A Tasty Twist on Pasta: Zucchini Pesto Delight

4.75 from 4 votes

Discover the perfect summer pasta recipe: zucchini pesto pasta. Made with basil pesto and garden vegetables for a light and tasty meal.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 10

Total Time1 25

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Pasta, Pesto, Zucchini

Servings: Servings

Calories: 311kcal

Author: Belly Laugh Living

Preheat oven to 350°
Prepare all ingredients.
Chop zucchini into bite-size pieces and slice or crush the garlic.
To prepare pasta, bring water to a boil and add two tablespoons of salt. Cook pasta for 1 minute less than the suggested time for Al Dente Pasta. Once cooked, drain the pasta and set it aside.
To prepare zucchini or summer squash, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan. Add sliced or crushed garlic, followed by the squash and one teaspoon of salt. Saute the mixture for 5 minutes.
Add the whole cherry tomatoes to the zucchini. Cook for 3 minutes.
Mix together pesto and ricotta cheese.
Toss the Pesto/Ricotta mixture into the cooked pasta to coat
Place a layer of the pasta mixture in a casserole dish (½ of the Pasta)
Add ½ of the squash/tomato mixture on top of the pasta.
Place ½ of the mozzarella cheese on top of the squash
Layer with the rest of the pasta, then the rest of the squash. Add the rest of the mozzarella and the Parmesan cheese on top.
Cover the casserole with the casserole lid or aluminum foil and place the COVERED casserole in the preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes.
Remove the cover and Bake for 15 minutes to ensure the cheese is melted and creates a little crunch!
Enjoy!!!!!

We use a 2 QT Round Casserole dish. You can also use an 8x10 dish.