This zucchini fettuccine recipe was born from the garden. It’s the meal you make when you’ve got both herbs and zucchini ready to be used! Garlic-infused olive oil coats warm pasta with flecks of lemon zest and fresh herbs. Grilled Zucchini and lemon-chicken top it off with savory Parmesan cheese running throughout. It’s casual and rustic enough for a weeknight family meal, and fancy enough for company. It’s one I make over and over again in the summer months!
Ingredient Notes
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Lemons – You’ll use the zest and juice.
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Fettuccini
- Zucchini
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- Fresh Garlic
- Fresh Herbs – The great thing about this recipe is that you don’t have to follow it exactly. I use whatever herbs I have growing in my garden that need to be used! For me that’s usually basil, oregano and rosemary. Feel free to mix and match depending on what you have.
- Salt and Pepper
How to Make Lemon-Herb Zucchini Fettuccine
- I start by sautéing crushed garlic in olive oil. After it’s softened (but not crispy) I turn off the heat and toss in half my herbs. I feel like this infuses more flavor into the oil!
- You’ll toss some zucchini on the grill to get some pretty char marks on there and also grill up a couple chicken breasts.
- When those are done cooking, you’ll add them to the pan with the sautéed garlic, add the rest of your herbs, cooked pasta, parmesan cheese and fresh lemon juice.
- Toss it all together and serve it with a chunk of crusty bread and it’s the perfect summer meal! This is definitely a rustic dish, meaning you can absolutely adjust and make things to taste. Add more lemon, more cheese, drizzle with oil at the end, switch up the herbs, include more veggies, etc. Enjoy!
Storing and Other Tips
- Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eaten within 3-4 days for best results.
- When reheating leftovers, I like to add another squeeze of lemon and a fresh sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
- You’ll need lemon juice in this recipe before lemon zest. Be sure to zest your lemons first and set the zest aside for later before squeezing your lemon juice.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have an abundance of yellow squash. Will that work here?
You bet! Feel free to use a combination of zucchini and yellow squash or all yellow squash.
I don’t have fresh herbs. Can I use dried herbs?
The beauty of this dish is in its bright, fresh flavors so I recommend using fresh herbs. If you really want to try dried herbs, I would toss them in with the garlic and oil to bring out the flavors. Just remember that it won’t be the same as the fresh herbs!
Looking for more ways to use up zucchini?
Lemon-Herb Zucchini Fettuccine
Garlic-infused olive oil coats warm pasta with flecks of lemon zest and fresh herbs. Grilled Zucchini and lemon-chicken top it off with savory Parmesan cheese running throughout.
Servings generous servings
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, skinless, large, boneless
- 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Extra virgin olive oil
- ½ pound fettuccine ½ of a normal box
- 2 medium zucchini
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese about
- 5-6 cloves garlic
- ½ cup fresh basil about ½ cup
- *fresh oregano about ¼ cup If you don’t have fresh oregano, just add a little dried.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Prepare grill. You could also do this on the stove top in a skillet, or a grill pan.
- Place chicken in a zip-top bag with the juice of one lemon (zest it first and set zest aside– you will be using this later on), a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and a couple tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Smoosh around and set bag aside while you get your other things ready. (If you’ve got time to spare, let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes, if you don’t, just take what you can get. I did mine for 15 min and it was great.)
- Put the pot on the stove to boil water for the pasta. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, slice the zucchini in half length-wise. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Press, or finely mince garlic cloves. In a small sauce pan on the stove, place 1/4 cup olive oil and add garlic. Turn burner onto low-med heat. It shouldn’t be popping and frying, it should just slowly warm, infusing the oil with the garlic and removing that zing fresh garlic has.
- When water boils, add pasta and a spoonful of salt.
- Remove chicken from bag and salt and pepper both sides. Place chicken, and zucchini on grill.
- While chicken and zucchini are grilling and pasta is boiling, chop herbs and get out cheese. Zest both lemons and juice the one that hasn’t been juiced.
- Keep an eye on garlic. It should still look nice and white, not brown or crispy. Give it a stir. If it starts really cooking, just take it off the heat and set aside. I like to toss half of my herbs in the pan for a minute to really infuse the flavor into the oil.
- When zucchini and chicken are done, take them off the grill and chop them up.
- Reserve about ½ cup pasta water. Drain pasta and immediately place in a big bowl. Place chopped zucchini and chicken on top. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, remaining herbs, and garlic-olive oil mixture and toss together. If you feel it needs more moisture, add a little of the pasta water, or a little more olive oil.
- Garnish with a little more Parmesan on top and another squeeze of lemon if you have any left and serve.
Notes
- Feel free to mix and match any herbs you have on hand.
- Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eaten within 3-4 days for best results.
- When reheating leftovers, I like to add another squeeze of lemon and a fresh sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
- You’ll need lemon juice in this recipe before lemon zest. Be sure to zest your lemons first and set the zest aside for later before squeezing your lemon juice.
Nutrition
Calories: 241kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Cholesterol: 48mg, Sodium: 14mg, Potassium: 240mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 206IU, Vitamin C: 30mg, Calcium: 46mg, Iron: 2mg
Calories: 241kcal
Cost: $7
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Questions & Reviews
My husband generally doesn’t like pasta….. he loved this! So delicious! Best pasta I have ever made…. and ate!
I don’t eat pasta, but this dish can still have all those great flavors…use large zucchini and cut in half so you can grill them just long enough to get a nice char; the put the halves through a spiralizer. And use the zoodles instead of pasta. Every thing else is the same, with no carbs! It was deeeelicious!! Thank you!
This looks sooo good! I’m looking forward to trying it.
So I know it makes it less healthy, but I LOVE this with your guiltless alfredo sauce. I sub that for the garlic-infused olive oil and parm cheese. But then, I’m partial to creamy, cheesy pasta.
My husband and I LOVE this recipe and I’m considering making it for my 1 year olds birthday party. How do you think it will be feeding a large crowd ? Or any other great ideas for large crowds? I would love a post or 2 on easy party foods!!
Loved it!
I made this today for my brother and his wife as I watched their 4 month old. They both just went back full time and i wanted to them to come home to food. They both loved this dish and the house smelled awesome! I roasted the chicken and zucchini in the oven at 375.
Absolutely wonderful!!!! It’s definitely on my keeper list!!! Thanks for the wonderful recipes!!!
Thank you so much for this divine recipe! I made it this evening and my family loved it so much! The lemon, the herbs, the garlic, and the tender, flavorful chicken made this dish number one on my pasta recipes list!
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious!! I had to cook everything in the skillet because we’re having snowstorms in Spring, but it still turned out really good. Also had to use dried herbs and lemon juice, not the fresh stuff the recipe called for. My kids (5, 3, and 16 mos) loved the chicken and hubs and I loved the whole thing. I can’t wait til summer when I can grill the chicken and zucchini and do the recipe the right way! Thanks for a great dinner! 🙂
Loved this! Just ate it for dinner! My picky husband was very pleased with dinner tonight and that’s a miracle! His gourmet taste is Killin’ Me…but ever since I started cooking my way through Your Cookbook dinner time has been much more pleasant 😉 Thanks!!
My husband – who grew up in an Italian home – was very impressed with this meal! That’s hard to do. Trust me.
Really yummy. I love lemon in anything. My kids said it was too lemony but how can something have too much lemon?