This delicious Zucchini Mushroom Pasta is the ultimate vegetarian dinner recipe with loads of zucchini, mushrooms, and corn. Ideal during the summertime, this simple pasta has a creamy ricotta sauce and a hint of lemon for restaurant-quality flavors in each bite.
Packed with simple flavors, fresh veggies, and a velvety ricotta sauce, this Zucchini Mushroom Pasta is a winner all around. Its easy to make year-round for any meal, but I especially love to serve this on summer nights when fresh produce is at its peak.
This mushroom zucchini pasta dish is comforting and satisfying, while also being light and bright—the perfect feel-good pasta for summer. Whip it up in a flash, but take your time to enjoy each creamy bite!
If you like this veggie-forward pasta dish, you’ll want to try these other easy pasta recipes. A few of our favorites are our decadent Truffle Mushroom Pasta, these bright and flavorful Pesto Zucchini Noodles, and this hearty Mushroom Bolognese.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love Pasta with Zucchini and Mushrooms
There are so many reasons to love this pasta, here’s why it’s one of our favorites:
- Uses Up Leftover Veggies: We all know what it’s like to have extra veggies in the crisper drawer. And this recipe is a great way to use them up. Zucchini, mushrooms and corn are star players here, but add in anything you’ve got leftover from your last market haul.
- Vegetarian Comfort Food: I promise you won’t miss the meat in this dish. Packed with rich flavors and hearty vegetables, this creamy pasta is vegetarian comfort food at its finest.
- Quick To Make: With just a handful of good quality ingredients and a simple process, this delicious pasta is super easy to make and quick to serve.
- Easy Elevated Pasta: Using earthy mushrooms, sweet corn, bright zucchini and basil, and a beautiful ricotta sauce, this pasta is simple, sophisticated and restaurant-quality.
Ingredients
- Zucchini: Fresh and abundant, zucchini is the ultimate summertime vegetable. Sauté it until tender, but avoid overcooking, or it’ll turn mushy.
- Mushrooms: Oyster, shiitake, or maitake work nicely here. All are earthy, hearty and add an umami flavor to the pasta. Use your favorite variety or whatever you have on hand.
- Olive Oil: The key to getting the mushrooms nicely roasted and browned. Make sure to toss them well with the oil so they get evenly golden. This is the ideal oil to sauté corn and zucchini in, too.
- Salt and Pepper: It’s essential to season every component as you work through the recipe. This ensures the dish is seasoned throughout, not just salted at the end.
- Fresh Corn: Another summertime specialty, fresh corn brings a nice sweetness and pop of color to the pasta.
- Garlic: Fragrant and aromatic, this adds nice flavor to the dish and pairs well with the mushrooms, corn and zucchini.
- Dried Bucatini: We love bucatini here for it’s long shape and hollowed center to trap all of that rich sauce, but really anything works. Use your favorite shape or what’s in your pantry. Cook until al dente for the best texture.
- Ricotta Cheese: Mild and creamy, ricotta makes for a rich, velvety sauce in this pasta.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Add as much or as little as you’d like for a kick of heat.
- Fresh Basil: Sweet and bright, fresh basil is the perfect herb to finish off this dish.
How To Make Zucchini Mushroom Pasta
- Preheat your oven to 475ºF with rack set in middle position.
- Toss the mushrooms with oil and season with and pepper. Then roast them until browned and tender, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium and add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and heat until shimmering (the oil should slightly dance). Add the corn and season with salt, then cook until vibrant in color, this will take about 7 minutes. Next, add the garlic and cook until starting to lightly toast, about 4 minutes. Scrape corn into a bowl and set aside to cool.
- Add 2 teaspoons olive oil to now empty pan over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt and add pasta; cook until al dente according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water then drain and set the pasta aside.
- Transfer ½ cup of the cooked corn to a blender along with ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water and 2 tablespoons of ricotta. Blend the sauce until smooth and be sure to season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Optional: In a small bowl, combine the remaining ricotta, lemon zest and red pepper flakes, and season with ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Add the cooked mushrooms (and all the crispy bits!) and cooked corn to the pan with the zucchini; stir to combine. Add the cooked pasta and the puréed corn sauce and gently toss together. Stir in half of the basil and juice of half a lemon over top. Transfer to a serving bowl and, if using, dollop ricotta mixture over top. Sprinkle with more basil and serve.
Pro Tips For Recipe Success
This pasta dish is simple enough, but here are a few tips to make it extra delicious, every time.
