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This Vegan Zucchini Pesto Pasta is the perfect summer dish! Sautéed zucchini blended with nutty pistachios, vegan parmesan, olive oil, basil, and plenty of garlic creates a pesto you’ll want to put on everything. Toss it with your favorite pasta for the ultimate weeknight meal!
Table of Contents
A Twist on Classic Pesto for Zucchini Season
If you know us, you know that we LOVE pesto recipes. There’s virtually nothing a creamy pesto sauce can’t make better – from vegan pasta recipes, pizzas, toast, salads, sandwiches, pesto pinwheels, and more, pesto belongs on everything.
After our Creamy Pea Pesto was such a hit, we knew we wanted to create another twist on our Classic Vegan Pesto recipe. Introducing this vegan zucchini pesto recipe. It has the same rich, creamy goodness you love in a regular pesto but is loaded with the nutrition of fresh summer zucchini.
It’s the perfect summer pesto to make when your garden is exploding with the abundance of zucchini. Now without further ado, let’s get into the details so you can make this zucchini pasta ASAP!
If you have more zucchini to use up, make sure to check out these popular zucchini recipes: Fried Zucchini, Zucchini Oatmeal, White Pizza with Zucchini, Vegan Zucchini Muffins, and Crispy Zucchini Fries!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pasta: Any regular pasta of choice will work well here. If you are gluten-free, opt for your favorite gluten-free pasta.
- Olive oil: Used to sauté the garlic and make the zucchini pesto rich and velvety. Avocado oil makes a good substitute, as needed.
- Zucchini: You’ll need a pound of fresh zucchini cut into half moons. Yellow summer squash can work well, too, but note that the pesto will be slightly less green in color.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves add flavor and aroma to the base of the pasta dish and pesto.
- Spinach: Adds a mild, earthy flavor to the pesto and a vibrant green color.
- Basil: A classic in any pesto recipe!
- Pistachios: As a substitute for the more traditional pine nuts, pistachios add a rich, nutty, savory flavor that complements the mild earthiness of the zucchini.
- Vegan parmesan cheese: This is added to the pesto for its natural cheesiness and savory flavor. Feel free to use store-bought or homemade vegan parmesan cheese. Opt for nutritional yeast instead, as needed.
- Lemon: Adds a bright acidity that helps to balance the richer flavors in the pesto. The combination of fresh lemon juice and lemon zest adds the best flavor!
Equipment Needed
How to Make Vegan Zucchini Pesto Pasta
- Brown the zucchini. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the raw zucchini and cook for 8 minutes, tossing occasionally, until browned and lightly softened.
- Add garlic. Add 4 cloves of minced garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and cook for another 2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant and the zucchini is slightly jammy. Set aside to cool for at least 5 minutes.
- Begin making the pesto. Add the pistachios to the bowl of your food processor and pulse until broken down into small pieces. Add the reserved jammy zucchini, remaining garlic cloves, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, spinach, fresh basil leaves, vegan parmesan cheese, lemon juice and lemon zest. Pulse until well combined, scraping down the sides as necessary.
- Slowly drizzle in the remaining olive oil. Process on high speed while slowly drizzling in the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add an additional pinch of salt and black pepper to taste – this will vary depending on how salty your pistachios are.
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package directions, or until al dente.
- Toss the pasta with pesto. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and toss with the pesto until well combined.
- Garnish and serve. Finish the pasta with fresh basil and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this pasta dish as you would any pesto pasta recipe! We love it with a hearty slice of crusty bread. Try it with Vegan Garlic Bread, Focaccia, or No-Knead Bread slathered with vegan butter.
Storage Instructions
Leftover pasta will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container. As the pasta cools, the pesto sauce will thicken considerably and the pasta won’t be as creamy.
More Vegan Pesto Pasta Recipes You May Enjoy:
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you make this recipe. We love to see your photos!
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Vegan Zucchini Pesto Pasta Recipe
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Vegan Zucchini Pesto Pasta is the perfect summer dish! Sautéed zucchini blended with nutty pistachios, vegan parmesan, olive oil, basil, and plenty of garlic creates a pesto you’ll want to put on everything. Toss it with your favorite pasta for the ultimate weeknight meal!
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta of choice
- 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 lb zucchini, chopped into half moons (about 2 medium zucchini)
- 5 cloves garlic, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 cup spinach, roughly packed
- 1 cup basil, roughly packed
- ⅓ cup pistachios
- ¼ cup vegan parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the zucchini and cook for 8 minutes, tossing occasionally, until browned and lightly softened.
- Add 4 cloves of minced garlic and ½ teaspoon of salt and cook for another 2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant and zucchini is slightly jammy. Set aside to cool for at least 5 minutes.
- Add the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until broken down into small pieces. Add the cooked zucchini, remaining garlic, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, spinach, basil, vegan parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Pulse until well combined, scraping down the sides as necessary.
- Process on high speed while slowly drizzling in the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil. Add salt and black pepper to taste–this will vary depending on how salty your pistachios are.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package directions.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and toss it with the pesto.
- Garnish with fresh basil and enjoy!
Notes
- Pistachios: Pine nuts, almonds, cashews, and walnuts would all work.
- Storage: Leftover pasta will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container. As the pasta cools, the pesto sauce will thicken considerably, and the pasta will be less creamy.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
I saw this recipe on tik tok and used it for meal prep this week. It’s super easy and very flavorful without any additions. I did add some onion powder and pepper flakes per my personal taste. Overall 10/10!
This recipe jumps around so much that it is impossible to follow! Please re-post asap. I have all the ingredients ready to go.
Thanks.
Hi Gayle,
We aren’t sure why you are having this issue! I recommend hitting the “print recipe” button and the recipe card will open up on a separate page. Sorry to hear you are having issues. We will check in with our web team to see if they have any sight.