Summer's bounty yields lots of fresh zucchini! Get creative with the surplus and make this delicious pasta with pureed zucchini sauce. This simple but flavorful sauce features sweet onions, fresh basil, and cheese, and comes together in 30 minutes or less.
(This recipe was originally published in September 2011, but was updated with new photos and content in 2021).
There are countless ways to prepare zucchini, and there are just as many ways (or more) to dress pasta. I particularly love adding veggies to my pasta, and although it's more common to include chopped or sliced veggies, vegetables can also create velvety smooth pureed pasta sauces that can transcend your humble pasta to another level.
This simple, vegetable forward pasta sauce features pureed zucchini, onions, basil, and cheese. This combination yields a fresh and herbaceous pasta dish that almost feels like a zucchini pesto, although instead of sharp and pungent garlic you get the slightly sweet flavor of cooked onions.
The pureed zucchini sauce is thick and creamy without the addition of any actual cream. Grated cheese gives the sauce extra body, richness, and flavor.
Ingredient notes
- Zucchini: Use firm zucchini with smooth, unblemished skin. No need to peel your zucchinis, just wash and dry them really well before trimming the ends and roughly chopping. If you cut them into smaller pieces, they will cook faster.
- Fresh Basil: I would not recommend using dried basil in this pasta with zucchini sauce recipe. You really need to have fresh basil leaves to yield the best results (not unlike making pesto).
- Cheese: You can really use nearly any dry aged cheese in this recipe, but I like using grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano. You could also try Asiago or Grana Padano and see what you think! If you're vegetarian, make sure to use a vegetarian version of these cheeses.
How to make it
Heat olive oil to a large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onions (PHOTO 1) and cook for about 5 minutes until softened but not completely translucent (PHOTO 2).
Add chopped zucchini (PHOTO 3), season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 to 20 minutes until the zucchini is very tender but not mushy (PHOTO 4).
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, reserve ½ cup of pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta.
Add the zucchini and onion mixture to a blender or food processor (PHOTO 5) and add the ½ cup reserved pasta water, fresh basil, and cheese. Puree until smooth and adjust seasoning as needed (PHOTO 6). You should have about 3 ½ cups pureed zucchini sauce.
Mix about 3 cups of the zucchini sauce with the cooked pasta until well-coated, adding more sauce as needed.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
I had originally made this recipe with farfalle (bow-tie/butterfly) pasta but use campanelle (little bell) pasta for the updated photos in the post. This pureed zucchini sauce would be wonderful with nearly any pasta shape, but those with nooks and crannies, holes for catching sauce, or ridges would be ideal. I also think it would work really well with fettuccine or pappardelle.
You may have some leftover sauce, but it can come in handy if you need to reheat any of the pasta later (and re-moisten it with more sauce). The leftover ½ cup or so of zucchini sauce is excellent tossed with about 8 to 10 ounces of fresh ravioli! Alternatively, you could water down leftover sauce with some broth for a serving of pureed zucchini soup.
Although you could reduce the olive oil a bit to save on calories, I wouldn't recommend it. The oil not only adds a lot of flavor to the sauce but helps the onions and zucchini get the optimal texture without drying out or browning too much.
Other recipes you may like
- Pasta al Forno with Roasted Vegetables
- Pasta e Piselli (Pasta and Peas)
- Carrot Ricotta Ravioli with Herbed Butter
- Spaghetti with Lentils, Roasted Tomatoes, and Spinach
- Krautfleckerl (Cabbage and Noodles)
- Veggie Mac and Cheese Primavera
- Pesto Pasta Salad with Peas and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Pasta with Zucchini Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 small to medium onions (brown or white), chopped
- 1 ¾ pounds zucchini (about 3 medium), chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound dry pasta
- ½ cup packed fresh basil
- ¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino-Romano cheese
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil to a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes until softened but not completely translucent.
- Add the zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 to 20 minutes more until the zucchini is very tender but not mushy.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, reserve ½ cup of pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta.
- Add the zucchini and onion mixture to a blender or food processor and add the ½ cup reserved pasta water, fresh basil, and cheese. Puree until smooth and adjust seasoning as needed. You should have about 3 ½ cups sauce.
- Mix about 3 cups of the zucchini sauce with the cooked pasta until well-coated, adding more sauce as needed.
Notes
- You may have some leftover sauce, but it can come in handy if you need to reheat any of the pasta later (and re-moisten it with more sauce). The leftover ½ cup or so of zucchini sauce is excellent tossed with about 8 to 10 ounces of fresh ravioli! Alternatively, you could water down leftover sauce with some broth for a serving of pureed zucchini soup.
- You can really use nearly any dry aged cheese in this recipe, but I like using grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano. You could also try Asiago or Grana Padano and see what you think! If you're vegetarian, make sure to use a vegetarian version of these cheeses.
- I had originally made this recipe with farfalle (bow-tie/butterfly) pasta but use campanelle (little bell) pasta for the updated photos in the post. This pureed zucchini sauce would be wonderful with nearly any pasta shape, but those with nooks and crannies, holes for catching sauce, or ridges would be ideal. I also think it would work really well with fettuccine or pappardelle.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Lorenzo says
It was awesome, definitely will make it again!
camille says
Can you freeze this sauce?
Victoria says
That's a great question! To be honest, I've never made it in bulk to freeze it. However since it doesn't contain any cream, you should be able to freeze it just fine. When you thaw and reheat the sauce, if it seems like it has gotten a bit watery, just reduce it down a bit as you heat it up to thicken it back to the normal consistency. My only guess is that the veggies in the sauce may release some water when frozen but again I haven't tried it out myself to confirm. Also, if the sauce doesn't seem smooth after thawing and reheating, you could also put it back in the blender to smooth it back out.
Malou says
Made this tonight and it is a lovely, mild sauce - I love zucchinis, I grow my own and pick them at their best when very young and full of flavour. Thank you for sharing your delicious recipe. I added a bit of crumbled feta to give it a little bit of a tang. Truly delicious.
Janice says
Fantastic! I recommend.
Kari says
This was great with a little garlic added to the zucchini. I also added some fresh tomatoes from my garden to the bowl when serving.
Julie says
I'm going to use this sauce as a replacement for bรฉchamel sauce in lasagne, I think it will work well.
Kathy says
Delicious! Was not too much sauce and I used less pasta. Super quick to make and a great option to use my fresh zucchini!