Pasta with Zucchini Sauce

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

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