With just a few ingredients and a super simple method, you can serve up this fresh pasta dinner to everyone at the table. This is a great option for kids who prefer their pasta less saucy—and to still have a meal that’s satisfying to your adult taste buds!
Pasta with Summer Squash and Beef
I rely on pasta often for quick and easy family meals and while I would happily do a jar of sauce and call it a day, my kids go through phases of not loving tomato sauce. (I sometimes wonder about them, ha!)
This skillet dinner uses summer squash and ground beef to add flavor and has a super simple method too.
It’s a great way to make a one pot meal for a family—even if the kids aren’t into one of the components. (They could very easily skip the meat or squash and still have plenty to eat.)
Ingredients You Need
To make this easy pasta recipe you’ll need:
- Pasta: I prefer small shapes of pasta here like orecchiette, penne, or rotini, but all can work. Just adjust the cooking time according to the package direction.
- Ground beef: Use whichever fat percentage you prefer. (I like leaner.)
- Summer squash: Yellow summer squash is a nice addition to pasta, though you can use green zucchini too.
- Green onion: Or a regular onion or you can just skip it if you don’t have it.
- Tomato paste: This adds a base of flavor, which is a nice addition.
- Parmesan cheese, to top.
TIP: Any kind of pasta will work though I prefer a smaller shape like orecchiette, elbows, or farfalle since they are similar in size to the meat and squash pieces.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the process in making this recipe. Scroll to the bottom of the post for the full information.
- Dice your veggies.
- Start to brown the meat and cook the pasta
- Add in the veggies and tomato paste.
- Stir in some of the pasta cooking water and the drained pasta.
TIP: I like to top my own serving of this with fresh basil, though that’s optional. Parmesan on top is great if you have it.
How to Store
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat to serve.
Best Tips for Success
- To make this vegetarian, omit the meat and add a can of drained white beans or garbanzo beans, or shrimp or even tofu.
- You could use ground Italian sausage instead of the ground beef if you prefer.
- Any kind of pasta will work though I prefer a smaller shape like orecchiette, elbows, or farfalle since they are similar in size to the meat and squash pieces.
- Take out the portion of pasta water before you drain the pasta so you don’t lose it all down the drain. It will add some body to the finished dish and make a very light sauce.
- I like to top my own serving of this with fresh basil, though that’s optional. Parmesan on top is great if you have it.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback if you try this recipe—please comment and rate the recipe below!
Easy Pasta with Summer Squash and Beef
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup diced onion (from 1 small onion)
- 2 cups diced summer squash (though more is fine too if you have a large squash!)
- 1 pound pasta
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Shredded fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the beef and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until almost entirely browned, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and sprinkle with salt.
- Add the pasta to the water and cook according to package directions. (I used orrechiette here and it took 10 minutes)
- Stir in the onion and squash, cover, and cook for 6-8 minutes or until soft. Remove the lid and add 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the squash mixture along with the butter and Parmesan. Stir until creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper as desired. (I didn’t add any more salt but I did add pepper to the adult portions) Top with shredded basil if you’d like.
Notes
- To make this vegetarian, omit the meat and add a can of drained white beans or garbanzo beans, or shrimp or even tofu.
- You could use ground Italian sausage instead of the ground beef if you prefer.
- Any kind of pasta will work though I prefer a smaller shape like orecchiette, elbows, or farfalle since they are similar in size to the meat and squash pieces.
- Take out the portion of pasta water before you drain the pasta so you don’t lose it all down the drain. It will add some body to the finished dish and make a very light sauce.
- I like to top my own serving of this with fresh basil, though that’s optional. Parmesan on top is great if you have it.
Nutrition
This post was first published July 2020.
Great Recipe! I changed it up a bit due to what I had in my fridge by using turkey sausage and zucchini. I was out of parmesan cheese so I used a bit of shredded mozzarella to bring it all together with some of the pasta water to loosen it. Even though I changed things up a little from the original ingredients, this recipe was great to help me pull together a yummy quick lunch with what I had. Thank you! Love your recipes and how easy they are to interchange ingredients! 🙂
My child devoured this. Thank you so much!
Great stuff, simple, few ingredients, full of flavour with veggie make it guys unless you don’t want tasty food!
This was fantastic! My wife even loved it. I pretty much followed it exactly. Thanks, and great job.
I’m so glad to hear that!
This looks great! Do you think it would work with grated zucchini instead of sliced? My kids won’t do slices of zucchini due to textural issues, but they don’t mind it grated.
Sure, I bet it would. Maybe add it in a little later in the process since it won’t take very long for it to cook.
Very bland. My kids did not like it.
This recipe is amazing! It was so quick and easy to make for my toddler twins. I almost think any vegetable in this pasta dish could work- next I am going to try adding spinach or maybe some peas. The summer squash cooked down a ton so don’t be scared to put in too much 🙂
Will be making this again for sure!
I’m so glad and yes, I agree that many other veggies would work well!