- Deeply Roast Mushrooms: Take the time to get a nice, even browning on your roasted mushrooms. They’ll be the perfect flavor and texture when they’re mixed into the pasta. Here are some other key tips on how to cook mushrooms, and everything in between, too.
- Use Dried Mushrooms: If you’ve got dried mushrooms at home, simply rehydrate them in some hot water and use them in this pasta (skip the roasting). They’re equally as delicious and have a great shelf life. You could even use a mix of fresh and dried. Check out our mushroom guide for a quick reference on the different types.
- Don’t Overcook Zucchini: Avoid overcooking the zucchini; it’ll get watery, soggy and mushy, opposite of what we are going for here. Simply sauté until it’s tender and starting to brown, then stop there.
- Reserve Pasta Water: Don’t skip this step! It’s essential for building the velvety sauce, and it’s great to have on hand once the pasta comes together if you feel it’s a bit thick and needs to be thinned out.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
Like most pastas, this dish is best served and enjoyed immediately after making it, but if you do have leftovers, here’s how we’d suggest storing them:
- Fridge: Store leftover pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Reheat gently on the stove in a skillet over medium heat until warmed through, or in the microwave, stirring periodically. You will likely need a splash of water to make it saucy again.
- Freezer: We really don’t recommend freezing any pasta, as it changes the texture of the noodles and the sauce, but if you’re in a pinch, just know that once it’s thawed and reheated, the color of the veggies and texture of the pasta might be slightly off (but still tasty!).
FAQs
You can really use any type of mushroom, or a mix of a few mushrooms, when making pasta. Cremini, white button, shiitake, oyster and maitake are all popular, widely available and delicious. Porcinis and chanterelles have stronger flavors and aromas, but all of these mushrooms have different textures and flavors that would work well in pastas.
If you aren’t a huge fan of zucchini or simply don’t have it on hand, you could always bump up the amount of mushrooms you’re using. Or add spinach or peas to keep with the verdant color scheme. Any other roasted veggies would go nicely here too—bell peppers, red onions, carrots and eggplant would all be delicious.
When you’re cooking your mushrooms, make sure they’re dry (don’t run them under running water to clean them, simply brush them off with a damp towel), and don’t overcrowd your pan. This goes for both roasting and sauteing them—if the pan is too crowded, they’ll steam instead of brown. Also, make sure your oven or pan is hot and at the right temperature to achieve a golden brown color.
Drain the pasta when it’s reached al dente and still has a slight bite to it. It’ll continue cooking once the sauce is added, but remove it from the heat as you combine everything to keep it from overcooking and turning mushy.
We love ricotta here to make the light yet creamy sauce—it pairs nicely with the veggies and creates a luscious texture. You could also finish the pasta with a generous grating of parmesan or pecorino to add a delicious, sharp, and nutty flavor.
More Easy Pasta Recipes
Here are a few more of our favorites. Make one or make them all, each one is packed with bold, delicious flavors.
Zucchini Mushroom Pasta
Description
Ingredients
- 8 ounces oyster, shiitake, or maitake mushrooms
- 7 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 ears sweet corn, shucked and kernels cut from cob
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 12 ounces zucchini (about 1 large or 2 small) cut into ¼-inch thick half moons
- 4 ounces dry bucatini
- ½ cup ricotta cheese, divided
- ½ lemon, zested
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat oven to 475ºF (246ºC) with rack set in middle position.
- Toss 8 ounces mushrooms with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Roast mushrooms, rotating halfway through, until browned and tender, about 30 minutes. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add corn (cut from 2 ears of corn) and season with salt; cook until vibrant in color, 6–8 minutes. Add 3 sliced cloves garlic and cook until starting to lightly toast, about 4 minutes, (add a splash of water if pan gets dry). Scrape corn into a bowl and set aside to cool.
- Add 2 teaspoons olive oil to now empty pan over medium-high heat. Add 12 ounces sliced zucchini and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and starting to brown, 8–10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt and add 4 ounces pasta; cook until al dente according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water then drain and set pasta aside.
- Transfer ½ cup cooked corn to a blender along with ¼ cup pasta cooking water and 2 tablespoons ricotta; blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a small bowl, combine remaining ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons ricotta, grated zest of ½ a lemon, and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes; season with ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Add cooked mushrooms (and all the crispy bits!) and cooked corn to pan with zucchini; stir to combine. Add cooked pasta and puréed corn sauce and gently toss to combine. Stir in half the basil and juice of half a lemon. Transfer to a serving bowl and dollop ricotta mixture over top. Sprinkle with basil and serve.
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