This easy summer pasta recipe has it all! Fast, fresh, and loved by the whole family, this meal will come together quickly, and be eaten faster than you can serve it. It’s THAT good! Even picky eaters can’t resist garden fresh veggies when paired with creamy pasta and parmesan cheese.

My family and I love to grow a large garden every summer. Even with our kiddos tending to the vegetables from seed starting in March, to the end of harvest in October, they aren’t always thrilled to actually EAT the veggies we grow. I have to get a little creative when serving up a green vegetable sometimes. Fortunately, the addition of pasta and cheese almost always brings them around!

Homesteading and gardening take a lot of time. There’s no better way to pat yourself on the back for all of that hard work, than a bowl of home grown food for dinner!

What if I Don’t Have Fresh Produce from the Garden?

I get it. Not all of us want to spend our summers with hands in the dirt. Luckily, farmer’s markets seem to be gaining popularity. Sure, you could easily head to your local grocery store, but do you have a farmer’s market near by? I’d bet with a quick search you could find one. It’s worth the little bit of extra effort, I promise.

Did you know that vegetables begin to lose their nutrition as soon as they’re picked? Now imagine that same zucchini traveling by plane, train, or automobile to your local Walmart. There’s no telling how much that vegetable has seen before it’s packed in your shopping bag.

Your local farmer’s market will be selling a similar zucchini, only it’s been picked within the last 24 hours. Now that’s what I’d call fresh! You only need one for this dish, but consider grabbing two because I’ll bet your family wouldn’t mind a repeat recipe after you try this!

If you need help finding local food vendors in your area, the USDA has a food directory you can check out here!

What do I Need to Make this Easy Summer Pasta Recipe?

1 medium sized fresh zucchini
1 small onion
2 medium sized fresh tomatoes (you can also substitute properly frozen tomatoes, for more information on that, check out the blog post here)
fresh basil
3-4 cloves of garlic
Olive Oil or homemade ghee
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup cream
1 box rotini pasta

How do I Make this Easy Summer Pasta Recipe?

Once you’ve found your fresh produce it’s time to get cookin’! The beauty of this dish is that it comes together as quickly as you can boil pasta. This recipe is sautéing chopped veggies, stirring them into your pasta, then adding cheese and cream. That’s it!

Boil your pasta according to the directions on the box. In this recipe I usually subtract 2 minutes from the cook time because they will finish cooking in the sauce.

Next, chop your veggies and set them aside while the cast iron skillet heats up. Sauté the onions and zucchini in olive oil until brown on the edges and almost cooked through. Add salt, pepper, and dried basil before adding the garlic. Only cook the garlic for 30 seconds before adding the tomatoes.

You can use fresh tomatoes, or frozen tomatoes as long as they were frozen properly. You can find more info about that here.

Vegetables being sauted for an easy summer pasta recipe

After adding your tomatoes, drain your pasta and reserve 1/4 cup of the water for the sauce.

Add the cooked vegetables to the pasta pot and stir in the parmesan and cream. Add the pasta water to thin to your desired consistency.

Fresh cream being added to an easy summer pasta recipe with fresh garden vegetables

Now, cook on medium low until the pasta is done, stirring frequently to melt the cheese.

Garnish with fresh chopped basil and another pinch of parmesan.

Serve and enjoy!