This Zucchini Mushroom Pasta dish is packed with savory sautéed vegetables, and topped with a decadent ball of burrata cheese. Summer in a bowl!
This pasta dish can easily stand on its own, but we love pairing it with Baguette Garlic Bread or adding a basic Side Salad.
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Why Make This Recipe
- Sautéing vegetables before turning them into a sauce adds a delicious depth of flavor to the dish
- Great use for in-season produce like zucchini, mushrooms, and basil
- Easy to make entirely vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth
- Fancy enough for company!
🥗 Ingredients
- Zucchini: The star of this dish! Look for dark green, firm, unblemished zucchini with smooth unwrinkled skin. Try substituting a yellow summer squash for one of the zucchini.
- Mushrooms: We use a combination of button mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms in this dish. You can stick to just one or the other, or mix in other mushroom varieties like cremini or portobello for even more flavor.
- Shallots: Feel free to replace with a red onion if you don’t have shallots.
- Basil: We love to garnish this dish with fresh basil, but you could try other fresh herbs as well. Parsley or thyme would also work well.
- Chicken Broth: The chicken broth adds a little more savory depth of flavor to the dish, but you could replace with vegetable broth to create an entirely vegetarian pasta dish.
- Burrata Cheese: The way burrata melts into the sauce is totally delicious. But if you don’t have access to burrata, try substituting fresh mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes. Crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese would be other options, or just top it with a generous sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
- Pasta: Any shape is fine, though we prefer shells, penne, or a spiral pasta with this sauce. But spaghetti and fettuccine could be used as well.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Cut off the ends of two medium-large zucchini, then cut each zucchini in half lengthwise. Slice into ¼-inch thick half moons. Wipe 8 ounces white button mushrooms and 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms clean of any dirt, and remove stems. Cut caps into ¼-inch thick slices.
Peel and thinly slice 2 shallots. Peel and mince 1 large garlic clove. Stack a handful of basil leaves together, then roll into a tube. Slice thinly into slivers.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add zucchini slices and shallots.
Sauté until tender and browned at the edges, about 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute, then remove from pan.
Add another tablespoon of olive oil, then add mushroom slices and cook until they release their liquid and start to brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add zucchini back to pan, and pour in ¾ cup chicken or vegetable broth. Let simmer for 5 minutes, until liquid reduces slightly.
While vegetables are cooking, bring a pot of water to boil and add 8 ounces pasta. Cook to al dente, according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup pasta water.
Add pasta to skillet over medium heat and toss until well-combined. Add pasta water as necessary to coat the pasta.
Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Transfer pasta to serving bowl.
Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with basil. Top with a ball of burrata, pulling it apart with your fork.
🧐 Recipe FAQs
This pasta can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat gently in the microwave or over the stove. You may need to add a splash of water or two to reinvigorate the dish.
You can! You’ll need to switch the chicken broth to vegetable broth, and refrain from adding the burrata cheese at the end. But this recipe is still plenty delicious with no cream and no cheese added to it. And, make sure you are using a vegan pasta (most pasta contains eggs).
Pasta dishes can be problematic to make in advance, since the pasta tends to soak up the liquid in the sauce as it sits and cools. As a result, we’d recommend making the sauce up to 24 hours in advance if you need to, then warming it up and adding with freshly cooked pasta when it’s time to serve. Of course, wait to add the burrata cheese as well.
👩🍳 Expert Tips for Zucchini Mushroom Pasta
Note that your zucchini and mushrooms will cook differently depending on the heat of your stove and your pan. Pay less attention to the times given in the recipe and more attention to what the vegetables look like. Adjust the heat if they start to brown too quickly, and turn it up a little if they are not browning.
Also, don’t overcrowd your skillet. You might be tempted to cook the zucchini and the mushrooms at the same time, but this will just end up in steaming both of them.
You’ll lose the depth of flavor that comes from the browning of each ingredient. Similarly, if your zucchinis are particularly large, you may find you’ll need to cook them in separate batches.
Cooking the pasta to al dente before draining is important, as the pasta will continue to cook when you add it back into the pan with the sauce.
Want to bring a little heat to this recipe? Feel free to add some red pepper flakes to the vegetables.
We love recipes with zucchini and mushrooms. This mushroom and zucchini pasta dish is the perfect example, but this combination is delicious in so many different forms. Make them as a side dish as in this Sautéed Zucchini and Mushrooms recipe. Or try using them as a filling for a quiche or for this Pancetta Frittata.
Love burrata cheese? Make sure to check out this delicious Burrata with Pesto recipe next!
And, if you're looking for more meatless pasta recipes, try this Lemon Mascarpone Pasta or this Spaghetti Alfredo. This spicy Penne Arrabbiata is a great choice for tomato sauce lovers!
Other Zucchini Recipes
Summer is when we get creative with zucchini, since there is so much to go around. Try this Unstuffed Zucchini Casserole on a busy weeknight. If you have an air fryer, try these Air Fryer Zucchini Chips. Or check out more of our favorite recipes:
If you try this Zucchini Mushroom Pasta recipe, we would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to us.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to our newsletter. We’d love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
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Zucchini Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 medium-large zucchini 21 ounces
- 8 ounces white button mushrooms
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms
- 2 shallots
- 1 large garlic clove
- Handful of fresh basil leaves for garnish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided, plus more to serve
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 4-ounce ball burrata cheese
- 8 ounces pasta
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cut off zucchini ends, then cut each zucchini in half lengthwise. Slice into ¼-inch thick half moons.
- Wipe mushrooms clean of any dirt, and remove stems.
- Cut caps into ¼-inch thick slices.
- Peel and thinly slice shallots.
- Peel and mince garlic clove.
- Stack basil leaves together, then roll into a tube. Slice thinly into slivers.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Add zucchini slices and shallots and sauté until tender and browned at the edges, about 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add garlic and cook for an additional minute, then remove vegetables from pan.
- Add another tablespoon of olive oil, then add mushroom slices and cook until they release their liquid and start to brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add zucchini back to pan, and pour in chicken broth.
- Let simmer for 5 minutes, until liquid reduces slightly.
- While vegetables are cooking, bring a pot of water to boil and add pasta.
- Cook to al dente, according to package directions.
- Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup pasta water.
- Add cooked pasta to skillet and toss until well-combined.
- Add pasta water as necessary to coat the pasta.
- Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
- Transfer pasta to serving platter, and top with burrata, pulling it apart with your fork.
- Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with basil.
Notes
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Expert Tips:
Don’t overcrowd your skillet. You might be tempted to cook the zucchini and the mushrooms at the same time, but this will just end up in steaming both of them. You’ll lose the depth of flavor that comes from the browning of each ingredient. Similarly, if your zucchinis are particularly large, you may find you’ll need to cook them in separate batches. Cooking the pasta just to al dente before draining is important, as the pasta will continue to cook when you add it back into the pan with the sauce.
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this Pasta with Zucchini and Mushrooms recipe, tag us @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because we’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
Ann Davis-Rowe says
This was so fun! We did add prosciutto because we had some to use up, and then also lemon to balance said prosciutto. But what a great way to use up the veg and burrata we needed to get rid of.
Gsil says
I have found that gluten free pasta absorbs sauces if tossed together so I serve them separately. Putting the sauce on top of gf pasta just as you serve it maintains the liquids in the sauce so it doesn't seem dry.
Molly Pisula says
Thanks very much, that's excellent advice for gluten-free pasta eaters!