Fresh Tomato, Basil and Lemon Zucchini Pasta

This fresh tomato, basil and lemon zucchini pasta is a wonderfully fresh and fragrant dish. It’s another one of the great meals that my little mommy made for me when I was home last month.

I love the fact that it uses fresh zucchini (courgettes) as the pasta. I’ve used zucchini as pasta before (normally raw with a pesto or vegan alfredo cream sauce), but because the zucchini here is heated-up just a little bit, it does seems more like “real” pasta.

For me though, it’s the tomatoes and lemon zest that make this especially lovely and summery. I wanted to post this as soon as possible, so that those of you in the Northern hemisphere can take advantage of the fresh zucchini and tomatoes that are overflowing at the markets right now (and in your backyard gardens if you’re lucky).

Fresh Tomato, Basil and Lemon Zucchini Pasta - Vegan, Gluten-Free, Low-Carb

Notes — Fresh Tomato, Basil and Lemon Zucchini Pasta

  • The original recipe said to toss in some precooked spaghetti as well, but I really don’t think that you need to do that. The zucchini tastes great on it’s own and it’s way healthier that way, so I’ve upped the number of zucchini required to 4-6 – enough to fill pasta bowls/plates for two people (or however many people you’re feeding).
  • Parmesan was also included in the original recipe, but I didn’t think it was missing anything. Pine nuts would be a yummy addition, though.
  • My mom used 1 green and 1 yellow zucchini, which made the dish so visually appealing. The yellow zucchini has a light yellow flesh that really “pops” against the red tomatoes and green basil.
  • A vegetable spiralizer or julienne vegetable peeler will allow you to make these really thin spaghetti-like noodles. I’m normally not a big fan of kitchen gadgets, but I use these all the time and think they’re a good investment for any vegetarian/vegan, or anyone looking to eat more vegetables. Otherwise, check out my Raw Vegan Alfredo Sauce with Zucchini Noodles post to learn how to make wide Fettucine noodles with a regular vegetable peeler.
  • My mom thinks that she cut the recipe out of one of last summer’s Style at Home magazines. I Googled and couldn’t find it, but if you recognize this recipe, send over the details and I’ll update this post.
Fresh Tomato, Basil and Lemon Zucchini Pasta - Vegan, Gluten-Free, Low-Carb

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Fresh Tomato, Basil and Lemon Zucchini Pasta

Zucchini “noodles” sautéed with fresh cherry tomatoes, basil and lemon makes a wonderfully fresh and fragrant dish. Vegan and Gluten-Free!

  • Author: Angela @ Vegangela.com
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 5 mins
  • Total Time: 20 mins
  • Yield: 2 1x
  • Category: Main, Side
  • Cuisine: Italian, Vegan

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp lemon zest
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red chili flakes
  • 1/2 lb (250g) cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 46 small zucchini (courgettes) (if possible, a mix of yellow & green ones)
  • freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon
  • fresh basil leaves
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Use a julienne peeler or vegetable spiralizer to prepare the zucchini “noodles”
  2. Heat olive oil in a frying pan, add garlic, lemon zest, and crushed red chili flakes and cook for one minute.
  3. Add cherry tomatoes and zucchini, and cook for one minute.
  4. Add lemon juice, fresh basil, salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Notes

Serves 2

Keywords: basil, easy, favorite, gluten-free, julienne, lemon, low-carb, one-pot, ottawa, spiralizer, summer, tomato, under 30 minutes, zucchini

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28 thoughts on “Fresh Tomato, Basil and Lemon Zucchini Pasta”

  1. This is so unbelievably delicious. It looks like such a fancy dish, but it only requires a few fresh ingredients. Thank you, I’m already planning to make it again later this week!

    Reply
  2. This was my first ever Vegetarian main dish (we’re not strict vegans) and it’s still my favorite as well as my family’s. In fact, when my son was home sick from college with pneumonia, this was the meal he requested when he started feeling better. What a hit!!

    Reply
  3. Great recipe. Cooked it in under 10 minutes! I added some Beyond Meat chicken strips. My husband asked if there were seconds (but there were not as we had gobbled it all up!)

    Reply
  4. Made this today. My first time using my new spiralizer. Absolutely wonderful. The lemon zest makes the dish. I had quite a bit of left over liquid in the pan so I reduced it and poured it over the noodles. It was so tasty I had to sop up every drop. Will definitely make this again.

    Reply
  5. I’ve been following your blog for some time after recently turning vegan from veggie and thought i’d give this a stab tonight. I was absolutely blown away by this recipe – so simple but absolutely gorgeous! I can’t believe it tastes that good and can be that healthy.Thanks so much for posting.

    Reply
    • You’re so welcome. It’s one of my favorites too. I’ve served it at 2 dinner parties now and it was a hit both times. Glad you liked it, thanks for taking the time to write 🙂

      Reply
  6. YUM!! Have had this on the list for a while but just found a julienne peeler yesterday. Straight to work on making this one. Wow, love the flavours and how light it is. Added some spaghetti as had under eaten today and was amazing. Another one onto the favourites list 🙂

    Reply
    • So glad you like it! I’ve made it for dinner parties on a couple occasions and it’s gone over very well. Delicious with a crisp glass of Sauv Blanc. Glad you tried it and liked it – thanks for taking the time to let me know, Lisette 🙂

      Reply
  7. Just made this tonight! Nice and light, and SO full of flavor! My stomach says to thank your mom for this great recipe!!

    Reply
  8. I found this recipe yesterday and made it today for lunch! WOW, amazingly delicious and so easy!!! This is now one of my new favorites!!! 🙂

    Reply
  9. OMG This looks sooooo yummy!! Soooo making this for dinner one night this week (maybe even tonight!!). I have never seen anything other than green zucchini’s – am i shopping in the wrong place? I can’t believe i never thought of this flavour combination – even using a lemon oil would be nice and refreshing. Can’t wait 🙂

    Reply
    • I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen yellow zucchinis here… but even if you can only find green ones, it’s fine, as it was more about color than taste anyway. I know what you mean – I’ve been doing something similar with pesto, but the addition of fresh lemon makes a big difference. While lemon oil would be great, it’s really the fresh lemon zest that gives it a real (low cal / low fat) ZING! Try it and let me know what you think. Matty loves it and it’s a new staple in this house! 🙂

      Reply
  10. Thanks for this awesome recipe! I subbed cherry tomatoes for Romas and cayenne pepper for the chili flakes & did the wide zucchini “pasta” and it came out fabulous!

    Reply
  11. Another great recipe! This was light and refreshing while still very tasty and full of flavor. And to top it off, it was super simple to make!

    Thanks!

    Reply

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