Easy Zucchini Pasta with Butter Garlic Sauce
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This Zucchini Pasta is a quick and easy pasta dish packed with zucchini and tomatoes and simmered in a butter garlic sauce of its own making. Simple and delicious!
And rather perfect for meals that take little effort and are ready in under 30 minutes.
Much like our favorite ratatouille recipe, this dish is reminiscent of province-style cooking with an Italian flair.
What to Love about Zucchini Pasta
- A simple pasta recipe packed with zucchini, summer squash, and tomatoes.
- Ready in under 30 minutes, it’s an easy pasta dish anyone can cook.
- Flavored with fresh herbs but easy to substitute with dried.
Zucchini Pasta Ingredients
Simple pantry ingredients and fresh seasonal vegetables and herbs.
- Pasta
- Olive Oil
- Zucchini and yellow summer squash (can be a combination or only zucchini)
- Cherry tomatoes
- Garlic
- Fresh herbs: use your favorites, great choices would be thyme, basil, oregano, or swap for dried herbs
- Parmesan Cheese
How to Make Zucchini Pasta
An easy, delicious pasta dish that’s a simple, seasonal dish we love.
Step 1: Cook Pasta
Cook pasta, according to package directions, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta.
Step 2: Cook Vegetables
Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add chopped zucchini, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Saute until the squash is has browned and is tender; about 5 minutes. With the back of a spoon, mash some of the vegetables to create a chunky-type sauce.
Step 3: Add Cooked Pasta
Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to the skillet and bring to a boil. Then add the cooked pasta, butter, and Parmesan cheese; stir to coat. Add additional pasta water if needed. Remove from the heat and toss with chopped fresh basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
What is the Best Cheese for Pasta?
Ultimately, the best cheese for pasta is whatever cheese you love. We’ve made it very simple in this recipe by recommending Parmesan.
But if you want to explore different cheese ideas, here’s a list that often goes well with Italian-style pasta.
- Parmesan: a hard cheese that’s perfect in flavor and for grating or melting.
- Ricotta: thick and creamy and helps thicken up sauces.
- Feta: while I love it in pasta salads, it’s also delicious in traditional pasta dishes for flavor.
- Mozarella: always a great choice, especially for baked pasta and anytime you want a melting cheese, like say, pizza.
- Pecorino Romano: with its strong, salty flavor it’s best grated and sprinkled over pasta.
- Gorgonzola: a strongly flavored cheese that can be crumbled or grated and served over pasta.
More Recipes to Try:
- One Pot Pasta with Tomatoes, Spinach and Zucchini
- Healthy Skillet Roasted Vegetable Italian Pasta
- Baked Rigatoni Recipe for Easy Pasta Dinners
- 4 Ingredient Pasta with Broccoli and Feta
- One Pot Pasta with Ground Beef and Broccoli
Easy Zucchini Pasta with Butter Garlic Sauce
This Zucchini Pasta is a quick and easy pasta packed with zucchini and tomatoes and simmered in a butter garlic sauce of its own making. Simple and delicious and ready in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 medium zucchini
- 1 yellow summer squash, chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 1 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water before draining pasta. Set aside.
- In a large skillet heat olive oil until hot. Then add the zucchini, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the squash is nicely brown; about 5 minutes. With the back of a spoon, mashed some of the vegetables to become a chunky-style sauce. Add 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water and bring to a simmer.
- Once the sauce is simmering, stir in the pasta, butter, and Parmesan. Add additional pasta water as needed. Remove from the heat, add the fresh basil and serve!
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 242Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 308mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 10g
Very good recipe, needs a couple of tweaks though. If your tomatoes are in season and ripe, wait to add them, let the squash cook a couple of minutes first or the tomatoes will disappear ( I used sun gold tomatoes picked that day). I waited on the garlic too, making a “hotspot” in the center of skillet when squash and tomatoes were nearly done. And its important to add the cheese off the heat. It will get stringy and not be the thickener you want if you cook it. I added it off the heat with the basil. This is a great combination of seasonal flavors but needs some nuance in the cooking process for it to be truly fantastic.
Thank you for the helpful tips and for trying the recipe!
Thanks For Sharing this Amazing Recipe. My Family Loved It. I will be sharing this Recipe with my Friends. Hope They will like it.