This Italian Summer Pasta with Freshly Grated Zucchini turns these simple ingredients into a light, silky sauce without cream. The grated zucchini nearly melts into the sauce with the blistering cherry tomatoes, while pasta water and olive oil bring the sauce together with basil, lemon, and capers.
If you love vegetable-based pasta like this one, you may love our simple pasta with eggplant or lemon pasta with spinach.
This is our first recipe ever on our page! We developed this summer zucchini pasta in 2022 specifically for our first post on Always From Scratch. This recipe has been republished and changed to make it even more delicious and user-friendly!
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Why This Recipe
This is the pasta I make when the zucchini starts to pile up from our garden. Instead of squeezing all the water out of the zucchini, I let it simmer with the cherry tomatoes to break them down and create a naturally creamy sauce without the cream. It's the perfect summer recipe that uses summer veggies like zucchini and cherry tomatoes.
This isn't a traditional or regional Italian dish. It's the kind of Italian-American cooking I grew up with: use the ingredients you have available to you. In the summer, that means making the most of vegetables like zucchini and cherry tomatoes, just like I do in Zucchini Flower Pasta Recipe.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
The key to this dish is SIMPLE ingredients.
- Bucatini. I didn't mean to make this a dish for bucatini, but during a recipe test, I used some bucatini just to clean out my cupboard, and it was perfect. The sauce is so thin, and it goes right through the holes of the pasta. I absolutely recommend bucatini, but if not, spaghetti works well, and for shorter pasta, I would use rigatoni or penne.
- Zucchini. Grated zucchini works the best. When we created this dish, we would slice the zucchini and fry it, similar to our Zucchini Risotto. Grating allows the water to release and helps develop the sauce.
- Cherry tomatoes. People often substitute grape tomatoes for cherry tomatoes because they're cheaper...DON'T do that, please. The grape tomatoes won't break down as well, and the sauce will not taste the same, and I only use cherry tomatoes in my Creamy Cherry Tomato Risotto and One-Pot Creamy Tomato Orzo.
*Please see the recipe card for more information on ingredients.
How to Make Summer Pasta with Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes
This pasta comes together so easily. It is extremely forgiving. You can have this on the table in under 45 minutes.
Start by grating the zucchini with a cheese grater. The smaller, the better for this recipe. It'll make it easier to break it down in the sauce. See the picture below for reference.
Step 1: Add olive oil to a pan and bring to medium heat. Add in the minced garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute.
Step 2: Then add in the zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and lemon juice. Stir occasionally until the cherry tomatoes begin to break down and the zucchini softens. Add the salt.
Step 3: The skin of the tomatoes will begin to soften as they break down. Don't smash the tomatoes, just gently stir until they break down on their own. If you smash them up, you won't know when they are actually cooked through.
The zucchini will eventually begin to break down and become part of the sauce after 10-15 minutes of simmering. Be patient.
Step 4: In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt to the water. Add bucatini and boil until al dente. Make sure to save 1 cup of pasta water.
Step 5: Stir in the capers, basil, and pasta water. You can see in the image that the tomato skins have started separating and the zucchini is almost unrecognizable.
Step 6: Add ½ cup of pasta water to the sauce. Allow it to continue simmering for another 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to redden.
Once the bucatini is al dente, drain it and add it to the sauce. Add another ½ cup of pasta water right before you add the pasta back to the sauce.
Stir the pasta well with the sauce and let the sauce cook for another minute while you stir vigorously and the pasta absorbs some of the sauce. Take the pasta off the heat.
Serve with parmesan cheese and fresh pepper if you like! Summer zucchini pasta is the perfect light summer meal or side dish. Try our Classic Linguine Alla Puttanesca for another light pasta dish, or if you're looking for something else to do with your zucchini, make a classic Italian dish like Grilled Zucchini alla Scapece!
Pro Tips
- Save extra pasta water in case you cook the sauce too hot or fast; you can always add pasta water to help increase the volume of the sauce again.
- Use fresh zucchini. The older the zucchini gets, the less water content. The sauce won't have as much liquid.
- Do not squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini. The liquid is what makes this dish so naturally creamy.
- Finish the pasta in the saucepan with the zucchini and tomatoes. Toss it vigorously to get that glossy texture.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can grate zucchini in advance! Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Also, you can freeze it in batches in airtight containers to make it last longer if you have lots of zucchini.
Add the pasta to a pan on medium heat with a little olive oil. Stir until warmed through. Add a little extra water if it feels dry.
You need to continue simmering the sauce to reduce it until it thickens. Reducing it with starchy pasta water helps this process.
It can, but it has more water. So you'll likely have to simmer for longer to reduce the sauce further.
Our Favorite Summer Pasta!
Did the zucchini melt into the sauce for you? Please leave a rating and comment below in the recipe card and let us know! It is so helpful to understand what the readers like about our recipes! Follow us on Instagram @vindelgiudice or Tiktok @alwaysfromscratch
Save this Recipe So You Don't Forget it
I mean c'mon we all know you're gonna forget!
Italian Summer Pasta with Zucchini
Equipment
- 1 large saucepan
- 1 4-6 qt sauce pot
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 7 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 lb bucatini
- 1 handful fresh basil
- 3 tablespoon capers
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pasta water Take this from the pot before you finish boiling pasta
Instructions
- Use a cheese grater to grate zucchini down. I try to use the smaller of the two holes offered.
- Add olive oil to a pan and bring to medium heat. Add in the minced garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute. Then add in the zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and lemon juice. Season with salt. Stir occasionally until the cherry tomatoes break down and the zucchini softens. The zucchini will eventually begin to break down and become part of the sauce after 10 minutes of simmering.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt to water for taste. Add bucatini and boil until al dente. Save 1 cup of pasta water.
- Add ½ cup of pasta water to the sauce. Allow it to continue simmering for another 5 minutes. Add capers and basil and stir. Once the bucatini is al dente, drain it and add it to the sauce. Add another ½ cup of pasta water right before you add the pasta back to the sauce.
- Serve with parmesan cheese and fresh pepper!
Video
Notes
- Save extra pasta water in case you cook the sauce too hot or fast; you can always add pasta water to help increase the volume of the sauce again.
- Use fresh zucchini. The older the zucchini gets, the less water content. The sauce won't have as much liquid.
- Do not squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini. The liquid is what makes this dish so naturally creamy.
- Finish the pasta in the saucepan with the zucchini and tomatoes. Toss it vigorously to get that glossy texture.
Vinny says
The grated zucchini in this recipe basically melt into the sauce and make it so incredibly creamy. This is such a great summer dish! Enjoy!