Summer Zucchini Pasta with Tomato Pesto

Take advantage of summer produce and make this amazing summer zucchini pasta with tomato pesto. All you need is a handful of ingredients to produce a restaurant-worthy dish!

Watch how to make this

Ingredients

• Zucchini: Adds a fresh, summery vegetable component to the dish while adding flavor to the sauce.
• Cherry tomatoes: Form the base of the tomato pesto, providing sweetness and acidity. You can also use grape tomatoes.
• Almonds: Add a nutty flavor and crunchy texture to the pesto. You can substitute almonds with pine nuts or walnuts if desired.
• Basil: Key ingredient in the pesto, providing classic Italian flavor.
• Pecorino: Adds a sharp, salty flavor to the pesto and as a topping. You can substitute it with parmesan as well.
• Pasta: Use short cut or long pasta such as spaghetti, penne, rigatoni, or fettuccine.

Substitutions and variations

• Protein: You can add protein to the pasta such as grilled or roasted chicken, seared shrimp, or smoked salmon.
• Spicy: Sprinkle red chili flakes before serving for a spicy kick.
• Gluten-free: Use your favorite gluten-free pasta.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Prepare zucchini

There are only two components for this pasta: the zucchini and the pesto. Luckily, they're both easy to prepare and can even be made the day before.

To prepare the zucchini, thinly slice zucchini into ⅛-inch thick round slices. You don't want to slice them any thinner or they'll end up like zucchini chips. I like to use a mandoline to get consistent slices but you can also slice the vegetable by hand.

Heat your frying oil to 350 degrees F and cook the zucchini until golden brown. You will most likely have to cook the zucchini in batches to avoid overcrowding.

Remove the cooked zucchini with a slotted spoon and let it sit in a bowl for one hour or overnight. There's no need to drain the excess oil on paper towels, a step you normally take with fried foods. We want the zucchini to absorb the oil so that they'll become nice and jammy.

Step 2: Make pesto

While the zucchini is resting, make the tomato pesto sauce. I love pesto but personally, I find pesto pasta too oily. So, in order to balance the rich sauce, I decided to incorporate roasted tomatoes.

Toss cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast them in the oven with garlic cloves until lightly charred.

Let the tomatoes cool slightly, then puree them in a food processor or blender with the remaining pesto ingredients including fresh basil, pecorino, almonds, and olive oil. You can substitute the almonds for pine nuts or walnuts if you prefer.

Season the pesto with salt and pepper and set it aside.

Step 3: Cook the pasta

You can use almost any pasta shape for this dish including but not limited to spaghetti, fettuccini, rigatoni, penne, or linguini. I chose spaghetti but short cut pasta works well too.

While the noodles are cooking, reheat the zucchini in a large saute pan. Let it sit for about 2 minutes, softening and breaking down further.

Add the tomato pesto, cooked pasta, and reserved pasta water, tossing to combine. The pasta water will help bind the noodles with the sauce and thin out the pesto.

At this point, you can add grated pecorino if you like. However, since there's already cheese in the pesto, I didn't think the pasta needed it. Instead, I finished the pasta with grated cheese after it was plated.

Finish the summer zucchini pasta with lemon zest, freshly cracked black pepper, a sprinkle of grated pecorino, and fresh basil. Now if this pasta doesn't scream summer, I don't know what will.

I absolutely loved the flavors in this meal. The zucchini is incredibly savory and flavorful, while the tomato pesto adds brightness to the pasta. I think this is going to be a regular dish on this summer's menu.

Make-ahead and store

• Make-ahead: You can fry the zucchini and make the tomato pesto the day before.
• Store: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

Frequently asked questions

More vegetarian pasta recipes

Looking for more vegetarian pasta ideas? Try these:

Recipe

Print Recipe

Summer Zucchini Pasta with Tomato Pesto

Total Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pasta, vegetarian

Servings: 4

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

• 4 medium zucchini sliced into ⅛-inch thick slices
• oil for frying
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ cup olive oil plus 1 tablespoon divided
• ⅓ cup toasted sliced almonds
• 1 cup fresh basil plus ¼ cup for serving
• ½ cup grated pecorino plus ½ cup for serving
• 10 ounces pasta
• salt and pepper
• zest of 1 lemon
• freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Heat oil for frying to 350 degrees F. Fry half of the sliced zucchini until golden brown and remove with a slotted spoon into a bowl. Repeat with the remaining zucchini. Let sit for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make tomato almond pesto. Spread cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves in an even layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes for 20 minutes or until lightly charred and softened. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
• Combine roasted tomatoes and garlic with ½ cup olive oil, ⅓ cup almonds, 1 cup basil, and ½ cup pecorino in a food processor or blender. Pulse until mixture is coarsley ground. Season pesto with salt and pepper.
• Cook pasta until al dente, about 4 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup pasta water.
• Heat large saute pan over medium heat. Add fried zucchini and let sit for 2 minutes or until warm. Add pesto, cooked pasta, and reserved pasta water, stirring to combine. Season pasta with salt and pepper.
• Portion pasta into bowls. Sprinkle lemon zest, extra pecorino, and fresh basil on top. Finish with freshly cracked black pepper and serve immediately.

Notes

You can fry the zucchini and make the tomato pesto the day before.