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This bowl of Lemon Basil Zucchini Pasta Alfredo is becoming one of our favorite summer pasta dishes. I took a classic pasta recipe and updated it with a light yet creamy caramelized onion sauce, summer zucchini, and fresh lemon and basil. Every twirl of pasta has delicious summertime flavors that melt in your mouth. It’s a creamy bowl of lighter pasta Alfredo that comes together in under an hour. Perfect for warm summer nights!
Summer solstice is on Thursday, and you all, I’m so ready for it! In my mind, it’s been summer since June 1st, but now that it’s really official – according to the calendar, we can break out all of our best summer dishes and start utilizing the amazing produce that summer has to offer.
Of course, zucchini is one of the summer vegetables that seems to be most abundant from June through September. I love to cook and bake with zucchini. I use it in salads, pasta, rice bowls, and even mixed into our summer cakes and muffins!
It is such a versatile ingredient!
The other week, my brother sent me this pasta video featuring a caramelized onion sauce. Honestly, it was too heavy and intense for me, especially for summer. But I did love the idea of incorporating a slowly caramelized onion into a creamy summer Alfredo sauce.
I wanted this pasta to feel cozy, taste delicious, and still be light. The addition of lemon and basil helps to keep this Alfredo feeling fresh and summery. It turned out so delicious!
These are the details
Step 1: cook the pasta
Boil your favorite pasta cut. For this Alfredo sauce, I love some longer cuts of pasta, such as fettuccini or linguine.
I used Mafaldine Italian Pasta di Gragnano, which is always fun!
Step 2: cook the lemon
Next, while the pasta cooks, caramelize slices of lemon in butter. Then chop the lemon slices and toss them with lots and lots of fresh basil.
Save the mix for topping the pasta. You can eat the lemon, rind and all! When the lemon is cooked, the bitterness is removed, and it’s delish.
Step 3: make the sauce
Now, start caramelizing the onion with some butter. Once the onion is caramelized, add it to the zucchini.
Allow the zucchini to cook until it turns a pretty golden color. Add the reserved pasta cooking water and a generous pour of heavy cream. Simmer the sauce until it thickens.
Step 4: finish this up!
Add so much parmesan cheese, then toss in the pasta.
At this point, plate the pasta, sauce, and zucchini. Then top with that reserved lemony basil mixture from step 2. And you can never go wrong with extra parmesan cheese, so add some more!
When you twirl the warm, buttery lemon pasta into the creamy Alfredo sauce, it instantly melts in your mouth, along with the buttery zucchini. And the onion adds just the perfect amount of uniqueness to the sauce. It’s not intense, just delicious!
Looking for other summer pasta? Try these weeknight favorites.
Jammy Cherry Tomato Pasta with Crisp Lemon Rosemary Chickpeas
Antipasto Pasta Salad with Herby Parmesan Vinaigrette
One Pot Lemon Basil, Asparagus, and Sausage Pasta
20 minute lemon butter pasta with ricotta and spicy breadcrumbs
Lastly, if you make this Lemon Basil Zucchini Pasta Alfredo, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Lemon Basil Zucchini Pasta Alfredo
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 659 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 pound linguine or fettuccini
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 lemon, sliced, seeds removed
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 zucchini or yellow summer squash, very thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- salt and black pepper
- chili flakes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Remove 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. Drain.2. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the lemon slices. Sear until the lemon is caramelized, about 1 minute per side. Remove the lemon from the skillet. Finely chop the lemon slices and mix with the basil.3. To the same skillet, add 4 tablespoons butter and the onion. Cook until caramelized, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, zucchini, thyme, and season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Cook another 5 minutes until golden. 4. Add 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and the cream, stirring until smooth. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in the parmesan, then toss in the pasta. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. 5. Serve topped with the reserved lemon/basil mix. Twirl the pasta up with the sauce and zucchini. EAT and ENJOY!
This post was originally published on June 18, 2024
Tasty!
