Zucchini pasta recipe with 6 ingredients (2023)

This post is sponsored byCarapelli®. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

On my morning walks, I pass pumpkin patches under the watchful eye of scarecrows. The small local farms in our small town here in Southern Vermont attract families with young children intent on choosing the perfect canvas for their seasonal Jack O' Lantern.

Last week on one of those walks I picked some pumpkins to try to make pumpkin noodles. If you've been following for a while, you might remember thepad thai noodles with sweet potatoyZucchini pasta with 5 ingredientsI shared a little while ago. They are among some of the most popular recipes on the blog.

With squash currently in abundance, I wanted to see how it would look if I turned it into pasta. To my surprise, it turned out to be such a good recipe that I decided it should be on the blog.

I also thought it would bea great vegetarian side dish with the holidays approaching, especially if you have vegetarian guests. Made with few ingredients, thisFrom Zucchini NoodlesThe recipe is bursting with fall flavors and is ready in under 20 minutes.

if you are like mein making quick dinners with minimal ingredients, you know that the key to creating tasty dishes is using high quality ingredients. For my pumpkin pasta, I usedCarapelli Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a premium oil bursting with depth and flavor (bottled in Florence, Italy for over 125 years), which I purchased at our local Stop and Shop.

I have been using Carapelli Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil since I introduced it in thisRoasted Carrot Hummusrecipe last summer. In addition to having a very good taste, it has a nice and elegant bottle, hard to miss in the supermarket's olive oil island.

How to make Pumpkin Pasta

Before I continue talking about the recipe, I want to talk abouthow to turn pumpkin into "noodles".

Here are two methods you can use:

How to make pumpkin spirals

The first method, which I used, is to use a spiralizer.this is what i haveand I cannot recommend it highly enough.

When it comes to spiralizing the squash, you want to find a squash with a long, thick neck. The lower part (where the seeds are), called bulbous, is not ideally shaped for spiraling. I reserve the bottom part to bake later.

To make Spiral Pumpkin Noodles, simply peel the neck part of the squash and cut off the top part. Then, using the thickest pasta sheet, process the nutmeg into pasta. Since squash is tougher than other vegetables such as zucchini and sweet potatoes,It's important to make sure the squash is pressed firmly against the teeth before you start turning the wheel to turn it into noodles.

If you prefer, cut the long squash noodles into shorter pieces for easier cooking and later consumption.

Watch the video on how to make Butternut Squash Swirls {27 seconds}

See Also

Butternut Squash Pasta

How to Make Pumpkin Noodles Without a Spiralizer

Alternatively, you canuse a julienne peeler to make pumpkin noodles.Although I have to be honest, this will require some arm training. Also, the "noodles" you'll get with a julienne peeler will be thinner compared to pumpkin noodles made with a spiralizer. As a result, they will cook faster.

What if I don't have a spiralizer?

Don't worry if you don't have a spiralizer, because nowadaysmost supermarkets sell various spiral vegetables. For example, our local Stop and Shop has a special section in the fresh produce area, where you can conveniently choose from a variety of vegetarian noodles that are perfectly sized for 2 servings.

How to cook pumpkin pasta

There are 3 ways to cook pumpkin noodles:

Fry on the Stovetop - How to Cook Butternut Squash Spiralizer

The cooking process for this stove top pumpkin noodle recipe has 2 folds.

First, sauté a small chopped onion and a few cloves of garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Then add the pumpkin noodles and gently sauté for 7-10 minutes. I recommend using kitchen tongs as it will be easier to flip as they cook. You'll know they're fully cooked when they're softer and smaller in volume.

Second, add the flavoring agents. I wanted to keep the recipe super simple, so I used toasted walnuts, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and some fresh parsley to top it off. Although if you're making this for the holidays, you can swap out the fresh parsley for fresh sage.

Boil Pumpkin Noodles Like Macaroni - How to Boil Pumpkin Noodles

Alternatively, you can boil pumpkin noodles (like spaghetti) in a pot of boiling salted water for 3-5 minutes. The time depends on the thickness of the noodles, but I recommend keeping an eye on it because it happens very quickly.

If you decide to use the boiling method and want to use the flavorings I used in my pumpkin pasta recipe here, I recommend cooking the onion with the Carapelli olive oil separately and adding the cooked pumpkin pasta to the pan last. . This way, the pasta will be covered with the onions, providing a moist surface for the Parmesan to cling to later when sprinkled with it.

Oven Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta

Another method of cooking pumpkin noodles is to bake them in the oven. If you decide to do this,simply preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, spread the squash in a spiral on the baking sheet, drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.It shouldn't take longer than7-9 minutes to toast and soften completely.

How long to cook pumpkin pasta?

The cooking time for pumpkin noodles depends on the thickness of the noodles and the method you decide to use to cook them.

The thicker they are, the longer they will take to cook. If you choose to use a spiralizer like I did (or buy it already spiralized at the supermarket),they take 7 to 10 minutes to cook over medium-high heat on the stove.I recommend turning the noodles continuously with tongs to ensure even cooking.

If you choose to cook them like spaghetti, they cook faster, 3-5 minutes for al dente. If you decide to boil them, keep an eye on them, as they can get mushy very quickly.

Whichever method you choose to cook or flavor your pumpkin noodles, it's important to use the freshest, highest quality ingredients when making these simple recipes.

After all these years of writing and sharing recipes for a food blog, I've discovered that the art of cooking and eating well is all about using the freshest seasonal produce and finding the highest quality ingredients to deliver great flavors. As the cooking of almost all dishes starts with oil, I prefer to spend more onCarapelli AOVEas I believe they have mastered the art of making exceptional extra virgin oils.

Other Vegetarian Pasta Recipes (aka Low Carb Dinner Recipes You Might Like)

• LearnHow to cook Zucchini Pasta- A recipe with only 5 ingredients and ready in 15 minutes
• Lean Shrimp with Garlic and Zucchini Pasta- A healthy version of the shrimp scampi recipe made with zoodles instead of pasta
• pad thai noodles with sweet potato- Do you love Asian flavors? Well, this vegan and gluten-free Thai recipe is out of this world. A reader favorite.
• Chicken and Potato Soup with Macaroni- Your favorite chicken soup is made lighter with spiralized potato noodles.

Other Pumpkin Recipes You Might Like

• Zucchini and Lentil Stew
• Vegan Stuffed Acorn Pumpkin
• Acorn Pumpkin Salad
• vegan pumpkin soup
• Butternut Squash and Bulgur Wheat Salad
• Ina Garten Zucchini Salad
• Roasted Delicate Pumpkin