Lemon Caper Pasta With Brown Butter Sauce

When briny capers meet rich, nutty butter and a splash of lemon, something magical happens - and this lemon butter caper sauce might just be your new favourite thing to toss pasta in. It's quick, bold, and exactly the kind of dish that saves a busy weeknight dinner without tasting like a shortcut. Simple to make, hard to forget.

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• Ingredient Notes
• Step-By-Step Method
• Recipe Tips and Variations
• Serving Suggestions
• More Simple Pasta Recipes
• Lemon Caper Pasta With Brown Butter Sauce

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Ingredient Notes

You will need only a handful of ingredients for this  easy lemon caper pasta recipe:

• unsalted butter: reduce the amount of salt if using salted butter. 
• garlic cloves: peel them, and crush them with the side of the knife, but don't chop or mince. 
• salt.
• capers: you ideally want to use small little pearls that make into each bite and not overpower other flavours. Our favourite varieties of capers are surfines and capucines.
• lemon juice: freshly squeezed.
• spaghetti: or another long pasta shape like linguine or buccatini. 
• parsley, lemon zest and chilli flakes: (optional) to garnish. 

Find the ingredient quantities, full recipe and nutrition information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.  

Step-By-Step Method

1. Place the butter and peeled and lightly crushed garlic cloves in a small saucepan set over low heat. Once the butter melts, let it slowly infuse with garlic flavour for 10-15 minutes over minimum heat - make sure the butter or garlic doesn't brown at this stage.

2. After the butter has been infused, start cooking the pasta in a large pot of salted water following instructions on the packet, but drain the pasta about 1 minute before it's cooked al dente for best results. Reserve 5 tablespoon of starchy pasta water.

3. Whilst your pasta cooks, take the garlic cloves out of the butter, and increase the heat to medium-high. Swirl the butter until you can see brown speckles forming - your butter will foam first, then start browning (do not let the milk solids turn black).

4. Once your butter is browned to your liking, take it off the heat immediately and stir in the salt, fresh lemon juice and capers.

5. Add the drained cooked pasta back into the pot, pour in the browned lemon butter sauce, reserved pasta water, and toss over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes, until most liquid is absorbed.

6. Garnish with fresh parsley, lemon zest and red pepper flakes! Serve immediately with a little Parmesan cheese on top!

Recipe Tips and Variations

• If you forgot to reserve pasta cooking water, use a splash of boiled water, chicken broth or vegetable broth when tossing the pasta with the sauce.
• Don't forget to zest the lemon for garnish before squeezing the juice - it's much easier that way!
• Add a pinch of black pepper to balance the richness of the butter.
• Swap salty capers for chopped green olives if that's what you've got on hand.
• This simple sauce also works brilliantly with sourdough gnocchi or linguine if you're out of spaghetti.

Serving Suggestions

This lemon caper pasta pairs beautifully with a glass of dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. Serve it alongside a simple side salad, like courgette ribbon salad, or an Italian green bean salad for an easy dinner.

More Simple Pasta Recipes

If you're on the hunt for a great recipe to satisfy your pasta craving, you're in the right place. Bookmark these for the next time you need a go-to simple pasta recipe that hits the spot!