Creamy Mushroom Zucchini Pasta

This creamy mushroom zucchini pasta is bursting with flavour while being super cosy at the same time. It combines the wonderful texture of mushrooms with the freshness of zucchini to create a delicious meat-free dinner that's ready in under 30 minutes.

I love mushroom and zucchini recipes because the textures and flavours of these two veggies pair so well together. This creamy mushroom zucchini pasta is the perfect mid-week vegetarian dinner that combines earthy closed-cup (crimini) mushrooms with fresh zucchini. It's the absolute perfect vegetarian pasta recipe for spring.

If you like creamy sauces enriched with a dash of sherry and finished with grated Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper, this creamy zucchini pasta should be right up your alley.

What do you need to make this pasta?

Pasta — I used gemelli pasta for this mushroom and zucchini recipe, but you can use any other kind of pasta.

Mushrooms — Closed cup mushrooms (crimini) work great for this pasta recipe, but you can substitute them with chestnut mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, or shiitake mushrooms.

Zucchini (courgettes) — I like to dice the zucchini and mushrooms in small pieces for this sauce, but feel free to use bigger chunks if you like.

Dry sherry — This is optional but highly recommended. Adding a dash of sherry to the sauce enhances its flavour. If you don't have dry sherry, you can use white wine instead.

Double (heavy) cream — I use double cream to make the sauce extra rich, but you can use single cream (half-and-half) if you want to cut down on calories.

Parmesan — If you're a vegetarian, you need to make sure that the hard cheese you use is indeed vegetarian. Parmigiano Reggiano is not vegetarian, unfortunately, as it's made with animal rennet. There are multiple alternatives that are suitable for vegetarians, including supermarket versions of Italian-style hard cheese. Always check the label to see if they are vegetarian.

How do you make this mushroom zucchini pasta?

This creamy mushroom zucchini pasta is ready in under 30 minutes, and you can start on the sauce at the same time you're adding the pasta to a boiling pot of water.

Start by cooking the onion, garlic, zucchini and mushrooms until they're soft and slightly golden. You can cook them as little or as much as you want; I prefer them on the well-done side, but they're also great when they still have a bit of a bite.

When the veggies are done to your liking, stir in the sherry and continue to cook until the alcohol evaporates. Add the double cream, some pasta water, and then add the drained pasta to the pan. Mix it everything well to combine, then stir in the grated Parmesan and parsley. Season to taste and serve immediately.

Recipe notes & tips

• Feel free to add some herbs to the pasta if you want, such as rosemary or thyme.
• You can use some porcini mushrooms for extra flavour. When using dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrate them for 30 minutes in hot water before using them in this recipe.
• If you don't want to use alcohol for this pasta, replace it with some vegetable stock or skip it altogether.

If you liked this creamy mushroom zucchini pasta, have a look at some of my other vegetarian pasta recipes:

Creamy Mushroom Marsala Pasta

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Walnuts

Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

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