Personally, I love vegetables and have never had a problem eating them. However, the way vegetables are prepared can drastically change the way they taste. A great way to sneak in veggies to a veggie hater is to make a pasta sauce out of them. This Creamy Vegan Zucchini Pasta with Lemon and Basil is a delicious way to sneak in veggies.
All you need for this recipe is a few ingredients you have on hand. The zucchini, onions and garlic are cooked up in a pan and then thrown into a blender with the rest of the ingredients. That makes this a 15 minute meal, perfect for those hectic weeknights. For some extra protein I added white beans, but feel free to sub out whatever protein you choose!
Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables. For more yummy zucchini recipes try my honey garlic zucchini or my smashed zucchini.
This creamy zucchini pasta is
- vegan, vegetarian, plant based and gluten free
- packed with veggies
- easy to make
- delicious and flavorful
- healthy
Ingredients
- onion
- garlic
- zucchini
- nutritional yeast
- reserved pasta water
- plant milk
- cashew butter
- basil
Substitutions
- Basil - can be subbed with parsley.
- Cashew butter - can be subbed with raw cashews or tahini. If you are not vegan I believe ricotta would also would!
- Plant milk - dairy milk works just fine!
- Nutritional yeast - parmesan is a good sub here.
Instructions
Cook your veggies in a pan.
Blend together sauce.
Serve and enjoy!
Storage instructions
Store the leftover pasta in a sealed container in your fridge for up to 3 days.
FAQ
This pasta sauce has the best flavor. Its cheesy and flavorful with a bright veggie flavor. Seriously, the best!
Recipe Pro-Tips
If you want to add some protein to this recipe I suggest adding white beans or subbing out the plant milk with dairy milk. If you are vegan or vegetarian feel free to add in meat for protein as well.
Other vegan pasta recipes to try
If you make this Creamy Vegan Zucchini Pasta with Lemon and Basil, let me know what you think in the comments!
Tag me on Instagram so I can repost you!
Creamy Vegan Zucchini Pasta with Lemon and Basil
Ingredients
Sauce
- ½ onion - finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 medium or 4 small zucchinis - roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup reserved pasta water make sure it is heavily salted
- ¾ cup plant milk
- ¼ cup cashew butter can sub tahini if allergic
- ½-1 cup basil - finely chopped
- juice from ½ lemon
- salt/pepper to taste
Other ingredients
- 4 servings cooked pasta
- 1 can white beans optional
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Lastly add in garlic and basil and cook for 3-5 more minutes until everything is cooked and softened.
- Add zucchini, garlic and onion to a blender along with the rest of the sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth.
- Mix sauce with pasta and white beans if using.
Nicole says
Incredible sauce recipe. This is a new staple dish for me. Loved the idea of mixing the pasta with the white beans, I never thought to do it and I am in love!
Kristi says
So glad you liked it nicole!!
Paulie says
Great use for zucchini squash. Just needed a little somethin'. So I added some chopped sun-dried tomatoes to give it a little edge. Also, unless my eyes have failed me again, the recipe does not specify how much or what kind of oil to use for the sauteing.
Kristi says
thanks paulie!
Jane H says
OMG this was fantastic! I am a vegetarian, not a vegan, and I dislike the flavor of nutritional yeast, so I used regular milk and parmigiano reggiano cheese (I just never have unsweetened plant milk on hand, I'm sure it works great). I used 10 ounces of rigatoni, but there was enough sauce that I could have easily used 16 ounces. The flavor with the basil is just incredible, and white beans are the perfect protein to use here, as the flavor melds nicely with the sauce. Thank you!
Kristi says
Thanks Jane!
Mel says
Could I use vegan basil pesto in place of basil as it's quite difficult to find in store at the moment?
Kristi says
I would probably use another herb like parsley. Pesto has added oil so it might alter the sauce. If you do add pesto I would only add 1-2 tablespoons.
Lacey C says
This was so good! It was even toddler approved.
Kristi says
Thank you so much Lacey!