Zucchini Mushroom Pasta

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. 

Jump to:

• Why Make This Recipe
• 🥗 Ingredients
• 🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
• 🧐 Recipe FAQs 
• 👩‍🍳 Expert Tips for Zucchini Mushroom Pasta
• Other Zucchini Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• More About Molly

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 

👩‍🍳 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.

Of course, you can make them as a side dish as in this Sautéed Zucchini and Mushrooms recipe. But how about filling French Crêpes with zucchini and mushrooms? Or using them as a filling for this Pancetta Frittata?

Love burrata cheese? Make sure to check out this delicious Burrata with Pesto recipe next!

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:

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