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This easy one pot zucchini mushroom pasta has a creamy, herby lemon basil sauce. It’s perfect for weeknights yet fancy enough for a date night dinner. Packed with earthy mushrooms, fresh zucchini, olive oil, and hints of fresh garlic, this no-boil pasta is vegetarian and vegan friendly, but will be a favorite among omnivores as well!
Why You’ll Love This Zucchini Mushroom PAsta
- Super Easy: This vegan zucchini pasta is SO easy. You only need one pot to make it and there’s absolutely no boiling (in a separate pot) required.
- Lemony Creamy Sauce: It uses a roux, dairy-free milk, and fresh lemon zest + juice to create a lemony sauce with an unbelievably creamy texture.
- Hearty Mushrooms: This recipe uses cremini mushrooms for some added earthy flavor, but feel free to use your favorite kind of mushroom instead.
- 30 Minute Meal: This mushroom and zucchini pasta is ready in less than an hour, perfect for weeknight dinners.
Ingredients
This vegetarian-friendly zucchini mushroom pasta is full of flavorful fresh simple ingredients like cremini mushrooms, shallots, zucchini, lemon and garlic.
To make this recipe, you’ll need to gather the following:
- Short Pasta, or like shells, rigatoni, penne or tratolle
- Shallots
- Garlic
- Black Pepper
- Dry White Wine, like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- All Purpose Flour
- Almond or Oat Milk
- Vegetable Stock
- Cremini Mushrooms
- Zucchini
- Olive Oil
- Lemon
- Basil
- Vegan Mozzarella or Parmesan Cheese, like Violife
Substitutions & Add-ins:
- Zucchini: green zucchini can be swapped for yellow squash.
- Shallots: this can be subbed for red onion or sweet yellow onion.
- Almond or Oat Milk: these can be swapped for another neutral dairy free milk like soy milk or dairy free heavy cream. Dairy-free milk can be substituted 1:1 with dairy based whole milk.
- Olive Oil: the oil can be substituted for vegan butter.
- Fresh Mushrooms: cremini mushrooms can be subbed for baby bellas or shiitake mushrooms.
The Pasta
I’m using tratolle in this recipe. A short pasta works the best here because it’s thicker and holds up better when made in one pot.
Note: You can use a different pasta, but it will affect the cooking time slightly.
I recommend sticking to short pasta like ziti, rigatoni, or penne vs. a long spaghetti which is more likely to break after cooking.
the best dairy-free cheese
Adding a bit of dairy-free cheese is optional, but it does add extra creaminess to the sauce. Vegan cheese can be hit or miss, so even if you’re not a dairy-free cheese lover, I recommend trying out multiple brands to find the one that you like the most!
Below are a few vegan cheeses that I feel work best in this recipe:
- Trader Joe’s Vegan Mozzarella Shreds: I love Trader Joe’s vegan cheese. It’s affordable and works great in dishes where the cheese will be melted. I also used some of their vegan mozzarella in this recipe.
- Daiya Cutting Board Mozzarella Shreds: Daiya often gets a bad wrap for having a very distinctive taste. BUT they’ve modified their recipe over the years and came out with the Cutting Board Collection. So if you haven’t tried them recently you should try them out again. Daiya is the brand that often goes on sale the most at my local big-box grocery store making it the most affordable option for me.
Helpful Equipment
- Large Stock Pot
- Measuring Cups
Step-by-step Instructions
🎥 *Video Tutorial is Above the Recipe Card Below!*
STEP 1: In a large stockpot or dutch oven add the olive oil, shallots, and garlic. Saute until the shallots are fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
STEP 2: Add the zucchini slices and mushrooms. Cook the veggies until the mushrooms are mostly cooked down.
STEP 3: Add the salt, pepper, and flour. Stir until the flour coats all the vegetables and cook for a couple of minutes. Pour in the white wine to deglaze the pot.
To Make the Zucchini Mushroom Pasta Sauce:
STEP 4: Add in the pasta and then the dairy-free milk and veggie broth. The liquid should cover most of the pasta. Simmer for 10 minutes covered over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
STEP 5: After 10 minutes, uncover and add the vegan cheese and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.
