Use summer produce to make this Super Green Pasta Sauce. Make this vibrant basil cream sauce in just 30 minutes.
30 minutes
Minimal prep
You’ll Learn: How to turn a handful of fresh greens into a flavor-packed sauce for weeknight pasta
Worth It: The bright, creamy basil sauce brings out the best of summer
Bonus: Easy to tailor to common diets
Make this bright green pasta sauce for an easy summer dinner
If your garden is bursting with summer produce like zucchini and fresh basil, this recipe is for you! I was looking for a delicious recipe to use up my fresh basil that wasn’t just homemade pesto sauce.
So I put some of my favorite green things in a blender with a bit of heavy cream and parmesan cheese for flavor and ended up with a silky smooth and flavorful sauce. Toss this delicious basil cream sauce with your noodle of choice, serve with extra parm and lemon zest and dig in!
Kitchen Tools
- Cutting board and sharp knife
- Saute pan
- Large pot for boiling pasta
- Blender
- Measuring spoons and measuring cups
- Liquid measuring cup
Ingredients
- Pasta
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Zucchini
- Spinach
- Fresh basil
- Heavy cream
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Lemon
What type of pasta should I use?
I like to use pasta shapes that really soak up this delicious basil cream sauce with ridges. I used mafaldine pasta, but here are some other ones that would be great:
- Radiatori
- Campanelle
- Cavatapi
- Gamelle
How to make super green pasta sauce
Step 1: Boil pasta and saute green veggies
To begin, boil pasta in a large pot of heavily salted water. While that cooks, sauté garlic and shallots in olive oil until soft. Add the chopped zucchini to the pan and sauté again.
Next, add the spinach to the pan and cook until just wilted. Season the veggies with salt.
Step 2: blend Basil cream sauce
Reserve, 3/4 cup of pasta water from the boiling pasta. Add the warm sauteed veggies to a blender with the pasta water, fresh basil, parmesan cheese and heavy cream. Blend until a smooth and creamy sauce remains.
Step 3: Toss pasta sauce with cooked noodles and garnish
Finally, place warm cooked pasta in a bowl or large pan. Pour warm green pasta sauce on top of the noodles and toss to coat.
Serve immediately with extra parmesan cheese and lemon zest.
Storage and reheating
Once prepared, allow the pasta to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat on the stovetop at a low temperature.
You can add a bit more milk and parmesan cheese to the sauce as you reheat it to make the sauce creamy again. This sauce is best enjoyed immediately, but will be good in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Check out these other delicious Vegetarian Pasta Dishes!
If you’re looking for another veggie packed pasta sauce, make this roasted veggie pasta sauce.
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
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Recipe
Super Green Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta of choice – I used mafaldine
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 shallot
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 zucchini
- 4 large handfuls of spinach
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 3/4 cup pasta water – reserved from cooked pasta
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese + more for topping
- Zest from 1 lemon
Instructions
- Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil.Chop zucchini into cubes, slice shallot and garlic cloves into thin slices. When the water is boiling, place the pasta in the pot to boil.
- Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and add the shallots and garlic to the pan. Suate until the garlic and shallot are soft and fragrant – about 3 minutes.
- Add the cubed zucchini to the pan and saute until soft about 4 minutes. Add the spinach to the pan and saute until it is just soft and wilted. Add the salt to the pan and toss again.
- Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta water from the pot. Drain the pasta and set aside. Place warm sauteed veggies in a blender with the pasta water, basil, heavy cream and parmesan cheese.
- Blend until a smooth and creamy sauce remains. Toss the warm noodles in the warm creamy sauce. Serve with extra parmesan cheese and lemon zest.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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