This fresh Zucchini Pasta Sauce takes less than 30 minutes and is packed with fiber and protein. Plus, the yummy sauce can be made ahead and stored in the fridge or freezer for future meals.
Whenever I wind up with a lingering zucchini or I just want an easy vegetable sauce for pasta, this is a go-to.
It’s one of our favorite zucchini recipes because it’s easy to make, easy to freeze, and is a delish option to toss with pasta.
Why This Recipe Works
This Zucchini Pasta Sauce is creamy and flavorful with basil, lemon, and Parmesan. There is extra protein, fiber, and creaminess from white beans, too, making the blended sauce a healthy option for any age.
We love this vegetarian meal on its own, though you could serve it with dishes like sauteed shrimp, Homemade Chicken Nuggets, Chicken Fritters, or Baked Fish Sticks, too.
Table of Contents
Ingredients You Need
Here’s a look at what you need to make this zucchini pasta recipe for kids or to share with the entire family.
- Zucchini: Small to medium zucchini usually have better flavor than gigantic ones, though any will work here.
- Garlic cloves: These add flavor to the sauce. You can swap in onion or shallot if you’d like.
- Olive oil: Feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- White beans: I like to add beans to the sauce to thicken it a little and to add some extra nutrients. I prefer white cannellini beans.
- Basil leaves: Or parsley or spinach is optional, but an easy way to add more flavor and to make the sauce a brighter color green.
- Pasta: You can use any type of pasta you like here.
- Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and/or fresh black pepper (optional but recommended)
Featured Review⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Flavorful, and packed with veggies for the kids. This dish is delicious, the adults enjoyed it just as much!!” —Casey
Step-by-Step Instructions
Below is an overview of the method for the Zucchini Pasta Sauce recipe. Scroll down to the end of the post for the specifics, including the amounts and timing.
Step 1. Cook the pasta, reserving some pasta cooking water. Meanwhile, slice the zucchini and mince the garlic.
Step 2. Saute until cooked through and lightly golden brown.
Step 3. Add to a blender with the remaining sauce ingredients, including a little bit of reserved pasta cooking water.
Step 4. Blend smooth, season to taste with salt, and toss as much or as little of the sauce as you like with pasta.
TIP: I add a little of the sauce at a time to the pasta to ensure that it’s well-coated but that we don’t put too much on. You can easily store leftover sauce for a future meal.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Sure, you can use nutritional yeast for flavor in place of the Parmesan.
You can add fresh basil, a little extra salt, fresh lemon, or even crushed red pepper to the adult portions.
There is ample protein in this recipe from both the pasta and the beans in the sauce, but you can add cooked Italian Sausage, a side of Italian Chicken Cutlets, Baked Chicken Meatballs, or even Salmon Patties to the meal.
How to Store
Store any remaining zucchini pasta sauce in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or freeze in an ice cube tray overnight, transfer to a freezer bag, remove as much air as you can and freeze for up to 6 months.
Thaw 1-2 cubes overnight in the fridge in a container or at room temperature for about an hour and add to servings of pasta for easy meals.
Best Tips for Success
- Trade in shallot or onion for the garlic if you like.
- Use yellow summer squash if desired.
- Add a few basil, spinach, or parsley leaves to enhance the green color.
- Use any type of pasta you like, including regular, whole-wheat, or a bean-based pasta (which would be an easy way to add more iron to this meal).
- If the kids don’t love sauce on their pasta, you can offer a small amount of the sauce with buttered pasta as shown above.
- Serve with my healthy Chocolate Mousse or fluffy Chocolate Muffins for dessert.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback on this post, so please comment below to share.
Zucchini Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 small zucchini (about 2 cups sliced)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
- 2 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
- ½ cup white beans (such as cannellini beans; or cottage cheese or ricotta cheese)
- 2 tablespoons basil leaves (or parsley or spinach, optional)
- 1 pound pasta
- Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and/or fresh black pepper (optional but recommended)
Instructions
- Cut the ends off of the zucchini and discard. Slice the zucchini about ¼-inch thick.
