It’s the time of year to be cooking your favorite Meyer lemon recipes! This Meyer Lemon Spaghetti with Thyme is mine — it’s light, delicious and perfect as an entrée or a side dish. It’s so quick and easy to make a lovely Meyer lemon pasta sauce, you might just make this your go-to-recipe. 
It’s in the winter that you’ll be seeing more and more meyer lemon recipes being cooked in restaurants, and placed as special on their menus. I will be ordering them! Will you?
The little Meyer lemon tree that could.
When we moved into our house almost eight years ago we transplanted a little Meyer lemon tree, which had not yet produced any lemons.
The next year we got two lemons, and every year since we’ve gotten about four.
I don’t think we did anything differently this year, but our little, sweet tree has at least two dozen lemons hanging from it! It looks so happy!
Yep, I said it. A tree can look happy. 😉 And I’m so happy I can start cooking more meyer lemon recipes — right from my own backyard.
Eight years ago, I never would have imagined I’d have enough lemons to flavor a whole meal with. I’ve been craving a light pasta lately, so I decided to make this Meyer lemon spaghetti with a touch of aromatic thyme.
With just a few ingredients and about twenty minutes, you can make a divine Meyer lemon pasta sauce. It was so perfect for this dish, and would also be super tasty over chicken, fish or mixed into rice.
Meyer lemons are my favorites because of their thin skin, deeper yellow color, and slightly sweeter flavor.
Love them!
Here’s the deal with this spaghetti . . .
Every single strand is covered with the luscious buttery Meyer lemon pasta sauce. You’ll be left wanting more and you might just be caught licking your plate. 
Ideas for what to Serve With Meyer Lemon Spaghetti
- I love this on its own, and it would be fantastic served with chicken and a salad.
- I recommend Smoky Paprika Lemon-Herb Chicken Under a Brick and Grapefruit-Avocado Salad.
- The flavors in my Blackberry-Thyme Roasted Chicken would be fantastic along side the spaghetti.
Oh, and here are more meyer lemon recipes for your eating (& viewing) pleasure.
This pasta dish is light, delicious and perfect as an entrée or a side dish. It's so quick and easy to make a lovely Meyer lemon pasta sauce, you might just make it your go-to-recipe.
- 8 ounces dry spaghetti
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Meyer lemon zest (from about 1 to 2 lemons)
- 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
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Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until it's aldente. (Aldente means "to the tooth." The pasta should be tender, but with a bite to it.)
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As soon as you put the pasta in the water, add the butter, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and thyme to a large sauce, or sauté pan. Over low-medium heat, let the butter melt. Then mix and let it gently simmer until the pasta is done.
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Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce.
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Season generously to taste with salt and pepper. (Here's How to Season to Taste.)
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Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.
You can use gluten-free spaghetti if you'd like. I did for my son and he loved it.
Deb|EastofEdenCooking says
January 7, 2017 at 4:53 pmLemon anything is a personal favorite. I would love to dig into that plate of lush spaghetti!
A fantastic way to begin the New Year.
valentina says
January 7, 2017 at 6:12 pmThanks, Deb. I dug deep.;-) Happy New Year!
Tara | Deliciously Declassified says
January 9, 2017 at 10:38 amYum! This sounds so fresh and delicious! I wish i had a green thumb – I’d love to have a lemon tree in my backyard but I don’t think I could make that happen!
valentina says
January 9, 2017 at 1:44 pmMy thumb is brown, at best. 😉 You can do it for sure! Thanks for the comment. 🙂
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
January 9, 2017 at 10:54 amI’m so jealous that you have a meyer lemon tree. That is so cool. This dish looks super simple and full of flavor. I love the lemon thyme combo and often marinate my chicken in that.
valentina says
January 9, 2017 at 1:44 pmSimple and full of flavor, indeed. And I’m loving your idea of marinating chicken in the “sauce.” Brilliant! Thank you.
Platter Talk says
January 9, 2017 at 11:24 amThis sounds especially delicious! Love the zesty addition of the lemon.
valentina says
January 9, 2017 at 1:41 pmThanks so much! Yes, the zest is lovely!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
January 9, 2017 at 11:27 amAs soon as my Meyers ripen, I will make this!
valentina says
January 9, 2017 at 1:41 pmYay! I’ve been loving it. 🙂
Gin says
January 9, 2017 at 11:30 amYour lemons look beautiful! You’ve convinced me I really need to try Meyer lemons this year. I love their deeper color inside!
valentina says
January 9, 2017 at 1:42 pmOh you must — especially if you’ve never tried them. They’re just lovely. And thank you.
Ali says
January 9, 2017 at 12:07 pmI love Meyer lemons! I really want to try to grow one – I’ve heard rumors that they can overwinter here in parts of Oregon if they are sufficiently sheltered. This pasta looks lovely – will definitely be making it soon!
valentina says
January 9, 2017 at 1:43 pmThanks so much, Ali. If I have 2 dozen lemons on my tiny tree, I”m convinced anyone can do it. I bet they’d love the Oregon rain. 🙂
David says
January 11, 2017 at 5:37 amYes, please! Actually, Meyer lemon season has passed for us in Tucson, but I just saw some at Trader Joe’s so would love to give this a try. What could be better?
valentina says
January 11, 2017 at 8:32 amThanks, David! Looks like you’ve had some fantastic traveling lately — can’t wait to see what you’re cooking as a result. 🙂
Peg says
January 22, 2018 at 4:59 pmLike David, I just saw some Meyer’s at the store and picked them up. I googled recipes for them and this one spoke volumes to me! I will be making it this week! Thanks!!
valentina says
January 22, 2018 at 8:21 pmThanks so much! So happy your search led you to this spaghetti recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do. 🙂
Jan Schleier says
April 2, 2018 at 7:00 pmI Love this recipe! We have been adding cooked shrimp to it in order to add some protein and it is really yummy! When I was out of fresh thyme I used oregano and that tastes great, too. Also great on spaghetti squash!
valentina says
April 3, 2018 at 2:06 pmThanks so much for sharing this, Jan! You made my day. Shrimp is the perfect protein addition, as it is so delicious with lemon. And the oregano sounds lovely, too. I will have to try it with spaghetti squash. Great idea. 🙂