The most delicious Zucchini Pesto Pasta made with fresh mint, parsley, parmesan and nuts. This super quick recipe uses a vibrant green zucchini pesto made in a food processor and tossed with spaghetti. Healthy and packed with flavour!
If you're looking for something fresh and light then this zucchini pesto pasta will hit the spot.
The zucchini pesto is almost no-cook, I say almost because the zucchini are boiled in water for a few minutes but then the rest of the pesto is blitzed together in a food processor.
To make things easy, the pasta is cooked in the same water the zucchini is boiled in so there's less washing up involved.
Toss the pesto with spaghetti (or any pasta you like) for a simple, healthy and absolutely delicious meal that's ready in no time!
See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos, tips, variations and a video tutorial. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below
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Ingredients - what you need
See the photo below that shows you everything you need to make our Zucchini Pesto Pasta plus some important tips on ingredients!
- Pasta - we love serving the zucchini pesto with long pasta like spaghetti or linguine but it will go well with any shape you like.
- Zucchini - use medium sized zucchini around (500g/1 pound) in weight.
- Parmigiano Reggiano - make sure to freshly grate it yourself it makes a world of difference. Don't buy pre-grated cheese.
- Almonds - we used almonds with the skin on but you could also use skinless, blanched almonds too.
- Fresh herbs - mint and parsley add so much fresh and delicious flavour. They must be fresh as dried herbs will not work here.
- Olive oil - extra virgin olive oil is best here.
Step by step photos and recipe instructions
Preparation Tips!
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season it well with salt.
- Freshly grate the Parmigiano Reggiano.
- Get a food processor ready.
Wash the zucchini then place them in the boiling water whole. Boil them for 8 minutes then carefully remove them with tongs to a cutting board, do not drain the water (photo 1).
Add the pasta to the boiling water (add more salt if needed) and cook until al dente.
Meanwhile, cut the ends off of the zucchini and roughly chop them. Add the chopped zucchini to a food processor and blitz to a loose paste (photo 2 & 3).
Next, add the cheese, nuts, mint, parsley, olive oil and a pinch of salt and blitz to a paste. Add around 2 tablespoons of pasta water to loosen it (photos 4 & 5).
Transfer the zucchini pesto to a large mixing bowl and add the pasta once cooked. Toss everything together so the pasta is combined with the pesto and serve (photos 6-8).
Recipe tips and FAQs
- Reserve pasta water - we usually only use about 2 tablespoons of reseved pasta water to loosen the zucchini pesto slightly but you may need more when you toss it with the pasta so it's always best to reserve a little more than you need.
- Prepare in advance - the zucchini pesto can be made a day in advance and stored in the fridge. Bring it out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using so it's not too cold.
Absolutely, we use almonds in this recipe but pistachios, cashews, pine nuts or walnuts would also work really well.
The pasta will keep well in the fridge for 1-2 days. It's a nice pasta to eat cold as a pasta salad (use short pasta if eating this way).
More easy Italian pasta recipes to try
- Creamy Tomato Pasta with Pancetta and Shallots
- Easy Tuna Pasta with Tomatoes and Capers
- Pesto alla Trapanese (Sicilian Pesto)
- Trofie al Pesto Genovese with Potatoes and Green Beans
- Sausage and Cavolo Nero Pasta
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📖 Full Recipe
Zucchini Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 14 oz spaghetti (400g) or pasta of choice
- 1 pound zucchini (courgettes) about 2-3 medium (500g)
- 1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano (50g) grated
- â…“ cup whole almonds (50g)
- 3 sprigs fresh mint (10g)
- 1 handful fresh parsley (5g)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
Preparation step
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season it with salt. Grate the cheese and get a food processor ready.
To make zucchini pesto pasta
- Wash the zucchini then place them in the boiling water whole (do not trim any ends or cut them first). Boil them for 8 minutes then carefully remove them with tongs to a cutting board, do not drain the water.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water (add more salt if needed) and cook until al dente.
- Meanwhile, cut the ends off of the zucchini and roughly chop them. Add the chopped zucchini to a food processor and blitz to a loose paste.
- Next, add the cheese, nuts, mint, parsley, olive oil and a pinch of salt and blitz to a paste. Add around 2 tablespoons of pasta water to loosen it.
- Transfer the zucchini pesto to a large mixing bowl and add the pasta once cooked. Toss everything together so the pasta is combined with the pesto (add a little more pasta water if needed) and serve.
Notes
- Reserve pasta water - we usually only use about 2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water to loosen the zucchini pesto slightly but you may need more when you toss it with the pasta so it's always best to reserve a little more than you need.
- Prepare in advance - the zucchini pesto can be made a day in advance and stored in the fridge. Bring it out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using it so it's not too cold.
- Other nuts to use - if you don't have almonds you could use pistachios, walnuts, cashews or pine nuts.
- Leftovers and storage - the pasta will keep well in the fridge for 1-2 days and can be eaten cold or a room temperature.
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
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