Creamy Lemon Zucchini Bucatini.

This lemon zucchini pasta is true summer comfort food. Creamy bucatini with melted, caramelized zucchini, fresh lemon zest, garlic and tons of parmesan is one of the most satisfying dishes ever. Add a handful of basil and you’re good to go!

We’ve got a super easy dinner on the menu tonight!

This creamy lemon zucchini pasta is so simple and flavorful. It’s satisfying and filling, loaded with summer herbs and garden zucchini and finished with lots of shaved parmesan cheese. 

Sounds like my kind of dish! 

These are my favorite kinds of meals. Meatless pasta dishes, filled with vegetables and citrus and herbs, finished with parmesan and served on their own or as a side. They please everyone in one way or another! 

I love this served with one of my favorite salads. Eddie usually will eat it as a side dish. For the kids, I can chop up some grilled chicken or shrimp and toss it into one bowl. It’s always a hit!

I’m a huge fan of zucchini and pasta together, especially when the zucchini melts down into this caramelized delicious bite. Take my melted zucchini baked ziti for example. 

There is something SO delicious about cooking the squash down. Even though it takes quite a bit and doesn’t yield a huge amount, it tastes fabulous. 

I find it so worth it – sort of like caramelized onions. The whole flavor packs a punch! 

Here’s how we make it!

First, grate the zucchini. I like to get 3 to 4 cups of shredded zucchini total. Once I have that, I squeeze out as much of the excess water that I can!

Next, the zucchini goes into a big saucepan with some butter, salt and pepper. This cooks down and gets caramelly and absolutely delicious.

While the zucchini cooks, I make the pasta! I boil the bucatini and set some of the starchy pasta water aside too. 

Then comes the cream, lemon zest, herbs and parmesan. This all goes into the skillet with the pasta, as well as some of the starchy water. The good stuff!

I like to mix this similarly to how I mix carbonara: quickly with a wooden spoon or soft spatula, so everything gets combined and almost emulsified. 

Finally, a ton of fresh basil and chives go into the skillet. And I top it off with even more parmesan, this time in the form of shaved parm. Which I adore!

The end result is this deliciously creamy and lemony pasta studded with zucchini bits. It really does remind me of carbonara in a way, just minus the egg. (more…)

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