Zucchini Sauce Pasta

Zucchini Sauce Pasta - roomfortuesday.comHow was everyone’s long weekend? We’re back home from visiting family in Ohio and I have a delicious summer recipe to share with you today… it comes from Tieghan’s latest Half Baked Harvest cookbook (available in my shop). This cookbook is quickly becoming my new favorite! Normally, we’d have a bursting garden about this time… perfect for plucking some tomatoes & zucchini from the vine. This year, I’m using some produce I picked up from the farmer’s market, and am putting my overgrown basil plant to good use. This recipe is quick, simple, and can easily be adapted to fit your preferences or dietary needs. Click through for my preferred version of the recipe! It’s a new summer favorite. 

Zucchini Sauce Pasta - roomfortuesday.comThe cool thing about this recipe is it results in saucy delicious pasta- without using cream. It’s also packed with veggies! Tieghan’s original recipe calls for three zucchinis, but I also added a yellow squash and a bunch of cherry tomatoes. I always have a basket of those on hand and they’re my favorite during the summer months. I love a blistered tomato!

Zucchini Sauce Pasta - roomfortuesday.comOther summer flavors you’ll find in this dish? Basil pesto, Italian spices, fresh parmesan, salted butter, and a little lemon. It’s fresh and delicious!

Zucchini Sauce Pasta - roomfortuesday.comI had to share these gorgeous floral linen kitchen towels that just arrived in the shop last week. I’ve been using and loving this one in our kitchen- so summery!

Zucchini Sauce Pasta - roomfortuesday.comOne last thing to note before I dive in with the full recipe… this calls for fresh basil and dried oregano, but feel free to get creative with whatever Italian herbs & spices you have on hand. This is a hard recipe to mess up! If you want to peek into my spice drawers and how I organize them, see that post here.

Zucchini Sauce Pasta - roomfortuesday.com

Zucchini Sauce Pasta - roomfortuesday.com

Zucchini Sauce Pasta

Summer pasta recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound pasta
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 zucchini or summer squash sliced
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
  • kosher salt & black pepper for seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons salted butter
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1/2 cup basil pesto
  • 2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil roughly chopped
  • fresh lemon juice for serving

Instructions
 

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain and add it back to the hot pot.
  • Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the zucchini, squash, and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and light golden brown, 8-10 minutes.
  • Stir in the butter, garlic, oregano, and any additional seasonings you'd like. Cook until the butter is melted and the herbs are fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and dump the vegetables into the pot of pasta.
  • Add the basil pesto and parmesan cheese, tossing until the cheese is melted. Add the reserved pasta cooking water, 2 tablespoons at a time, as needed... until it has reached your preferred sauce consistency. Stir in the basil to wilt.
  • Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh basil.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Tieghan's Everyday Half Baked Harvest cookbook.
Keyword pasta

Zucchini Sauce Pasta - roomfortuesday.comYou can eat this dish hot or chilled (like a pasta salad)… I’ve had it both ways and it’s equally delicious, depending on what you’re in the mood for! You can use any type of pasta you’d like. It’s such a versatile, easy recipe! Let me know if you give it a try. This has already been in our rotation a few times and I switch it up each time I make it. Enjoy!

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9 Comments

  1. Good morning! Glad you made it home safe and sound. This is definitely one of our favorite summer meals. Although it’s still too early yet for tomatoes, my new garden beds are bursting with chard, kale, arugula, basil and zucchini. I’m not a purist when it comes to pesto; I just whirl up a bunch of whatever’s green with garlic, lemon juice and nutritional yeast. (This helps me sneak raw kale into dishes.) We slather that green goodness on everything…and check our teeth often. Ha. We’re heading into our annual week or two of triple digit temps, so any meal that doesn’t require the oven wins! (3 guesses whose AC stopped working over the long weekend!) Cheers to a sunny short week and our neighbors finally running out of fireworks! Stay cool, Sarah!💜

    1. Hi Peggi! You’re making me miss our garden. I love eating warm tomatoes and berries plucked from the vine. We had SO much zucchini last year. I might have to swipe some from our neighbor’s. I’m going to swing by the farmer’s market this weekend and restock. I love your pesto idea- I’m going to give that a try! So smart. Green goddess is my favorite dressing… balsamic being a close second. I put it on everything. I still can’t believe your A/C. I’m so sorry you’re dealing with that. Terrible timing for this heat wave! Hang in there.

  2. Good morning! I hope you had a lovely visit with your family. This recipe looks incredible, as most of Tieghan’s recipes do. I would imagine this one would be the perfect pairing for a summer bbq- I’ll have to keep this in my back pocket for our next gathering. Sadly, my kids won’t touch something like this for an ordinary dinner- I have one who won’t let anything on the plate touch! Womp, womp, womp. 😂 It looks delicious though. Perfect for a patio date night. Our long weekend was restful and relaxing with plenty of quality time spent with friends and family. My stepmom made a lovely pistachio pudding dessert- it was delicious! Happy Wednesday, I hope it’s a good one as you jump back into a short work week. Xo

    1. Hi Lauren (I’m playing comment catch up)! We had such a wonderful time with my sister and my nephews. She rented a giant inflatable slip & slide which was a big hit with the kids (and adults, if I’m being honest). Lol! We spent time swimming and just hanging out, which was perfect. This recipe would definitely be ideal for a summer BBQ. Emmett prefers it hot, but I like it cold. I’m glad to hear you guys had a fun long weekend, too! Pistachio pudding dessert?! I’m intrigued!

  3. Blistered tomatoes! Yay, I have found another tomato lover! No one in my family likes tomatoes (ketchup doesn’t count, lol) like I do. I was curious which recipe you tried in the HBH cookbook. I could watch her bake all day! Need to try this with all the fresh squash, zucchini, etc that is in season. Your floral kitchen towel is beautiful!
    Hope your weekend was relaxing and good quality family time! We are having triple digit temps this week and I have decided to purchase an adult blow up pool to sit in in the evening with a cocktail. Should be interesting!

    1. I LOVE tomatoes!! They taste like summertime to me. I love HBH and Tieghan seems so sweet. She’s incredibly talented! I drool over her food photography. This recipe has definitely been in our rotation a couple times. It’s so quick and easy. We had the best time with my sister and her family. We were initially supposed to visit my mom, but she ended up having surgery (and couldn’t chance Covid), so we rerouted to my sister’s. It was a wonderful time- we spent most of it swimming and lounging in the pool. We’ve hit triple digits here in Utah, too and I’m already looking forward to fall. Haha! I’m with you on the blow up pool- we did that last summer and I need to dig it back out! Cheers to our makeshift pools to stay cool. Lol! xox

  4. Wenda Scott says:

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    1. Of course, Wenda! I’ve been seeing Amber for years- she’s wonderful and uses my favorite Davines hair products: https://www.schedulicity.com/scheduling/tsqx5p … although I believe she’s currently on vacation, if you reach out this week or the following.

      1. Wenda Scott says:

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