flavor.
- Reduce heat to low and add your pasta to the sauce, with the reserved pasta water and parmesan cheese. Gently toss to combine.
- Top with more fresh parmesan, basil and lemon zest if desired.
- Enjoy right away!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this tonight and replaced the wine with chicken broth. It was amazing! I made a side of salmon to go with it. It was the perfect pair!
Hi Kailee! Oh that is so awesome, sounds delicious. Thank you so much for sharing.
This is delicious and super easy to make! I’ve made it twice this week. I added zucchini and extra onions. I used lemon juice to flavor the second time I made it because the lemon was a little much the first time around. So easy to add to or edit to your liking. LOVE IT!
That is so awesome, thank you for sharing. I agree- it’s a great recipe to customize to your liking!
Delicious! I used campanelle pasta and Boursin garlic and herb cheese, and I was out of heavy cream so had to sub whole milk. I added shrimp and it was scrumptious. I just cooked the shrimp in the butter/oil then removed cook shrimp from the pan before cooking the onions and garlic. SOOOO good. Highly recommend.
OH I do that sometimes too- I agree, so good! Thank you for your review!
Went to make this tonight and my double cream had turned into cheese 🤢😂 subbed whole milk, and it was still absolutely delicious. I noticed in the video you add the lemon juice but not in the written recipe, I chose to add the juice of both halves, would probably only add one half next time. But i can see this easily becoming a regular on our table, it’s a fantastic meat-free dish and I’m so glad I stumbled across it!
Hi Kate thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review! Yeah for this particular recipe want to make sure that you’re using whipping cream, or at least 18% cream! But I’m glad it ended up working out for you 🙂
We made this tonight and used ziti. It was delicious! We will ablsoutley make this again. Thinking of asparagus, shrimp, or chicken to change it up for reheat options.
Thank you so much for leaving a review. I am so glad that you enjoyed it.
Made this tonight using a lemon pasta from Trader Joe’s and it was *chefs kiss* 🤌🏼
ohhhh YUM! Thank you so much for sharing. So glad you liked it!
I’ve made this twice now and my boyfriend and I are just floored at how good it is! I only squeezed half the lemon into the sauce once browned to cut down on the acidity. Otherwise this recipe is AMAZING.
Thank you for this review Abby! I am so glad you guys love it.
We made this tonight and it was FANTASTIC! Soooo so delicious. We’re plant based so we made a few substitutions – nondairy milk instead of heavy cream, vegan Boursin instead of regular, and vegan parm instead of regular. We also subbed veggie broth for the white wine. I hate when people change everything in a recipe and then leave a review, but I thought I would leave this comment in case any other vegan or lactose intolerant people want to give these substitutions a go! This recipe is going into our regular rotation, it was so flavourful and scrumptious. ❤️
Hey Shannon! I love that people make substitutions based on what they eat/don’t eat. Everyone is different and these tips will help another person for sure. All of those subs sound delicious and I am so glad you enjoyed this pasta. Have a great day!
I made it for dinner tonight and added shrimp to it. It came out perfect and my husband loved it. 🙂
Hi Jen! Yay! That’s so awesome, thanks so much for leaving me a review – I appreciate it so much! All the best.
Just wondering which flavor of Boursin and which size should be used? Thanks
I’m planning on making this tomorrow for dinner. I’ll let you know how it turns out for me.
This was good but was a little thin on sauce. We added shrimp at the very end and it was good, but just a bit bland. I’d still make it again but with more salt and more lemon. Still a solid dish!
I have made this 3 times in the past month! Great recipe- thank you!!
Love this recipe! I cook it every week with shrimps or smoked salmon and it’s so delicious.
Loved this the first time I made it! Looking to make a bigger batch for a girls’ night. Has anyone tried making it for 8-10 people? The recipe says it’s two servings, but I thought I’d check before I just quadruple the recipe
This turned out great I added mushrooms. I used a high protein pasta and added some grilled chicken as well. First time adding a half lemon in the skillet like that I love that idea and used seedless lemons. I always enjoy making your recipes.
This was delicious! Made as instructed but added sundried tomatoes and broccoli. Used the oil from the tomatoes to saute the veges. Making again tonight with Trader Joe’s lemon pasta. Might try adding fresh spinach instead of broccoli this time.
Really good and easy to make. The only comment I have is that the recipe prep time takes significantly longer than stated. However that’s pretty common with the recipes on this website and in no way detract from how amazing everything tastes and how easy it is to make.
I will say I tried to add rosemary but it didn’t come through, but again. Not needed and I may try again in the future, but I found a chicken marinade that I want to make on chicken breasts that we have with this in the future. And my philosophy is only ever change one thing about a recipe at a time. Other than garlic. Garlic is something you measure with your heart and no one can convince me otherwise (I used three elephant cloves from a head I got from my local farmers market 😉)
Followed exactly but added fresh spinach and sundried tomatoes (packed in oil). I used the oil from the tomatoes to saute the veges. Served with grilled chicken. NOM!!!! (Trader Joe’s lemon pasta is great with this as well)
We’ve tried some other lemon cream pastas and this is by far our favorite. We added chicken and it’s a top fav.
Thank you for this comment! I so appreciate it! – Sammy
This recipe is one of my family’s favorites! It is very easy to make and you can go meatless or add meat that you like! I love lemon & pasta so this hits the spot!
My husband and I absolutely LOVED this dish. 100/10!
Hi Amanda, so happy that you both loved the recipe. Thank you for taking the time to leave such a positive review.
– Sammy