STEP 6: Top with lemon zest, juice, fresh basil, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and another sprinkle of vegan cheese. Season to taste with more salt, pepper, and red chili flakes for extra flavor.
Serving
The pasta is fabulous served warm with lots of fresh chopped basil on top, nutritional yeast, and a sprinkle of extra lemon zest.
This would make an easy weeknight dinner served along with a vegetable soup or a classic vegan caesar salad.
Storage
The pasta can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Pasta Pro Tips
Below are a few tips for the best, creamy vegan zucchini pasta!
- Add In Other Veggies: this recipe is customizable so feel free to add more vegetables to taste!
- Use a Short Pasta: use pasta like ziti, rigatoni, or penne pasta vs. a long spaghetti which is more likely to break after cooking.
- Season to Taste: add more lemon, basil, salt and pepper to taste. The pasta will need more or less seasoning based on the vegetable broth you use.
FAQ
Not all wines are vegan. You can use Barnivore.com to check and see if your wine is vegan-friendly.
Can this creamy pasta be made without flour?
The all-purpose flour in this recipe helps thicken the cream sauce. I don’t recommend making this recipe without it. You could try substituting corn starch for the flour, however, I haven’t tested this substitution and can’t guarantee results.
Yes! Chickpea pasta or zucchini noodles can be used in this recipe. Instead of simmering the pasta for 20 minutes, you’ll only need to cook the zucchini noodles for about 5 minutes or until al dente.
More Pasta Recipes:
- Vegan Chicken Parm Stuffed Shells
- Creamy Vegan Baked Mac & Cheese
- Vegan Butternut Squash Ravioli
- Creamy Baked Tomato Pasta Skillet
- 30 Minute Coconut Milk Tomato Pasta
- One Pot Vegetable Pasta
Did you make this vegan creamy mushroom zucchini pasta recipe?
I’d love to know! Leave a star rating and comment below!
One Pot Creamy Zucchini Mushroom Pasta
This easy one pot zucchini mushroom pasta has a creamy, herby lemon basil sauce and is perfect for weeknights.
Packed with earthy mushrooms, fresh zucchini, olive oil, and hints of fresh garlic, this no-boil pasta is vegetarian and vegan friendly but will be a favorite among omnivores as well!
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 shallots, sliced thin (about ½ cup)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced (about 3 tbsp)
- 2 ½ cups sliced cremini mushrooms, (about 8 oz)
- 2 ½ cups diced zucchini, 2 small zucchinis
- ¾ tsp sea salt, to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour
- ¼ cup dry white wine, like Pinot Grigio
- 3 ½ cups (about ½ lb) short pasta of choice, like rigatoni, penne or trottole
- 1 ½ - 2 cups unsweetened dairy-free milk, like oat milk or almond milk
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of ½ a lemon, to taste
- 1 cup fresh basil, chopped roughly
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes, to taste
- ½ cup dairy free mozzarella or parmesan, optional
Instructions
- In a large stockpot or dutch oven add the olive oil, shallots, and garlic. Saute until the shallots are fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the zucchini and mushrooms. Cook the veggies until the mushrooms are mostly cooked down.
- Add the salt, pepper, and flour. Stir until the flour coats all the vegetables.
- Pour in the white wine to deglaze the pot.
- Add in the pasta and then the dairy-free milk and veggie broth. The liquid should cover most of the pasta.
- Simmer for 10 minutes covered, stirring occasionally.
- After 10 minutes, uncover and add the vegan cheese and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Cooking time will vary slightly based on the type of pasta used.
- Top with lemon zest, juice, fresh basil and another sprinkle of vegan cheese.
- Season to taste with more salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Notes
- Use a Short Pasta: short pasta like ziti, rigatoni, or penne pasta vs. a long spaghetti which is more likely to break after cooking.
- Season to Taste: add more lemon, basil, salt and pepper to taste. The pasta will need more or less seasoning based on the vegetable broth you use.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 562Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 145mgCarbohydrates: 99gFiber: 8gSugar: 29gProtein: 18g
Nutritional info is an estimate.
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