| | | | |

Easy Garden Pasta

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

This ratatouille-inspired, incredibly easy Garden Pasta recipe is a quick, healthy, and utterly delicious meatless meal packed with in-season vegetables like zucchini, squash, eggplant, tomatoes, and fresh herbs that is ready in minutes!

Top view of Garden Pasta with vegetables, cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil in a white pasta plate

Want to save this recipe?

Enter your email, and we’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get delicious new recipes from us every Friday!

Save Recipe

We’ve all heard the question, “What’s in your wallet?” from a well-known credit card company. For some reason, when making this pasta, I always think of a similar question… “What’s in your garden today?”

Silly, I know… but so very true!

This easy vegetable pasta dinner can be made with anything you find in your garden, favorite produce market, or farmers’ market.

And if you love ratatouille, this pasta dish will seem very familiar!

A Quick and Easy Fresh Pasta Dish

Summer is a season where there are SO many veggie options, bright and beautiful and oh-so-flavorful.

If you’ve ever tasted a still-warm-from-the-sun vine-ripened tomato at its peak… You KNOW what I’m talking about. The flavor is incomparable.

Quick and easy pasta dishes seem to highlight season veggies in a delicious way. Some of my favorite vegetable heavy pasta recipes would be Easy One Pot Pasta with Ground Beef and Broccoli or Crème Fraiche Pasta Recipe with Peas and Bacon or an equally simple pasta salad.

Healthy Ways to Enjoy Pasta

To lighten up pasta dishes, here are a few ways to make them healthier:

  • Use a grain-free pasta, protein pasta, or pasta that’s high in fiber
  • Be sure to use fresh vegetables; in season are even better!
  • Stir in fresh herbs packed with flavor and nutrients! I’m using fresh basil that’s loaded with vitamin K!
Top view of Garden Pasta vegetables

Garden Pasta Ingredients

Ingredient measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here is a list of what I used in this healthy pasta dish:

  • Cooked pasta of choice
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
  • Zucchini
  • Eggplant (I used a Chinese eggplant, which is very similar to a Japanese eggplant. The difference is subtle, but a Japanese eggplant is a bit sweeter.)
  • Yellow squash
  • Garlic
  • Crushed red pepper flakes
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Fresh basil leaves
Top view of sauteed vegetables in a large skillet for Garden Pasta

How to Make This Garden Pasta

Here’s how to make this oh-so-simple pasta dish (More complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post).

  1. Cook pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add chopped vegetables. Cook until softened.
  3. Add the garlic, cherry tomatoes, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute more.
  4. Stir in the pasta and fresh basil leaves, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Add additional olive oil if needed.

Garden Pasta Tips

  • Cook the pasta to al-dente. Angel hair pasta cooks very quickly, so be sure to watch!
  • Garden tomatoes can be substituted for cherry tomatoes; use whichever is freshest. I have an abundance of cherry tomatoes in the garden at present!
  • Chop vegetables in a similar size
  • Use your favorite herbs: I love the flavor of basil in this dish and its rich nutrients but experiment with herbs like oregano, thyme, or parsley.

More Recipes You May Also Enjoy

SAVE THIS AND PIN IT FOR LATER!

If you are not already, you can follow me on Pinterest and keep up with me on FacebookInstagram, and YouTube. If you make this recipe, I would love it if you would tag me in your photos and leave a star rating below!

To be notified of new recipes, subscribe to my e-mail list. It’s free, and you’ll also receive a free e-book of our reader’s favorite recipes.

Side view of Garden Pasta in a white pasta bowl with angel hair pasta, vegetables, and fresh herbs
Top view of Garden Pasta with zucchini, squash, eggplant, cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs

Easy Garden Pasta

This ratatouille-inspired incredibly easy Garden Pasta recipe is a quick, healthy, and utterly delicious meatless meal packed with in-season vegetables like zucchini, squash, eggplant and tomatoes, along with fresh herbs, that's ready in minutes!
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients 

  • 1 pound dried pasta like angel hair or other long pasta
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 zucchini quartered and sliced
  • 1 Eggplant I prefer a Japanese eggplant, quartered and sliced
  • 1 yellow squash quartered and sliced
  • 3 cups cherry tomatoes halved
  • 4 cloves garlic minced or pressed
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup fresh basil leves
  • salt and freshly cracker pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, chop the vegetables.
    Top view of chopped vegetables
  • Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add zucchini, eggplant, and yellow squash. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic, cherry tomatoes, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute more.
    Top view of vegetables sautéing in a large skillet
  • Stir in the pasta and fresh basil leaves to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Add additional olive oil if needed. Transfer to a large serving bowl and mix in the parmesan cheese. Serve in pasta bowls with extra cheese for each serving.
    Top view of Garden Pasta with zucchini, squash, eggplant, cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs

Video

Notes

Easy Garden Pasta Tips

  • Cook the pasta to al-dente. Angel hair pasta cooks very quickly, so be sure to watch!
  • Garden tomatoes can be substituted for cherry tomatoes; use whichever is freshest. I have an abundance of cherry tomatoes in the garden at present!
  • Chop vegetables in a similar size
  • Use your favorite herbs: I love the flavor of basil in this dish and its rich nutrients but experiment with herbs like oregano, thyme, or parsley.

Nutrition

Calories: 346kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 317mg | Potassium: 471mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 720IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 269mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Tried this recipe? Pin it Today!Follow me on Pinterest for more and use the "Pin" button at the top of the recipe card.
Course: Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine: American
Keyword: garden pasta, summer garden pasta, ratatouille pasta
5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating