I Made Giada De Laurentiis' Lemon & Pea Skillet Pasta—and Now It's in My Regular Dinner Rotation

Since November, there has been a new staple added to my dinner rotation, and it's an easy and flavorful pasta dish.

When looking for a dish to make for the Thanksgiving pasta course—yes, my family has a pasta course before the main meal—I came across this Lemon and Pea Alfredo recipe by Giada De Laurentiis. I knew it would stand out amongst our usual red-sauced counterparts, so I decided to give it a try.

It quickly became a hit at the table, and it was clear that this dinner was going to become a regular in my household. But since then, I've decided to make a few tweaks to the recipe that make it a little lighter and healthier. Read on to find out the changes I made to this satisfying meal.

When I first made De Laurentiis' recipe, I doubled the batch of pasta to feed the crowd, but I kept the amounts of grated Parmesan and mascarpone the same. This made the dish less rich than when I tried the recipe as it's written, but I honestly prefer it that way. The lighter version is really all you need to flavor this cheesy pasta dish, and it makes it well-suited for a weeknight meal.

The ratios I use more closely follow our One-Pot Pasta with Peas & Parmesan. While I typically use fusilli as my pasta shape, as called for in De Laurentiis' dish, spiralized shapes like rotini will work just as nicely. And our one-pot recipe calls for less of a cleanup since you can boil and assemble the pasta in one large saucepan.

I had never tried making skillet pasta before this recipe, but now I'm hooked. Even when you're using another pot to boil your pasta, the transfer to the skillet is so easy. Plus, it's nice to have that extra pasta water right next to the skillet to add when needed. Did I mention that it only takes 25 minutes to prepare?

And I love the use of frozen peas in this recipe. Adding something green like peas or broccoli to a cheesy pasta helps balance the dish in a way that I love. When I want to switch things up, I plan to try our Skillet Broccoli-Cheddar Mac & Cheese or our Cacio e Pepe Pasta with Peas.

Looking for a light and fresh side? Try one of our highly rated side salads to plate next to your main course.

Up next: Ina Garten's Italian Wedding Soup Is One of Her Favorite Cold-Weather Recipes