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This tasty but simple vegan zucchini pasta is all about the flavors of Spring!
In this unique but delicious zucchini pasta caramelized zucchini and leeks create a rich, almost jammy sauce that melts into spiral pasta. The simple sauce is flavored with fresh oregano and juicy cherry tomatoes add sweet-tart flavor to each bite. Yum. The sauce is gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free and you can tailor it to various diets by using gf or low-carb pasta.
This vegan zucchini pasta is one of my favorite dinners and I’m so excited to share it with you. What I love about it most is its utter simplicity: it needs just a handful of ingredients and the final result is as delicious as it is unexpected.
This is a great pasta dinner to use up vegetables that are abundant in spring and summer, including zucchini, leeks and cherry tomatoes, and herbs like oregano and basil. I used oregano this time because this perennial is already thriving in my garden, while the annual basil plants are still in their infancy. But I can’t wait to make this vegan pasta with basil in coming months.
While you might have eaten pasta with zucchini before what makes this sauce unique is the caramelization of the leeks and the zucchini. You cook zucchini and leeks long enough to create a magical sauce that’s pesto-like in consistency and that almost disappears into your pasta. Disappears, except for the amazing, mindblowing flavor.
I hope you will try this easy vegan pasta and feel free to add more zucchini, if you have a bounty on your hands. You’ll never be tempted to give away your zucchini again (although I’m not sure that’s a good thing. ;))
Why you’ll love this vegan zucchini pasta
- It’s so incredibly delicious. Make this pasta and tell me if it isn’t one of the most delicious pastas you’ve ever made or eaten. The caramelized leek and zucchini sauce is richly and complexly flavored with a creamy mouth feel, and the oregano adds amazing, savory flavor throughout. You get so much flavor for so little.
- It’s easy. You will need some time to caramelize the zucchini and leeks but other than that the process of making this pasta couldn’t be simpler. And it needs just seven ingredients, including the pasta.
- It’s healthy. The sauce is packed with veggies and healthy herbs.
- It’s everyone friendly. You can stir this soy free, nut free and gluten free sauce into any pasta of your choice—regular, whole wheat, gluten-free and low-carb.
Zucchini pasta recipe ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter + 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. This will help the vegetables caramelize and add great flavor to the sauce. You can do this with just 3 tablespoon of olive oil and skip the butter.
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 large leek. You can replace with shallots.
- 2 medium zucchini (16 oz or 1 pound). You can increase to up to two pounds zucchini if you want more veg in the pasta. Another summer squash like yellow squash or pattypan squash would work too.
- 2 tablespoon fresh oregano + more for garnish. You can use 2 teaspoon dried oregano in this sauce instead but fresh is highly recommended. You can also replace the oregano with fresh basil.
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes. You can use regular tomatoes, try and use tomatoes that are quite sweet.
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste.
- 1 pound small pasta. I used casarecce pasta, which are spirals and hold on nicely to the sauce. Rotini and shell pasta would work great as well. I can see this sauce working well with orzo too.
How to make vegan zucchini pasta
- Place oil and butter with crushed or minced garlic in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the garlic until it is lightly golden and fragrant.
- Add the thinly sliced leeks and saute for a couple of minutes.
- Add the grated zucchini. Add salt and ground black pepper and saute over medium heat. The zucchini and leeks will express all their juices. At this point stir in 2 tablespoons oregano.
- Continue to saute the vegetables until the liquid has evaporated. If the veggies stick to the bottom of the pan add a tablespoon of water and scrape up any brown bits. Continue doing this until the vegetables are greatly reduced and caramelized, about 20-25 minutes.
- Stir in the cherry tomatoes but don’t give them too long in the skillet because you don’t want them to break down completely–you want their sweetness and slight tartness to come through in the final dish.
- While the zucchini and leeks are cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
- Stir the cooked pasta into the cooked zucchini-leek-tomato sauce with a cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Add more salt as needed and plenty of ground black pepper. Tear some oregano leaves and stir in.
