I created this Zucchini Ribbon Pasta recipe years ago to be a healthy one, but it’s honestly really delicious whether you’re counting calories or not. One of my favorite meal hacks over the years has been to mix veggies with their more calorie/carb-dense counterparts to enjoy the best of both worlds. In this case, I’m combining delicious regular pasta with zucchini ribbon noodles (cauliflower rice and regular rice is another great combo if you’re trying to lighten up your meals!). You how you can still have really delicious, filling food- even pasta and cream sauce, and stick to a healthy diet. There are a few great tricks in here, so pay attention folks. Let’s get cookin’.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Fettucine – Or other pasta of choice.
- Zucchini – Here’s one of the secrets to this recipe. It’s a trick I sometimes use on my kids. Shhhh… Slice a zucchini in thin slices vertically. I used a mandoline to make it quick and easy. If you don’t have a mandoline, you can use a vegetable peeler. You want them about 1/8 inch thick.
- Olive oil
- Grape tomatoes – Or any other variety of sweet, bite-sized tomato.
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Fresh garlic cloves
- Chicken broth
- Cream cheese – Now for the secret to our sinfully creamy sauce. I almost never use fat-free cream cheese. I don’t recommend it for baking, and I don’t really like it in dips, but the one place it does work really well is when it’s melted into a sauce, like this. We just need the creaminess, and fat-free cream cheese has significantly less calories than even the reduced fat kind. Obviously feel free to use any of the three, but know that fat-free works great.
- Fresh basil leaves – If you don’t have basil growing, find it in the produce section near the tomatoes (not refrigerated like other herbs).
- Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed!
How to Make Zucchini Ribbon Pasta with Light Creamy Lemon-Basil Sauce
- Get some water boiling. Use a mandoline or vegetable peeler to cut your zicchini in long slices/sheets, then cut them vertically to create ribbons. Set those aside.
- Add pasta to the boiling water.
- While the pasta is cooking, you’ll sauté some little tomatoes quickly, just until they are just barely starting to burst. At this point they’ve released some sweetness and it’s caramelized in the pan to develop a whole new depth of flavor. Scoop those little guys out of the pan and set them aside.
- Chop up a few cloves of garlic and give them a quick saute in your same pan. Once those are golden, add a little chicken broth. As the chicken broth simmers, you can scrape all of the little browned bits off the bottom of the pan- they add tons of flavor here. You’ll mix a little of that hot broth with some softened cream cheese, then add that back to the pan to create the creamy sauce.
- Add chopped basil and lemon juice, then taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- When your pasta is just about done, pop your zucchini ribbons in the pot so they’re cooking with the pasta. These only need about 2 minutes, then drain the zucchini and pasta and combine with the sauce. Gently toss with the tomatoes or simply add them to the top of each serving. Garnish with basil if desired.
Storing and Other Tips
- This dish is best enjoyed freshly made!
- If you do have leftovers, store in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within a day or two for best results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this with all pasta or all zucchini ribbons?
Of course! This sauce is delicious on either, or any ratio of both!
Can I make this ahead of time?
This recipe is best enjoyed fresh. You can definitely still enjoy leftovers, but the creamy sauce will likely be sucked up by the noodles and the zucchini may not have the same tender-crisp texture after storage and reheating.
Can I add protein?
Absoltely! Grilled chicken or shrimp would go especially well here.
Zucchini Ribbon Pasta with Creamy Lemon-Basil Sauce
This mix of pasta and zucchini ribbons is tossed with sauteed tomatoes in a lightened up lemon-basil sauce.
Servings servings
Equipment
- 1 skillet
Ingredients
- ½ lb fettucine 8 ounces
- 1 zucchini medium
- 2 teaspoons olive oil divided
- 10 ounces grape tomatoes about 2 cups
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 3-4 cloves finely minced garlic
- 1 cup chicken broth low sodium
- 3 ounces cream cheese fat free
- 1 cup basil, very loosely packed chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed, more if desired
Instructions
Vegetables
- Prepare a pot of water and cook pasta according to package instructions. Cut ends off zucchini and slice along the long direction, cutting the zucchini into about ⅛ inch slices. Cut each of those slices into long pieces, about the same size as the fettuccine (see photos above for explanation). Set zucchini aside.
