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This quick, light, and tasty shredded zucchini pasta recipe requires few ingredients and is packed with fresh herby flavors. This simple pasta recipe with zucchini is one everyone will love and ready in less than 30 minutes!
Serve with homemade ciabatta bread and grilled chicken for a complete meal. Don’t forget dessert- Creamy Frozen Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust.
Easy Zucchini Pasta
It is raining fresh summertime zucchini right now, and this simple recipe is calling your name. I adore zucchini! Zucchini is a versatile vegetable that I can quickly eat daily.
Top this dish with loads of parmigiano, and you will make this every time you have a few straggler zucchini left in your refrigerator. The best part? It is NO FUSS! That means it is super easy and pleasing to even the pickiest eaters!
If you love zucchini- you must try Best Italian Zucchini Fritters (easy recipe)
Simple Ingredients
- Zucchini
- Garlic
- Onion
- Basil
- Mint
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fusilli pasta
- Parmigiano cheese
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Shredded Zucchini
I decided to use shredded zucchini for this zucchini and cheese pasta recipe. To achieve the right texture, you don’t need any fancy tools—a simple cheese grater will do. Shredding the zucchini allows for maximum flavor in every bite and creates a more tender texture.
The peel, which can sometimes remain tough depending on the variety of zucchini, almost “disappears” during the shredding process. I hope you love this method of preparation as well!
More zucchini recipes: Baked Zucchini and Tomatoes Bruschetta, Italian Stuffed Zucchini (vegetarian), Paccheri Pasta Zucchini Tomatoes Crème Fraîche, Fried Zucchini Pasta, and Cinnamon Sugar Zucchini Bread.
What Pasta Works Best?
This zucchini pasta dish uses any short pasta. If you don’t have any short pasta, make it with spaghetti!
I like using fusilli pasta, so the bits of shredded zucchini really get inside the groves of pasta, and you can get a good pasta/zucchini ratio in every bite! I recommend using a good quality pasta no matter what variety you choose. Read more about that in this post.
Variations
Spice
I love adding a few flakes of red peeper to my plate of fusilli zucchini pasta. I don’t add it in the recipe for my children who eat platefuls of this dish in one sitting. If you like a little spice, add some red pepper flakes just before serving. It’s the perfect touch of heat without overwhelming your taste buds.
Burrata Cheese
If you want to make this dish extra rich, add fresh burrata cheese on top of the final dish right before serving. Cut pieces of creamy fresh burrata will make this dish a little extra cheesy.
Since burrata isn’t an ingredient you might keep on hand all of the time, you can add it on a special occasion when you do. I love the creamy, fresh texture and flavor it adds to this dish. You could also use fresh mozzarella cheese.
Zucchini reminds me of summers in Italy. I am in Italy, and I am writing this recipe. We went to the fresh vegetable/fruit stand this morning to buy zucchini picked today! We’ve gone to the same fruit and vegetable stand since before I was born.
We love our produce man named Vincenzo. He greets us with a smile and loads a tray full of the fresh produce he knows our family loves.
More Recipes for YOU
Italian Style Pasta Salad Recipe (with Arugula)
Penne Pasta and Peas Recipe with Mascarpone
Smoked Salmon, Mascarpone, and Petite Pea Pasta
One Pot Pasta Recipe- Asparagus Ricotta Lemon
Orzo Pasta with Shrimp, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Artichokes
This recipe pairs well with Stuffed Chicken Thighs (Involtini di Pollo) or Breaded Chicken Breast Pan Fried (Italian).
This quick and easy shredded zucchini and cheese pasta is a recipe everyone will love!
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Zucchini Pasta Recipe
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
This is a quick and easy zucchini pasta recipe, the kind you make with few ingredients that delivers a fresh and delightful recipe. Even a simple pasta and zucchini can turn into a creamy and tasty recipe that everyone can agree on!
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini, shredded
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 of a white or yellow, medium, onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil torn by hand
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint, torn by hand
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb (454 grams) fusilli pasta
- 1 cup freshly grated parmigiano cheese, plus more for topping
- Salt and Pepper to taste
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- Link to buy the giant fusilli (as pictured)
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- Link to buy regular fusilli pasta
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil on medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, and zucchini. Cook about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until slightly golden brown and soft.
- Meanwhile boil a large pot of water. Add salt to season water and cook pasta until ‘al dente’ directions. Before straining the pasta reserve 1/4 cup pasta water and set aside.
- As soon as the zucchini are done cooking turn off heat, season with salt and pepper, and stir in mint and basil leaves. Add cooked pasta and stir to combine. If needed add a little of the pasta water to make more of a sauce. Top with parmigiano and serve hot! Great as leftovers.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Category: Savory
- Method: Italian
- Cuisine: Italian
Easy, quick and delicious. I added frozen peas and some pine nuts that needed to be used up. Will make again
Happy you loved it!
Really nice recipe, very quick and easy. I added the juice and zest of half a lemon to the cooked zucchini and threw in some fresh garden peas at the same time. A lovely summer pasta dish, thank you.
happy you loved it!
Best Zucchini pasta recipe!
Great way to use all the fresh zucchini from the garden. Such an easy weeknight meal and makes great leftovers.
I love it for lunch the next day as well!