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Creamy Basil Zucchini Pasta
Creamy Basil Zucchini Pasta is one of those recipes that makes a couple of humble zucchini taste like something you’d order at your favorite Italian restaurant. The zucchini blends into the creamiest, velvety sauce with fresh basil, parmesan, and garlic, so even the zucchini skeptics in my house happily clean their plates. It’s fresh, comforting, and comes together in about 30 minutes.
This is the pasta I make when I have zucchini sitting in the fridge that needs to be used before it goes bad. My family always asks for seconds because no one believes the sauce is mostly zucchini, and I love that it all comes together with simple pantry ingredients while the pasta cooks.
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Ingredients
- 1 lb long pasta I used fusilli con buco, but any long pasta works. NOTE: Reserve 1 cup pasta water
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 large zucchini cubed
- 1 large shallot diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 18 whole basil leaves more for serving
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup parmesan cheese more for serving
- 1 tsp salt more to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper more for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add a generous amount of salt to the water. Cook pasta until al dente (about 1 minute less than what the package instructs.) Drain noodles, reserving ~1 cup of the pasta water, and set aside.
- In a large, deep pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and zucchini and sprinkle with a dash of salt. Cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
- Stir in the heavy cream, basil leaves, salt, pepper, chicken broth and parmesan cheese. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring until sauce thickens, for about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the zucchini mixture (liquid included) and blend on high until mostly smooth.
- Add the blended sauce back into the pan, then add the cooked noodles to the blended sauce until coated. If desired, add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water for a more liquid consistency sauce.
- Top with more cheese, black pepper, basil and enjoy!
Nutrition
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see it! Tag me on Instagram @thecookingmawma and let me know what you think. My family loves it and I hope yours does, too!
Tips for Making This Recipe
- Reserve your pasta water before draining. Even if you don’t think you’ll need it, a splash of the starchy pasta water helps the sauce cling to every noodle and gives it that silky, restaurant-style finish.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When reheating, add a splash of milk, chicken broth, or reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce. You can also swap the zucchini for yellow summer squash or use half of each.
- The biggest mistake is overcooking the pasta. Since it finishes in the warm sauce, cook it just until al dente so it stays perfectly tender and doesn’t become mushy.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Don’t skip out on this one! So delicious and easy!