Pasta with Creamy Zucchini Sauce

This easy creamy pasta with zucchini sauce is a simple and healthy weeknight dinner option. The sauce comes together easily by blending roasted zucchini and shallots with parmesan and cottage cheese for extra protein. This simple pasta is creamy without being heavy, and it’s secretly healthy with the roasted veggies.

Author: Cooking with Conks

Meal Type: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: EASY

Prep. Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 258 kcal per serving

Ingredients

1 pound - zucchini
2 - shallots
2 tablespoon - olive oil
¼ teaspoon - salt
¼ teaspoon - black pepper
1 pound - fettuccini pasta
1 cup - cottage cheese
½ cup - parmesan cheese
¼–½ cup - pasta water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Toss the zucchini and shallots with olive oil, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper. Spread them out on the prepared baking sheet and roast for 20 to 30 minutes until they’re darker in color, soft, and starting to brown a little.
While the zucchini roasts, cook the fettuccine according to package directions. Reserve a little pasta water before draining the pasta (up to 1 cup of pasta water).
Place the roasted zucchini and shallots, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and some pasta water in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if desired (we usually add a little more too). Note: we typically use about ½ cup of pasta water, but you can start with less and add more if you need it to thin out the sauce, depending on your preference.
Pour the blended sauce over the cooked noodles and toss to coat. It may seem like a lot of sauce at first, but the noodles will continue to stiffen up and soak up the sauce as it sits.
Taste and adjust for seasoning, and top with more parmesan cheese, a squeeze of lemon, or fresh herbs if desired.

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