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Creamy Lemon Zucchini Pasta

4.6

(206)

Creamy Lemon Zucchini Pasta recipe
Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich

Think of this zucchini pasta recipe as your gateway to the Italian summer in your mind’s eye. The fruit (yes, zucchini is a fruit) transforms into a pile of soft shreds with the help of a box grater. Cook it down with olive oil, onion, and garlic and it becomes a creamy, caramelized paste that’s great to spread on toast (like Jennie Cook’s Zucchini Butter, which inspired this recipe) or stir into scrambled eggs. But add a little pasta water, lemon juice, parm, and a glug or two of heavy cream and suddenly that paste transforms into a lush pasta sauce, perfect for slicking any long noodle you like.

You’ll be amazed by how many zucchini cook down into this one pasta dish—a very good thing when you’re staring down a pile of it in August. To ensure the zucchini develops color instead of turning mushy, it’s imperative you squeeze the excess liquid out of it first: Just wrap the shredded zukes in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze with all your might. You can discard the liquid—or add it to your pasta pot.

Fresh basil leaves and mint added at the end hammer home the summer vibe of this weeknight dinner. If you’re desperate for some crunch, a garnish of toasted panko breadcrumbs probably wouldn’t hurt. Or, if you’re craving color, a handful of halved cherry tomatoes would complement the dish beautifully.

Looking for more ways to use up zucchini? Try it in pasta with walnuts and pecorino, crispy grilled flatbread with ricotta, pancakes made with rice, and gluten-free zucchini noodles or zoodles made with a spiralizer in our collection of zucchini recipes.

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What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    35 minutes

  • Yield

    4 Servings

Ingredients

2

lb. zucchini or summer squash (4–6 medium zucchini)

1

large shallot or ½ small onion

4

large garlic cloves

3

Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

¼

tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2

tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

12

oz. spaghetti, linguine, bucatini, or other long pasta

1

lemon

½

oz. Parmesan, plus more for serving

½

cup (lightly packed) basil or mint leaves (or a combination!)

½

cup heavy cream

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt heavily.

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, place a clean kitchen towel in a large bowl (or on a large cutting board). Trim 2 lb. zucchini or summer squash (4–6), then grate on the large holes of a box grater directly into towel. Peel 1 large shallot and grate on the large holes of grater into towel. Peel 4 large garlic cloves and grate on the small holes of grater into towel.

    Step 3

    Gather ends of towel together, then squeeze over bowl (or the sink) with all your might to extract water from the zucchini. Squeeze until it’s hard to get out any more liquid. You should have extracted about ⅔ cup zucchini liquid, just FYI; discard.

    Step 4

    Heat 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a medium Dutch oven or very large skillet over medium-high. Add ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add zucchini mixture (unwrap the balled-up towel over the pot for easiest transfer) and 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt and stir to coat. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini mixture is jammy, thick, and starting to stick to bottom of pot, 15–20 minutes.

    Step 5

    When the zucchini has been cooking 5–10 minutes, add 12 oz. spaghetti, linguine, bucatini, or other long pasta to pot of boiling water and cook until al dente.

    Step 6

    Meanwhile, juice 1 lemon into a small bowl. Grate ½ oz. Parmesan on the small holes of grater (you should have about ¼ cup; you can also use ¼ cup pre-grated Parmesan). Very coarsely tear or chop ½ cup (lightly packed) basil or mint leaves.

    Step 7

    Scoop out 2 cups pasta cooking water and set aside. Using tongs, transfer pasta to pot with zucchini—it’s okay if some water clings to it. Reduce heat to medium-low, add ½ cup pasta cooking liquid and ½ cup heavy cream, and stir to combine. Add cheese, pour another ½ cup pasta cooking liquid over top, and cook, stirring vigorously with tongs or a wooden spoon and add more pasta cooking liquid if needed, until a creamy sauce that coats pasta forms, 2–3 minutes.

    Step 8

    Remove pasta from heat and stir in 2 Tbsp. lemon juice. Taste and season with more salt and black pepper and add more lemon juice (you may want to add an additional 1 Tbsp.). Stir in most of the herbs.

    Step 9

    Serve pasta topped with more grated Parmesan and remaining herbs.

    Editor’s note: This zucchini pasta recipe was first printed online in August 2020. Head this way for more of our best pasta recipes

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Reviews (206)

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  • Light and bright pasta with veggie goodness, great for a busy weeknight. Cooked recipe as-written, making sure to give the zucchini time to caramelize and jam up nicely. Bowls were all scraped clean. I appreciate that the star of this dish is not the sauce, as is so often the case with pasta dishes. Instead, the veggies were the star supported by a simple, impactful sauce. In the future, I'll add some arugula at the end for extra green goodness.

    • Anonymous

    • Austin TX

    • 7/12/2024

  • We followed the recipe precisely and found the sauce to be flavorless. We used the Cuisinart instead of grating and it worked well. Not a keeper.

    • zone9a

    • dc

    • 7/2/2024

  • Delicious summer dish. The basil and lemon brighten up the pasta. I added a tablespoon or so of butter at the end to give it a nice finish. And don’t skimp on the pasta water.

    • Anonymous

    • New York

    • 6/30/2024

  • I don't think I let the zucchini caramelize enough, because the end result wasn't that flavorful. I added more lemon juice and parmesan in the end to amp up the flavor. I would recommend undercooking your pasta by 1-2 minutes while it's boiling because it does cook more after adding to the zucchini mixture.

    • Alexa

    • 6/8/2024

  • Delicious! I added lemon zest at the end - otherwise a perfect recipe I can't wait to make again.

    • Suz

    • Pittsburgh

    • 5/30/2024

  • Delicious! Absolute delight. Next time, I will use a food processor for the grating and add more red pepper.

    • Jeff

    • Ankeny, IA

    • 5/27/2024

  • Don’t throw out that water from squeezing the zucs! Put it in the water for the pasta or save it for vegetable broth. Used cauliflower “cream” that make to sub out the cream to make it vegan.

    • HausZwei

    • Decatur, Ga

    • 5/24/2024