- Heat a medium size skillet to medium heat. When hot, add 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add tomatoes and give them a little sprinkle of kosher salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 3-4 minutes. Just until they start to burst and look blistered. Remove tomatoes from pan and place in a small dish, covered, and set aside.
Sauce
- Add another 1 teaspoon olive oil to the empty pan and add garlic. Stir constantly on medium-low heat for about 30-60 seconds. Add chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and use a spatula to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 1-2 minutes and then reduce heat to low.
- Place cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl and soften for 20-30 seconds, until it can be easily stirred smooth. Ladle in a couple spoonfuls of the chicken broth mixture into the cream cheese and stir to combine. Once the mixture is smooth, add it to the pan with the remaining broth mixture and whisk until smooth and creamy. Add chopped basil and lemon juice and stir to combine. Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. (Lemon lovers can also squeeze in extra lemon juice at this point.)
Assembly
- When pasta is just about done, add zucchini strips to pot (so they’re cooking with the pasta). Boil for about 2 minutes, or until tender. Drain zucchini and pasta and combine with sauce. Gently toss in tomatoes, or simply add them on top of each serving. Garnish with additional basil if desired.
Notes
- This dish is best enjoyed freshly made!
- If you do have leftovers, store in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within a day or two for best results.
Nutrition
Calories: 304kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Cholesterol: 60mg, Sodium: 314mg, Potassium: 501mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 842IU, Vitamin C: 20mg, Calcium: 69mg, Iron: 2mg
Calories: 304kcal
Cost: $7
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Questions & Reviews
You are a genius.
This sounds great! My boyfriend and I are on a diabetic diet, so if I throw some chicken in this, it’ll be perfect for us. And I’ve got lots of homemade Greek yogurt, so I’ll sub that for the cream cheese for some extra protein.
Thank you for this!
When you used the Greek Yogurt, did it turn out well? I sometimes find my greek yogurt curdles when I heat it! Thanks!
Our house was done exactly the 120 days they said it would take to build! Good luck on your move. Cant wait to make this yummy pasta tomorrow night.
Oh my…this looks scrumptious! I am definitely going to have to try this one.
I enjoy sneaking in the vegetables into the dish
Don’t know how you do it, but I always end up wanting to make all of your recipes. I first saw the name and I’m not a fan of zucchini, but then I started reading and it all just sounded so appetizing and easy and such a wonderful summer meal. And it’s hard to make things sound appetizing these days as I’m experiencing morning sickness right now. Argh!
If you’re not a zucchini fan, this is perfect for you! If you peel it first, you won’t even notice it in there. Good luck with the morning sickness, that’s the worst!
This looks beautiful and I bet it tastes gorgeous. Love that it’s lightened up too!
This sounds like a perfect summer dinner. I feel your garden pain. We planted on but the deer have eaten everything. Last Sunday I had dozens of green tomatoes and I was so excited for them to ripen but the deer ate them all before I got any. They also ate the leaves off my zucchini plants before the flowers could turn into anything edible. Boo hoo!
Oh, boo! I think planting and having deer eat it is worse than not planting at all, lol!
We just finished dinner and this was DELICIOUS! My zucchini strips didn’t look as noodley as yours and I’m pretty sure I need a mandolin for my birthday next month. 🙂 This is my favorite kind of recipe because with each delicious bite I thought of another variation that would also be great — add broccoli or spinach, use artichokes or asparagus instead of tomatoes, use tomatoes, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli and spinach all together for a very vegetableish version. There are so many possibilities and they all sound delicious! Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
This looks awesome. I can’t wait to try it. We’re also building a house right now, and although it’s not going to be done on time, they’re only taking one extra week. I live in Georgia and that seems to be pretty standard around here. Good luck! I hope your house is done on time or close to it!
I would totally take a week. That’s pretty impressive, congrats!
Sounds delicious! Love the zucchini-noodle trick:) And good luck with the house!