Helloooooooo zucchini!
When you’ve eaten all the muffins and pizza you can stomach, try this easy delicious pasta dish that’s sure to please everyone in your house.
Vegetables? Check.
Chicken sausage? Check.
Cheese? Check check.
I think we’re good here.
I made this pasta last night for our small group and was sorta shocked at how good it turned out. You know those dishes when you just throw everything your kitchen together in a pot and say a prayer? That was kinda my Monday. Adam and I had volunteered to cook dinner for six people (read: Adam volunteered me to cook dinner for six people) and I needed something tasty and portable that could be thrown together in a flash.
Enter zucchini pasta.
The zucchini is sauteed with shallot, garlic and chicken sausage, then dressed in creamy mascarpone cheese (the same stuff you make tiramisu with!) and lemon juice with a sprinkle of sea salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. It’s delicious, nutritious and seriously comes together in only about 20 minutes.
You could, of course, leave out the chicken sausage. I probably would have if I were just making this for us…but since I was feeding two other hungry boys I tossed it in.
I felt sort of like Rachael Ray when I was making this. Minus the garbage bowl and…..nevermind.
It’s really good—you should try it! I’ll leave it at that.
Zucchini Pasta
serves 6-8
Ingredients:
16 oz bow-tie pasta
2 lbs zucchini, sliced
6 oz chicken sausage (I used a spinach, fontina cheese and garlic kind from Trader Joe’s), sliced
juice of 1 lemon
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Directions:
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until el dente. Drain and keep warm.
In a large skillet or heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini slices and sausage and saute for 5 minutes or until zucchini is just about tender but not mushy. Add the garlic and shallot and saute for another two minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the marscapone cheese and toss well so that the cheese melts. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. The sauce will look broken but will come together when you add the pasta.
Add pasta and serve with additional black pepper and freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.
Time:
30 minutes
Pin It
{ 74 comments… read them below or add one }
Summer’s not summer until you’ve eaten your body weight in zucchini.
Haha…absolutely!
I agree!
You just answered my question of what I’m having for dinner. THANK YOU
Yum, this sounds great…and easy..! I’m so replicating this with veggie sausages!
Yum! Rachael Ray would be proud!
Looks great and you have given me another use for mascarpone cheese! xoxo from Trinidad
nothin’ wrong with dishes that come together in 20 minutes! and with our crazy plethora of zucchini i think i know what i’m making for dinner this week
Excellent! I cannot get enough zucchini right now….really, I have way to much haha. This recipe is simple and perfect! Love red pepper flakes
Looks delish!
Pasta is always a quick dish – you always say your surprised how good last minute stuff turns out! I’ve had zucchini in pasta before but it was always cut really fine, so this is different.
Wait – what’s the “Rachel Ray” reference though!?
I’m in love with simple, quick pasta dishes lately. They’re my go-to meal for the summer, as it’s so easy to make things delicious when veggies are in season.
And mascarpone cheese is just so yummy, I can imagine it must taste awesome in this dish.
That looks incredible. I love when dishes just happen to turn out. You really can’t go wrong with zucchini, chicken sausage and pasta! I’ve used the broccoli/chicken sausage/pasta combo more times than I can count!
Sounds like the perfect simple pasta dish. And I’m sure that it’s easy to substitute and swap out ingredients. I’m thinking ricotta instead of mascarpone, and cannellini beans for the chicken sausage. Thanks for the recipe!
SO YUM I love zuch! And that dish looks to die for! xo
Looks amazing Jenna! What a great summer dish. I used chicken sausage in my pasta pesto dinner last week – it was a hit, and I can’t wait to make this, too. Thanks for the idea!
Ooh this looks yummy! I can’t get enough of zucchini right now – green, yellow – I don’t mind! This sounds awesome, and so perfect for summer!
This looks great! I love zucchini in pasta!
Do you slice the sausage prior to cooking, or brown and then slice? My in-laws are coming this weekend, and I think they would love this!
I make this all the time, but I cut the sausage out of the casing before cooking. It makes the end product look a bit more giada…and less sandra lee!
It is ok to feel like Rachael Ray as long as you don’t say Yum-O. Most annoying “word” ever spoken.
the garbage bowl is one of the only things I liked about Rachael! haha
This looks delicious per usual.
We have leftover chicken sausage but its only enough for 1 (and i dont need it) – I was trying to think what i would make with it. This is it!
Shut the front door – this looks awesome! We’re constantly buying zucchini (and squash) in the summer so this will be a nice way to mix things up. Thanks!
Jenna this looks great!
I make pasta FROM zucchini as I am 99% gluten free. My hubs would love this one…I’ve gotten him on board with zuke as pasta. And if I also threw in regular pasta, he’s be in pasta eatin’ heaven
this recipe comes at the perfect time for all of the zucchinis exploding out of my garden right now!
I am not usually a huge fan of zucchini outside of bread, but all the other ingredients are good stuff, so I might have to give it a second chance.
Looks great Jenna. Good call on the chicken sausage. I might try this with bacon instead too!
