Spaghetti tossed in a garlicky white wine and olive oil sauce with cherry tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms and fresh basil. This easy zucchini mushroom tomato pasta is ready in 20 minutes with simple ingredients. A great meal, main or side dish.
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This pasta dish is a fantastic way to sneak in lots of vegetables, making it great for picky-eaters or for anyone looking to add more fiber to their diet.
The light tomato sauce is simply made of extra-virgin olive oil infused with lots of garlic with cherry tomatoes and white wine. It evenly coats every noodle without tasting too heavy in sauce.
This is an Italian-inspired recipe I make often when I'm craving pasta as it comes together quickly and easily with minimal ingredients!
I love making this pasta as a busy weeknight meal when time is of the essence or when it's squash season, which is June to August. Zucchini always tastes so much better around this time.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Spaghetti: or substitute with spaghettini, linguine or fettuccine and boil according to package directions.
- Cherry Tomatoes: or substitute with grape tomatoes.
- Cremini mushrooms: or substitute with white button mushrooms.
- Green Zucchini: or substitute with yellow zucchini or courgettes.
- Fresh Basil Leaves: no dried stuff here!
- Fresh Garlic
- White Wine: or substitute with vegetable stock for a non-alcohol version.
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt
Expert Tips
- Use fresh vegetables as this makes a huge difference in taste!
- Season the pasta water with salt and don't skimp on it! This seasons the pasta and this same seasoned water will be used to make the pasta sauce.
- Don't over cook the pasta and only cook until al dente by subtracting 1 minute from the instructed time on the package.
- Make sure to reserve hot pasta water near the end of the pasta cooking process so it's extra starchy!
- Do not rinse the cooked pasta with cold water or you'll rinse off the delicious wheat flour.
- Toss in the cooked pasta into the sauce while the pan is off the heat or the heat will over cook the pasta.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make zucchini mushroom tomato pasta:
- In a large pot filled halfway with water, season with 1 tablespoon salt. Boil pasta according to package instructions (9 minutes for spaghetti) until al dente. Near the end of the pasta cooking process, reserve ⅓ cup or 80 ml hot pasta water. Drain pasta in a colander and set aside.
- Heat extra-virgin olive oil in a large pan on low-medium heat and sauté thinly garlic. Cook for 10 seconds or until fragrant.
- Then add in cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini. Fry until veggies are soft and mushrooms are browned, about 7 minutes.
- Pour in white wine and let this simmer for 1 minute. Then pour in reserved pasta water.
- Throw in the chopped fresh basil leaves. Season with salt to taste. Remove the sauce off the heat.
- Toss in cooked pasta and combine with the sauce. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing this pasta dish because the vegetables will become mushy.
Pairing Suggestions
This dish serves well with other Italian dishes, such as:
- Starters like fresh salad with Italian dressing, Caesar salad, or antipasto salad, calamari, garlic bread, bruschetta, or Italian wedding soup
- Pizza or risotto
- Italian meatballs or chicken parmesan
- Sautéed or grilled vegetables
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Baked Italian eggplant
FAQ
Zucchini mushroom tomato pasta can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
I don't recommend it for this pasta dish because you want in-season fresh vegetables for best taste and texture.
Other recipes you may enjoy
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Zucchini Mushroom Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti or spaghettini/linguine/fettuccine
- 2 cups cherry tomato halved
- 2 cups cremini mushrooms thinly sliced (or white button mushrooms)
- 2 zucchinis diced into 1-cm cubes
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
- 6 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- ½ cup white wine or vegetable stock for a non-alcoholic version
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt for seasoning pasta water and pasta
Instructions
- In a large pot filled halfway with water, season with 1 tablespoon salt. Boil pasta according to package instructions (9 minutes for spaghetti) until al dente. Near the end of the pasta cooking process, reserve ⅓ cup or 80 ml hot pasta water. Drain pasta in a colander and set aside.
- Heat extra-virgin olive oil in a large pan on low-medium heat and sauté thinly garlic. Cook for 10 seconds or until fragrant.
- Then add in cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini. Fry until veggies are soft and mushrooms are browned, about 7 minutes.
- Pour in white wine and let this simmer for 1 minute. Then pour in reserved pasta water.
- Throw in the chopped fresh basil leaves. Season with salt to taste. Remove the sauce off the heat.
- Toss in cooked pasta and combine with the sauce. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Maureen
Very nice recipe, thank you.
I used tinned chopped tomatoes as I didn’t have cherry tomatoes. I also squeezed half a small lemon replacing wine/stock. Finished with Parmesan.
Can you tell me please if leftovers can be frozen successfully? Thanks 🙏
Christie Lai
So happy to read this! Thank you so much for making it, Maureen.
As for freezing this: I recommend freezing the sauce and pasta separately after cooling down. You can store them in a freezer safe friendly bag. If you intend to make the pasta for freezing, I also suggest undercooking the pasta so it's al dente. To reheat, defrost the frozen sauce and pasta overnight in the fridge and reheat in a pan together on medium heat until hot through out.
Johanna
Easy and delicious! Used items in my kitchen now >
christieathome
Awesome! Thanks so much for making my recipe, Johanna!
Lois Conyers
This recipe was so easy, fast and delicious! Thank you! I added some fresh spinach for an extra pop of colour and grated parmesan cheese.
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe Lois! Glad you enjoyed it with the spinach and grated parmesan! YUM!
Brian
Very tasty, simple and healthy! I loved it.
Molly
This was absolutely delicious and so light in taste! I loved it.
Leanne | Crumb Top Baking
Pasta is definitely a quick and easy weeknight dinner! Love that you kept this fresh and light with the veggies and white wine! Happy weekend Christie!
Christie
Thank you so much Leanne!! Love how quick and easy pasta dinners can be 🙂