Hello friends! I am finally back from my summer in Greece and Italy and ready to get back to my regular Friday posts of seasonal, healthy Mediterranean recipes!
Today’s recipe is a simple summer pasta with sautéed tomatoes, zucchini and basil, featuring some of summer’s most plentiful ingredients. This flavorful pasta dish is a perfect weeknight meal with a classic flavor combination and it comes together in minutes!
Ingredients for the simple summer pasta with sautéed tomatoes, zucchini and basil
Here is what we will need for this recipe:
- Grape or cherry tomatoes
- Small zucchini
- Fresh Basil
- Short-type of pasta
- Mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Shallot and Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt, pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes
Ingredient substitutions
- I like grape or cherry tomatoes for this recipe, but any kind of ripe, flavorful tomatoes will also work
- If you don’t have a shallot, you can use a small onion
- Small, tender zucchini are best, but yellow squash can be substituted
- I love the tiny, pearl Mozzarella balls, but the larger size (ciliegine) would be fine too
- Use your favorite short type of pasta (I used farfalle, but another favorite is orecchiette)
5 easy steps to the Simple Summer Pasta with Sautéed Tomatoes, Zucchini and Basil
- Prep the vegetables: slice the tomatoes in half, quarter the zucchini, slice the shallot, and mince the garlic
- Sautée the vegetables in plenty of olive oil and season well (these are so delicious on their own too)
- Assemble all the ingredients: place the sautéed vegetables, the cooked pasta, the Mozzarella, and the basil in a bowl
- Toss to combine: gently mix everything and fold in the grated Parmesan
Serving suggestions
This super flavorful, warm pasta dish is delicious on its own, but is even better when served with a bright green salad on the side. For the meat lovers out there, a great addition would be some grilled chicken or some cooked, sweet Italian sausage.
During the hot summer days, who can resist an easy pasta dish like this, especially when the sauce comes together in just the time we need to cook the pasta!
- 5 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small zucchini, cut into cubes
- 1 lb. grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 12 oz. short pasta, (like farfalle, or, orecchiette), uncooked
- ¾ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
- ¼ tsp. dried Greek oregano
- ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ cup Parmesan (or, Grana Padano cheese), grated
- 4 oz. pearl Mozzarella balls, (or, the ciliegine)
- ⅓ cups fresh basil, sliced, or, torn
- --- extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.
- Place a large skillet over medium-hight heat. Add the olive oil, the thinly sliced shallots and the minced garlic to the skillet and cook for a couple of minutes, until they get soft. Then, add the zucchini and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often.
- When the water comes to a boil, add one TBSP. table salt to the pot and then add the pasta. Cook until al dente, usually a bit less than the cooking time stated on the package.
- Add the halved tomatoes to the skillet and season everything with the salt, pepper, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook until the tomatoes begin to soften and the zucchini gets some light color.
- Meanwhile the pasta should be ready. Reserve half a cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta (you might need the hot water later to thin a bit the sauce).
- Transfer the drained pasta to the skillet with the vegetables and turn off the heat.
- Mix in the grated Parmesan cheese, toss, and taste for seasoning. If necessary, add more seasoning and a little bit of the reserved water to thin out the sauce.
- Just before you are ready to serve, stir in the Mozzarella and the basil. Drizzle some extra olive oil and serve at once!
Two more favorite summer pasta dishes:
Pasta with Eggplant, Zucchini, Feta and Olives
One pot Greek orzo kritharaki with fresh tomatoes
THANK YOU FOR READING AND FOLLOWING ALONG!
If you are not already following my blog, please subscribe to Marilena’s Kitchen to have each new post delivered right to your inbox!
Your support for my blog is greatly appreciated, please consider reviewing and rating my recipes! 
This looks delicious! Will bookmark it for an easy week day lunch next week.
That’s great, Alice, I know you are going to love it! ?
Hi, Marilena. I tried this the day after you posted, when a friend gave me zucchini, tomatoes and basil from her garden. It was heavenly. Since then I’ve made it (adding chicken) as a main dish for a neighbor who had a surgery, and then I did a batch of just the vegetables as a side dish to go with dinner. This one is too easy and too delicious to miss. LOVED the pictures from Greece as always; the one of David and Christian made me smile because it brought out David’s devilish grin. I’m betting he just said something ridiculously funny and Christian was trying not to laugh. Best to your wonderful family.
Thank you so much Sandy for taking the time to write! So glad to know that you liked this simple recipe and that you already made it a couple of times:) Yes, we had two wonderful months in Italy and then, in Greece – so happy to know you liked the photos I shared!
I made this recipe last night for dinner and it was delicious. It’s addictive. My husband had seconds and he never eats seconds. Loved the pictures of your vacation. You made the rest of us jealous!
Thank you so much for sharing, Mary Jane! I am so happy to know that you liked this easy recipe so much – it has been on regular rotation in my house this summer:) Glad to know you also liked my post with photos from Venice, such a fantastic place!
This looks delicous! Can you make this recipe or at least part of it ahead of time? I was thinking of making this for company. Thanks!
Hi Diane,
You can make the sauce ahead of time and then cook the pasta and toss it with the sauce just before serving!