When summer gardens get ahead of themselves and zucchini starts showing up by the armload, this simple pasta is one of the finest ways to use it. It has the plain good sense of old-fashioned home cooking: a handful of ingredients, one pot, and a little patience while the zucchini softens down into a silky sauce that clings to every piece of pasta. It is humble, thrifty, and surprisingly rich-tasting for something made from such everyday staples.
This pasta is lovely on its own for a light supper, but it also pairs nicely with a crisp green salad, sliced tomatoes, or a piece of buttered toast to catch any extra sauce. If you want to round it out for company, set it beside roasted chicken, grilled sausages, or a platter of fresh summer fruit, and keep a little extra black pepper and grated cheese at the table.
4-Ingredient Creamy Zucchini Pasta
Servings: 4
Ingredients
12 ounces penne pasta
2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook for 2 minutes less than the package directions, stirring now and then.
2. Scoop out about 1 cup of the pasta water and set it aside. Add the sliced zucchini to the pot with the pasta and cook for the remaining 2 minutes, until the zucchini is tender and the pasta is just al dente.
3. Drain the pasta and zucchini, then return them to the warm pot. Pour in the heavy cream and set the pot over low heat.
4. Stir in the Parmesan a handful at a time, adding splashes of the reserved pasta water as needed, until the cheese melts and the sauce turns smooth, creamy, and pale green from the zucchini.
5. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Let it sit for 1 minute so the sauce can settle, then spoon into bowls and serve hot with extra Parmesan if you like.
Variations & Tips
Make it smoother: If you want a sauce that feels extra velvety, mash some of the cooked zucchini right in the pot with the back of a spoon before adding the cheese. That helps the zucchini melt right into the cream and gives the pasta an even silkier finish.
Use another pasta shape: Penne is handy because the sauce settles into the little tubes, but rotini, shells, or rigatoni work just as well. Just keep an eye on the cooking time and save that pasta water, because it is the secret to a glossy sauce that coats every bite.
Add a little garden flavor: Even though the heart of this recipe is its simplicity, a spoonful of minced garlic cooked briefly in the warm pot or a shower of fresh basil at the end fits beautifully if you have them on hand. Those little extras make it taste like high summer without changing its easy nature.