One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta
An incredibly creamy, hearty pasta dish that you can make in just 20 minutes. Even the pasta gets cooked right in the pot!
Ever since I made that one pot pasta several weeks back, I’ve been on the hunt for more recipes like this – easy, effortless and sure to be a hit with the entire family. And this zucchini mushroom pasta is exactly that.
There is absolute no pre-cooking or sauteeing of any kind here. Simply throw everything into the pot, including the uncooked pasta and that is it.
The water will be completely soaked by the pasta and once the noodles are cooked through, you can toss in a little bit of heavy cream (or milk, if you’re watching your calories) for a thin, creamy pasta sauce. Easy peasy.
And don’t be too shocked when everyone just raves about how amazing this pasta is. Jason said this was the best pasta he’s ever had! I obviously didn’t tell him how easy it was. Hey, he did the dishes so it’s an even trade, right?
One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 zucchini, thinly sliced and quartered
- ⅔ cup peas
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 sprigs thyme
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat, combine spaghetti, mushrooms, zucchini, peas, garlic, thyme and 4 1/2 cups water; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is cooked through and liquid has reduced, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and heavy cream.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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Hey Chungah! Thanks for the delicious, healthy recipe. It came together so quickly and it tastes great. Perfect for a busy college girl like me! 🙂
Great recipe – but I added a couple table spoons of cream cheese and it thickened it up and brought it together nicely. That was my add 😀
Made this last night and it was a hit with all 5 of my kids and hubby!!! I added onion and broccoli, too. Yummy!
I used Gluten Free pasta and it all stuck together not sure if it was because of the type of pasta. Seems there was not enough water but I followed your directions. The taste was not so good. And the zucchini was very mushy… What did I do wrong?
I’ve heard from some of my readers that gluten-free pasta is not an appropriate substitute.
I did and you just have to stir it–often.
Thanks for the hint. I’ll try that.
another commenter found corn gluten-free pasta worked.
Is the pasta cooked to al dente or fully cooked? Or should I use less water to make sure the pasta al dente?
The pasta is fully cooked. If you prefer more of an al dente texture, I recommend using less water and reducing cooking time as needed.
This was delicious!!!! I was nervous that the water didn’t cover everything, but it turned out great! As the steam cooked the veggies, everything shrunk and the water ended up covering everything and was then absorbed in the end. Turned out perfectly and was delicious! Thank you!
…and the zucchini won’t be over cooked and mushy with 20 minutes of cooking?
The zucchini is not “mushy” nor overcooked but you can always add the zucchini in the last 5 minutes to suit your texture preferences.
I have been looking at this for a few days and finally tried it for our dinner today..it was great! I made it exactly as written,but halved it because it’s just the 2 of us,and I drained some of the water before adding the cheese and cream. We loved it!
Hi,
I did it and l love how easy it is and how quick too. I did not use the same vegetables my daughter does not like mushrooms 🙂
thanks for sharing
have a nice week end
cath
Are the peas dried peas or is frozen ok?
Frozen peas should work just fine.
I just made this! Great use of ingredients. I used button mushrooms, minced garlic, more peas, more parm and subbed coconut milk for cream b/c that’s what I had. It took longer to cook, more like 15 minutes. Brilliant idea of 1 pot! Thanks for posting!
I made this last night and not only is it super easy, it was delicious! What an awesome recipe! I ended up using half water & half chicken stock and it was tasty…gave it a little more flavor. And I used 1% milk instead of heavy cream and it came out fine! Finally found a healthy pasta dish that actually tastes good! Thanks 🙂
I’m in medical school and I can no longer afford to spend much time in the kitchen. I decided to cook your recipe tonight while I study for a huge test tomorrow. Soooo good! I added spinach to the recipe. It was perfect! Delicious and time efficient. Thank you so much. My pasta craving was satisfied. I can’t wait to make this again.
Great one pot recipe, though I felt a couple changes need to be made. It was a little runny so I first I used vegetable broth in place of water and 1/2 cup heavy cream with 1 Tbsp of flour to add thickness I also used a full cup of grated Parmesan and half a cup of mozzarella. I also did not have thyme sprigs and thought 1 tsp of ground thyme was sufficient. I also just cooked all veggis first with a little olive oil to bring out the tasty flavors. Turned out wonderful.
We do not have any Thyme on hand at home and would prefer not to have to pack up the kids for an extra stop. Anything we can add instead of that or can it be left out with the same result?? Looks delicious and I can’t wait to make it! Thanks!!
Feel free to add any other herbs that you have on hand – basil, oregano, etc.
Trying this recipe tonight! I’m thinking of combining it with this recipe: https://damndelicious.net/2014/05/16/one-pot-pasta/ …but just adding the tomatoes, sausage, and extra parmesan to make it more of a “complete” meal in one. I’m using sweet Italian sausage instead of andouille though, so I am a little nervous. I hope it turns out okay! Thanks for such an easy to follow and simple new recipe 🙂
WOW! I’m so happy I finally decided to try one of these 1-pot wonders!
I took your original recipe, made a few tweeks based on reading through the comments ahead of time & my family cant stop talking about how yummy it is!
Thank you so much for sharing such a yummy & healthy recipe!
xo,
michelle
Saw this on Pinterest this morning and JUST made it tonight — very yummy recipe! But like another visitor said already, I will have to reduce the water next time. I had to add a little cornstarch to thicken it up but overall, very good! Thank you for the recipe!
I’m a novice… How much salt and pepper would be a good place to start? Like 1/4 tsp?
1/4-1/2 tsp is a good place to start.
I LOVE this One Pot Pasta concept! I looks so easy and delicious. Just one question: How do you calculate the amount of water to pasta so it will absorb the entire amount? Thanks
It tends to change with each recipe and the type of pasta used so a lot of recipe testing is involved!