Creamy Tomato Zucchini Pasta: The 20-Minute Version That Actually Uses Up All Your Zucchini
Creamy, silky, and loaded with summer veggies — this one-pan (okay, two-pan) pasta comes together in 25 minutes and uses up every last zucchini in your fridge.
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Large Skillet or Dutch Oven
- Box Grater or Microplane
- Colander
- Kitchen towel or paper towels
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini
- 12 oz pasta (rotini, penne, or casarecce)
- 1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 handful fresh basil, torn
- to taste red pepper flakes
- to taste salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Grate the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. Toss with ½ tsp salt and let it sit in a colander for 10 minutes. You'll see liquid pooling at the bottom — that's what you're trying to get rid of.
- Transfer the zucchini to a clean kitchen towel or a thick layer of paper towels. Wrap it up and squeeze HARD. Keep squeezing until very little liquid comes out. It should look dry and fluffy, not wet and clumpy.
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook your pasta to al dente — I usually cook it 1 minute less than the box says because it will finish cooking in the sauce. Before you drain it, scoop out 1 cup of the starchy pasta water and set it aside.
- In your large skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the dried, grated zucchini and cook, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes. It will smell nutty and begin to brown at the edges. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 5 minutes. It will thicken and turn a deeper, richer red.
- Stir in the heavy cream and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Whisk until smooth and silky. It should be a pale, creamy pink-orange — exactly the color of a sunset.
- Add the drained pasta directly to the skillet. Toss with tongs for 1-2 minutes, letting the sauce coat every nook and cranny. If it seems too thick, add a splash more pasta water. You want the sauce to cling to the pasta, not pool at the bottom.
- Remove from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and the torn basil. Taste it — add salt, pepper, or red pepper flakes as needed. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan on top. The moment you take that first bite, you'll know why I won't stop talking about this.
Notes
Do not skip sweating the zucchini – it's the key to a creamy sauce. Save pasta water for emulsifying. Grate Parmesan fresh for smooth melting. For vegan: use coconut cream and nutritional yeast. Store sauce separately from pasta for up to 4 days, freeze sauce for 3 months.