- Add the olive oil to a medium skillet over medium heat. When warm, add the zucchini and garlic. Toss to coat with the oil. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, turning once or twice, or until the zucchini is very soft when poked with a fork. Remove from heat and let cool slightly for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Before draining, remove and reserve one cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain and set aside.
- Transfer the zucchini to a blender, adding the beans and optional herb or spinach (that addition makes this a brighter green color). Blend, starting slowly and working up to high. Add the pasta cooking water, ¼ cup at a time, to make a smooth sauce.
- Add ½ of the sauce to the pasta and stir to combine. Add as much additional sauce as you like or store the remaining sauce for future use. Serve with Parmesan, lemon zest, and/or pepper as desired.
Notes
- Store any remaining sauce in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or freeze in an ice cube tray overnight, transfer to a freezer bag, remove as much air as you can and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw 1-2 cubes overnight in the fridge in a container or at room temperature for about an hour and add to servings of pasta for easy meals.
- Use yellow summer squash if desired.
- Add a few basil, spinach, or parsley leaves to enhance the green color.
- Use any type of pasta you like, including regular, whole-wheat, or a bean-based pasta.
Nutrition
This post was first published July 2022.
I had this sauce with a couple of Italian meatballs on spiralized sweet potato (that was delish!) and my toddler had it on orzo. He was not a huge fan this time but I will definitely try making it again; maybe with a different pasta and add some lemon zest next time.
How do you feel about using chickpeas?
They are not as creamy or as neutral in flavor, but they may be an option if that’s what you have.
I came across this perfect recipe on my Instagram feed as I had zucchini and spinach to use up. The flavors are amazing especially with the addition of lemon zest as suggested in the recipe. Kids loved it and this is definitely going in my meal prep menu rotation 😋
I used summer squash & zuchinni and this was delicious!! So creamy and flavorful. My 3 y/o enjoyed as well!
They ate it up! My 3 year old is going through a “nothing green” stage but her bedtime book lately has been green eggs and ham. I called it the green sauce from the book with pasta. She needed a little extra cheese and a bit of salt but then LOOOOVED it. My 1 1/2 year old gobbled it up as well. I did it with lemon zest and some spinach so this was a major win:)
Healthy, clean ingredients, and very easy to prepare. I used ditalini pasta and crossed my fingers…my picky 3 yo seems to genuinely enjoy it. Happily bookmarked the recipe. 🙂 thanks!
Love this recipe! Would love ideas of how to incorporate more protein. Maybe up the beans? Very tasty, though.
I’d probably add chicken or shrimp or another protein to the pasta mixture, rather than more beans to the sauce since that might just make the sauce taste like straight beans. Glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome recipe- first new thing I have been able to get my toddler to eat in months, and great for adults too, very tasty! I used “wagon wheel” shaped pasta to get him interested and then he gobbled it down!
This recipe looks amazing! Going to try it tomorrow night for dinner. I only have frozen zucchini (used your step-by-step instructions on how to freeze) — would you suggest cooking from frozen? If so, does the cook/sauté time need to be increased or remain at 10-12 minutes?
The basic instructions are the same, but it may take 2 more minutes to cook from frozen. Enjoy!
I really wanted this to be good but despite using basil and adding lemon, salt and pepper, and Parmesan it had very little flavor. Not sure what else I could do to make it better but might try again.
I tried adding some lemon pepper at the end of cooking the zucchini which booster the flavor nicely!
Perfection! So easy and absolutely delicious. Used the extra sauce as a salad dressing after it cooled – it was creamy and dreamy!
I love that idea!
I was literally spooning this out of the blender like soup it was so good. Used the basil modification and a bit of grated parm – 11/10 would make this again. My 2.5 year old loved it, too!
This is SO yummy and satisfying! The sauce needed a fair bit of salt, which I don’t think is in the recipe. Heavily salting the pasta water that later gets added helped, too! I also added a bit of lemon juice to balance the excellent umami, and I blended some parmesan into the sauce.
We loved this recipe- will certainly make again… the kids even ate the ‘monster macaroni’, a huge win.
This was quick and tasty and I’m so happy to have leftovers for easy lunches tomorrow!