I love pasta, I love zucchini, I love cheese, this sounds awesome! It seems like something that I could make in the morning and then eat cold at a picnic that evening and I love that.
After I saw the “Zucchini Pasta” title, I was happy to find out that there’s actual pasta in this dish, and that the zucchini isn’t subbing for real pasta. Too many spiralized zucchini eaters out there! I’ve made dishes very similar to this before. Looks good! I love feta and zucchini together in a pasta dish. If you make this again without the sausage, definitely sub in some feta!
oh i love this! easy and fast and so satisfying
I love chicken sausage! It makes feeding veggies to my husband so much easier. I also love that this can all me made on the stovetop and only uses 2 pans. Thanks for sharing Jenna!
This looks awesome! I have so many zucchini’s in my garden and this would be perfect. I just need to find a replacement for the mascarpone…maybe goat cheese?
Goat cheese worked just fine
I used a 4 oz package and it was perfect
Great way to use up the summer zucchini!
I love this! I never would have thought to use marscapone cheese…yum! And my husband would definitely want this with the chicken sausage…and I like the addition too
Looks soo good! I might have to try it with veggie sausage?!
Dinner tonight (minus the sausage)! Thanks, love <3
Ooooh, I bet this would be KILLAH with shrimp. Night? Made. You rock as usual.
Looks great! Always looking for new ways to use zucchini
I make very similiar pasta dishes – but haven’t used mascarpone cheese yet! Thanks for the idea.
Yum! I have been seeing zucchini used everywhere for summer recipes! I have got to whip something up soon! This recipe looks delish! Cheers!
Loving the Rachel Reyness of this recipe. Yep, it’s a word. Quick ‘n easy is so perfect for summer! I’m constantly thinking of how I can make dishes that are tasty, but don’t keep me in the kitchen forever.
Ha! Ha! My husband always volunteers “us” (read: me) to cook something for a potluck/get-together too!
This pasta looks fantastic!!! I’m sure the group loved it!
My boss is always letting me take home free zucchini from the farm, so I have more in my fridge than I know what to do with! This looks like a perfect use for it.
You can never have too many zucchini recipes! Love how simple it is… Plus the chicken sausage
I did this same thing last night!! Except mine was way less thought out (and probably way less delicious!) than yours was!
Mmm love! My mom makes the same thing, only with linguine..
Almost all of my pasta dishes come from “throw it into the pot” type of nights. I think it’s the best type of cooking!
That looks so good. I wish I was having that instead of lasagne tonight.
I have zucchini, I have pasta, I have chicken sausage and shallots!! This is a must!
Perfect timing for this recipe! I already have zucchini, chicken sausage and pasta at home to use up tonight for dinner. I like the addition of the mascarpone and lemon juice to give it a unique taste.
Oh, this sounds delicious AND easy, my two favorite things! Love to cook with zucchini– so tasty and a most filling and inexpensive veggie. And I bet the sausage & red pepper flakes give this dish just the right amount of spice. Will be adding it to the menu for next week!
Zucchini is everywhere right now! Delicious!
New to the blog; hello!! This pasta looks incredible. One of those simple, perfect summer dinners. I bet the lemon juice makes it pop and taste super fresh. I always forget that idea. Definitely need to make something like this soon.
You have me seriously hooked on quinoa….I’ll make this w/quinoa pasta sans the sausage…love zucchini. Thx!
yum! I have a ton of zucchini in my freezer right now and I needed a good way to use it up.
Looks fabulous!!
This sounds so yummy!
Oh I am definitely making this next week!
This is one of the greatest things about summer……because I swear you cannot get a good zucchini any other time of year.
that looks SO good… better then my “stuffed zucchini” turned out! I should have used this recipe!
I have been throwing lots of chicken sausage into recent recipes also, to feed the man of the house. He doesn’t always appreciate my lazy but healthy vegetarian tendencies. Love the ingredients list on paper!
Looks so yummy! Now I wished I had zuc instead of cucs in the fridge
Will try this sometime:)
Just tried this recipe tonight. I really enjoyed it, but I feel like mascarpone cheese feels so heavy! There’s a layer of oil on the bottom on my bowl
But it was yummy!
We just had it for dinner (substitute Ricotta for the Marscapone – um, $15.00 for 12oz – ouch!), and it was delicious. Zucchini – straight from our vege patch to our plate. Thank you!
I made this last night for my husband and i and both loved it! Thank you!
Random question but did you cut the sausage before cooking? I tried to do that with the Trader Joe’s Veggie Chicken variety and it did NOT work, it just fell apart! Any tips?
veggie sausage will usually fall apart…i used real chicken sausage here which is why it sliced so easily!
I made this the other night and it was delicious! We have so much zucchini in our house and all of these zucchini recipes have been great, thanks!
This sounds like something great for the boyfriend.. you know.. “hidden vegetable” lol I doubt my boy even knows what zucchini is!
Just made this for dinner and it was SO yummy! Used a spicy sausage and added some chopped kalamata olives, which added an awesome tang! Thanks for the keeper recipe…one that helps me use a garden full of patty pan squash!
{ 4 trackbacks }