Thank you Ashley! xT
Loved this recipe! I didn’t realize I was supposed to cut up the lemon rind too? No wonder I had such a hard time with the caramelized portion of the lemon turning to liquid! Haha. I just pulled the inside of the lemon from the rind and mixed it with the basil. I added grilled chicken and baked prosciutto crumbled up to make it a meal. Very tasty! I think next time I will just use juice from the lemon and some zest, just because I don’t think we would like the full rind added. This is definitely a keeper with our mods!
Hey Kelli,
Yay! Thank you so much for trying this dish and your comment, I’m so glad to hear it was a hit! Have the best week!
I’ve never been much of a cook but this recipe caught my attention. I halved it as there’s only 2 of us. I also used half & half instead of heavy cream. The results were fabulous. My husband rarely compliments my food but tonight he did. This is definitely a keeper & I can make it for my vegetarian son when he comes to visit.
Hey Myra,
Wonderful!! Love to hear this dish turned out nicely for you, I appreciate you making it!
Made this recipe. Definitely use lemon rinds but i skipped cutting the lemon rind and just added some lemon juices to the basil part of the recipe based off the reviews. Added some chicken and this was very quick and easy. Definitely will make it again. Crowd pleaser
Hey Melissa,
Awesome! Love to hear this dish turned out nicely for you, I appreciate you making it! Have a great weekend! T
This was an amazing summer pasta dish. So easy to prepare and tasted like a restaurant prepared entree. We felt like we were back in Sicily!
Hey Andrea,
Happy Monday!! I’m thrilled to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks a bunch for making it! xx
This looks so delicious, do you think I could make this with asparagus instead of zucchini since it’s in season? How could I go about that? Thank you!!!
Hey Kate,
Totally, asparagus would be delicious! I would just add in step 3 and cut the asparagus into inch or so pieces. I hope you love this dish! xx
What type of pasta is pictured? It isn’t linguini or fettucinni.
Hi Kirsten,
Here is the link for the pasta that I used:
https://shopstyle.it/l/ccwz7
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Oh my goodness, I LOVED this! I know the carmelized onion is half the point of this recipe, but I really want to make it for a friend who hates onion. Do you think I could just increase the zucchini? Maybe add some shallots? (For whatever reason he seems okay with those.) Maybe just decrease the liquid and lease the rest the same? If you have any ideas, I’d love them. Thanks again for the recipe!
Hey Kellie,
Amazing! Thank you so much for trying this recipe, I am so glad it turned out well for you! I would just go with the shallots, those will work nicely for you! xxT
Hi, Made this recipe and it was awesome, restaurant quality meal, certainly into my DIA box( do it again). I tried it with company for dinner, was a major hit( made me look good haha) I added chicken for protein.
Thank you very much
Thanks so much, Grahame! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe and appreciate you making it! Have the best day! xx
My family liked this one. I made the recipe as is but added a Greek seasoned ground turkey
Hey Heather,
Fantastic! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have the best week! x
LOVED this recipe, the lemon and basil combined into theeee best flavor profile ever. Also was super easy to make and I learned some new skills–like caramelizing lemons! yum
Hey Alison,
Happy Friday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, love to hear that it turned out well! xx
The whole family loved it! I added chicken for extra protein. I also used milk instead of cream and used lemon zest instead of chopped lemon.
Thanks so much for your comment, Rebekah! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you giving it a try! Xx
I liked the idea of amping up the flavor with all that the recipe sited, but I agree the lemon peel was to bitter for me, I’d prefer just lemon zest and basil sprinkled on this dish. For my palate the dish was to rich.
Hi Kristy,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! x
We loved this recipe, the lemon rind adds so much flavor. We served it with grilled shrimp a salad and a bottle of Chablis
Hey Michael,
Happy Sunday! So glad to hear that this dish turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! xT
I am a huge fan of Half-Baked but this recipe was way too bitter for me and just not very flavorful. I didn’t like the lemon rind and should have relied on my own instinct to not use it and the thyme was too much. It would have been better with more basil and maybe just lemon juice.
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks so much for giving this dish a try and sharing your feedback, so very sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xT