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Bright, cozy, and with a hint of luxury, my Lemon Pepper Stelline is a creamy vegetarian pasta made with blended vegetables, lemon zest, and tiny star-shaped noodles. It’s comforting like soup, has a bite like pasta, and comes together in about 45 minutes.
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This is the kind of recipe I make when I want dinner to feel soothing but not heavy. Instead of just sautéing some veggies, we’re blending them into the sauce for an ultra-silky base that tastes rich without any cream.
It’s slurpy (a bit like risotto) but not thin. Cozy but not gluey. If you liked my lemon pepper chickpeas, you’re going to love this.
Reader rating
“Yum! I doubled the onion and garlic because of who I am as a person and used small shell pasta (as that’s all that’s available to me) and it was delish. Unexpected flavour bomb!” —Skye
Key Ingredients
Stelline is a type of pastina (pastina means “small pasta”, while stelline is specifically star-shaped). But any pastina will technically work for this lemon pepper pastina 😀 Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.
- Stelline Pasta: Tiny star-shaped pasta thickens the broth as the starches release, making the dish spoonable. Always a huge hit with kids! You could also try orzo, acini di pepe, or ditalini pasta.
- Carrots: Add natural sweetness and body when blended, creating a creamy texture without dairy or eggs. It also keeps this a vegan and vegetarian Italian penicillin.
- Celery: Helps to balance the sweetness of the carrots, so the soup isn’t overly sweet.
- Vegetable Broth: Acts as both the cooking liquid and flavor backbone, so quality matters! (Pro-tip: save your veggie scraps in the freezer to make your own veggie broth.)
- Lemon: Juice and zest add freshness and contrast, preventing the dish from tasting heavy. This is what takes it from a homemade lemon pasta soup to restaurant-quality at home.
Which Stelline?
We tested this with both traditional stelline pastina as well as a gluten-free brown rice variety from Jovial Foods. Both turned out incredibly!
broth versus water
Broth provides so much more flavor in this sick day pasta recipe because the stelline is cooked in the actual broth. Water won’t create nearly as much depth of flavor in this lemon stelline, and it won’t get thick and silky like a risotto.
make it your own
If you saw this viral Italian penicillin recipe on social media, then I’m sure you’ve seen lots of variations. But here are some of the favorites I’ve had!
- White beans are delicious with stelline because they add protein and fiber but don’t impact the taste. Blend them right into the sauce!
- Spinach or kale adds a fun and colorful contrast. (Stir in kale with the pasta, or stir in spinach right before serving.)
- Herbs like dill or basil are a great way to finish the dish and complement the lemon.
Italian Penicillin Pastina (Lemon Pepper Stelline)
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, 15 mL
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups vegetable broth, 2 L
- 4 medium carrots
- 4 ribs celery
- ½ to 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 2 cups stellini pasta
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- To serve: fresh grated parmesan, ground black pepper
Instructions
- Saute: In a large pot over medium, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add 1 medium yellow onion (diced) and 6 cloves garlic (minced), cooking until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Simmer: Add in 8 cups vegetable broth, 4 medium carrots, and 4 ribs celery. Cover and let gently simmer for about 20 minutes, or until carrots are fork-tender.
- Blend: Use a slotted spoon to transfer all of the solids into a countertop blender. Add a splash of the broth to help get things blending. Blend on high until smooth. Never tightly close the lid when blending hot mixtures, as this can cause steam to become trapped and build pressure. Leave the lid slightly ajar. Alternatively, use a handheld immersion blender to blend everything right in the pot.
- Stelline: Pour blended mixture back into the pot. Stir in ½ to 1 tsp salt (taste the mixture and use salt to your liking–this will depend on the saltiness of your broth), ½ tsp ground black pepper, and 2 cups stellini pasta. Let gently simmer for the time listed on the package or until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent pasta from clumping or sticking to the bottom.
- Serve: Right before serving, stir in the zest and juice from 1 lemon. Top with fresh grated Parmesan and ground black pepper. Enjoy!
Notes
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
Yum! I doubled the onion and garlic because of who I am as a person and used small shell pasta (as that’s all that’s available to me) and it was delish. Unexpected flavour bomb! Thanks!
Big smiles over here, thanks for trying it Skye!
I really wanted to love this dish, but just couldn’t get it right. 8 cups of broth seemed a lot, and when I poured the blended veg mix back into the pot, I couldn’t see how it would cook down into a creamy sauce… and it didn’t. By the time the pasta was cooked, it wasn’t even visible, there was still so much broth. I had to spoon a ton of liquid out to even see the pasta and lost a lot of flavour and nutrients that way. The result ended up being very lemony (my husband and I didn’t mind but my kids wouldn’t eat it) and I can’t understand where it went wrong.
I’m sorry to hear it didn’t come out perfectly, Zoe! When you blended it, did it look like the texture of the picture in step 3? In the future, you can just cook the liquid until it reduces down into a thicker sauce before adding the pasta. That way, it’s nice and thick once the pasta is cooked!
I was disappointed in this recipe. It is very thick, you warned us of this. I will add quite a bit of water when I reheat it to make it like a soup. I added a 14 ounce of tomatoes which I li8kied a lot. I would rate this recipe a 3 star because of its density.
like this lemon post a lot as i like a lemon soup but had forgotten about it. used your recipe as a base, added a sh!tload more lemon though, prob juice of 3, and some zest. 2 cans chickpeas added. considered adding whole toms and spinach but didn’t lol
used immersion blender, left some veg chunky, added some greek seasonings, very good. definitely coulnd’t get it looking like the pic though but that’s ok! thanks
Happy you enjoyed it Jay, thanks for sharing your feedback!
I would very definitely advise against the immersion blender idea. Maybe I didn’t cook stuff long enough, but I wound up with three celery stocks, worth of fiber wrapped around this blades of my immersion blender. It took forever to get them off.