Zucchini Pasta Sauce (Creamy Tomato Style with Hidden Zucchini!)
This zucchini pasta sauce is a great way to add this bountiful vegetable to your dinner table! In addition to tomatoes and a touch of cream, it creates a beautiful pink sauce, and tastes even better! Even the kids will love it!
If you’ve got a garden this summer, you’ve probably got a glut of zucchini. Am I right?
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I know the feeling, because my mother grew zucchini/squash/courgettes when I was growing up. Goodness, they yield a lot of fruit and zucchini flowers! When my friend, Marie, gave me a few of her zucchini recently, I set about thinking of a unique and different way to use them. Edit: I’ve since added another zucchini pasta recipe that’s also quite delicious!
I usually make Italian style zucchini and mushrooms, and I truly do love them cooked this way, but I yearned for something new.
How to Hide Zucchini in Pasta Sauce?
I thought about a creamy sauce, not one with pieces of zucchini throughout it, so what better way to hide a vegetable, or fruit, like figs, than the sneaky blender trick?
I made a super quick sauce, blended the concoction and added a splash (or two) of heavy cream and it was truly delicious!
Another creamy and quick pasta dish: trottole pasta.
Let me know if you give this a try.
As always, use the best quality tomatoes you can get your hands on. It makes all the difference in the world. Trust me. You can read more about quality canned tomatoes and a recipe for pumpkin pasta.
Enjoy this recipe which you can make while the pasta is cooking!
Zucchini Pasta Sauce
(Creamy Tomato Style with Hidden Zucchini)
Original Recipe by Christina Conte serves 5
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD BELOW
Ingredients
- extra virgin olive oil
- garlic
- zucchini
- tomatoes (I used Mutti, finely chopped)
- salt (more or less, to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper
- fresh whipping cream
(pasta to serve, I used mezzi rigatoni)
Cook the Pasta
Begin by bringing a large pot of salted water to the boil, and cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. As soon as you put the water on to boil, begin making the sauce.
Make the Zucchini Sauce
In a large sauté pan, add the olive oil and garlic and cook the garlic for a minute or so, then add the sliced zucchini. Cook until the zucchini are beginning to brown, then immediately add the tomato sauce.
Keep the heat rather high so that the sauce simmers nicely. Add salt and pepper.
Add some pasta water as needed, as you don’t want the sauce to dry up too much.
After 10 minutes or so, the sauce should be ready. Put it in a blender and process until smooth, then pour back into the same pan over very low heat.
Add the cream and stir until completely blended. Taste for seasoning, and add some more pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
Combine the Zucchini Sauce and Pasta and Serve!
When the pasta is al dente, add directly to the sauce in the pan and mix well. Turn off the heat.
Serve hot!
It’s so delicious and quick to make; will you give it a try?
Don’t forget to add a spoonful or two of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese! Lots of people ask me about the little Parmesan bowl, you can find it here.
Ta dah! Great for a quick weeknight meal, but good enough for guests!
Buon appetito!
And if you happen to not finish every last bite, here’s how Italians reheat leftover pasta!
Zucchini Pasta Sauce (Creamy Tomato Style with Hidden Zucchini!)
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- 1 medium zucchini sliced, mine weighed 12 oz/ 340 g
- 14 oz crushed tomatoes (I used Mutti)
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- ⅛ tsp black pepper freshly ground, to taste
- ¼ cup whipping cream
- 1 lb pasta (I used mezzi rigatoni)
Instructions
- Begin by bringing a large pot of salted water to the boil, and cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. As soon as you put the water on to boil, begin making the sauce.
- In a large sauté pan, add the olive oil and garlic and cook the garlic for a minute or so, then add the sliced zucchini. Cook until the zucchini are beginning to brown, then immediately add the tomato sauce.
- Keep the heat rather high so that the sauce simmers nicely. Add salt and pepper.
- Add some pasta water as needed, as you don't want the sauce to dry up too much.
- After 10 minutes or so, the sauce should be ready. Put it in a blender and process until smooth, then pour back into the same pan over very low heat.
- Add the cream and stir until completely blended. Taste for seasoning, and add some more pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
- Combine the Zucchini Sauce and Pasta and Serve!
- When the pasta is al dente, add directly to the sauce in the pan and mix well. Turn off the heat and serve hot!
Notes
- The cream may be omitted for a lactose free meal.
Nutrition
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I have been making this recipe all Summer long!! Everyone loves it and asks for more!! So happy to have found a recipe where everyone loves zucchini!! Simply delicious and oh, so creamy!!
That makes me so happy, Marisa! Thank you so much! Would you mind clicking 5 stars (above the PRINT button) on the recipe card? Only if it’s not a bother. Thanks again, CC
Thank you for adding the review, too!! So appreciated, Marisa! Hope you find more of my recipes to enjoy! :)
This sauce looks so creamy! I want to try it! Do you think that every type of zucchini will be appropriate? I am growing ‘tapir’ in my yard for the first time (I have got it from this site if you are interested how it looks like: https://gardenseedsmarket.com/zucchini-tapir.html) and I don’t know if it tastes the same as normal zucchini. Maybe you have any experience with that? If no, I will give it a try and see what comes! :D
Hi there – we are having this for dinner tonight! (Minus the garlic, of course!) Not that we need to hide the squash – it is just fun to do something different and healthy with it! Win-win!
Yay! Of course, same reason I thought of doing it this way, for something a bit different; hope you love it!
Got delayed a night — but worth the wait! This is a wonder sauce — so comforting! Thanks.
Fantastic, so glad you like it!
Very pretty, Christina! Sounds very tasty. I love zucchini—no need to “hide” it in my case!—but what a great combination of flavors.
Very true! It’s so tasty this way, too! :)
What a fabulous recipe, Christina! When my children were little, the blender was my BEST friend but I never thought of doing this! Great idea even for adults ;)
Thanks for the link back. I love zucchini and while I struggle to grow them, my dad didn’t and growing up we had zucchini and the flowers all the time!
Unbelievable! Lucie had this on Monday in Paris – the same pasta shapes too! How special is that to get fresh courgettes from Marie? Fabulous.
Are you serious?! And it was blended up? I didn’t see any other recipes like this online, so I thought I cornered the market! haha! Apparently, not! :)
This pasta sauce looks yummy and perfect for the summer bounty that’s beginning in my garden. Thanks for sharing Christina.
It is really tasty, Patricia, thank you!