- Serve hot, warm or cold.
Pro tip!
You will know that the zucchini are caramelized perfectly when they turn darker green and you see a bit of oil oozing from the veggies.
Storage and make-ahead instructions
- Refrigerate: Leftovers of this vegan zucchini pasta can be stored in the fridge for up to three days.
- Freeze: Freeze pasta in an airtight container for up to four months.
- Reheat: Reheat the pasta in a skillet or in a microwave. If reheating in a skillet defrost the pasta first. To microwave, place frozen or defrosted pasta in a microwave safe container and microwave frozen pasta for 2-5 minutes, depending on quantity, stirring once or twice in between.
- Make ahead: You can make the pasta sauce ahead and refrigerate it for up to three days. The pasta sauce can also be frozen for up to four months.
Frequently asked questions
Absolutely. Use up to two pounds if you have more zucchini on hand. The more you have of the delicious, caramelized zucchini in the sauce the better it will be.
I wouldn’t recommend it. The zucchini and leeks together create magic and the tomatoes add a nice pop of freshness. Other veggies would throw these flavors off balance.
You definitely can. Stir a can of white beans or chickpeas into the pasta–add the beans just before adding the tomatoes and let them heat through before adding the pasta to the skillet.
You can serve the pasta with a fresh, leafy salad on the side. Or serve it by itself. You can also serve some dairy free vegan parmesan cheese on the side.
More zucchini recipes you might like
Vegan Zucchini Pasta
A unique and delicious zucchini pasta where caramelized zucchini and leeks create a rich, almost jammy sauce that melts into spiral pasta. The simple sauce is flavored with fresh oregano and juicy cherry tomatoes add sweet-tart flavor to each bite. Yum. The sauce is gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free and you can tailor it to various diets by using gf or low-carb pasta.
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Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 374kcal
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Instructions
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Place oil and butter with crushed or minced garlic in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the garlic until it is lightly golden and fragrant.
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Add the thinly sliced leeks and saute for a couple of minutes, then add the zucchini. Add salt and ground black pepper and saute over medium heat. The zucchini and leeks will express all their juices. Stir in 2 tablespoons oregano.
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Continue to saute the vegetables until the liquid has evaporated. If the veggies stick to the bottom of the pan add a tablespoon of water and scrape up any brown bits. Continue doing this until the vegetables are greatly reduced and caramelized, about 20-25 minutes. Stir in the cherry tomatoes but don’t give them too long in the skillet because you don’t want them to break down completely–you want their sweetness and slight tartness to come through in the final dish.
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While the zucchini and leeks are cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
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Stir the cooked pasta into the cooked zucchini-leek-tomato sauce with a cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Add more salt as needed and plenty of ground black pepper. Tear a few oregano leaves with your fingers and stir in.
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Serve hot, warm or cold.
Notes
- For a spicier pasta stir in some red pepper flakes along with the cherry tomatoes into the pasta sauce.
- Substitute the oregano with basil.
- You can use up to two pounds of zucchini in the sauce.
- Replace cherry tomatoes with chopped regular tomatoes. Tomatoes should be quite sweet. If you don’t want to use tomatoes, stir in a tablespoon or two of lemon juice.
- Use any pasta based on your diet preference–gluten free, whole grain or low carb. You can even serve the sauce with zucchini noodles!
Storage, reheating and make-ahead:
- Refrigerate: Leftovers of this vegan zucchini pasta can be stored in the fridge for up to three days.
- Freeze: Freeze pasta in an airtight container for up to four months.
- Reheat: Reheat the pasta in a skillet or in a microwave. If reheating in a skillet defrost the pasta first. To microwave, place frozen or defrosted pasta in a microwave safe container and microwave frozen pasta for 2-5 minutes, depending on quantity, stirring once or twice in between.
- Make ahead: You can make the pasta sauce ahead and refrigerate it for up to three days. The pasta sauce can also be frozen for up to four months.
Nutrition
Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Potassium: 482mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 591IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 2mg
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