Spaghetti And Zucchini Noodle Vegan Garden Pasta Recipe

When the garden vegetables are growing like crazy, there's no better time to get creative in the kitchen and make a fresh meal full of mother nature's bounty. This spaghetti and zucchini noodle garden pasta recipe combines the satisfying texture of hearty pasta with the crisp and earthy taste of noodles made from zucchini. Rather than include a heavy sauce, we're using marinated fresh tomatoes with olive oil and seasoning as our dressing, along with chard and fresh basil. It's a lighter meal packed full of flavor and will be a favorite whether you prefer to eat vegan or not. 

"I love using zucchini noodles but sometimes they can come out watery," wellness coach and recipe developer Miriam Hahn says. "The cooked spaghetti here absorbs any extra moisture and balances out the textures in a delicious way. Plus, it is visually a beautiful dish." As a final plus, this recipe also makes for a great way to use up fresh vegetables from your garden — though fresh veggies from the supermarket will work just fine.

To make this recipe, either head to your garden or the nearest produce department and grab cherry tomatoes, garlic, zucchini, shallot, red chard, and fresh basil. Though Hahn does call for using cherry tomatoes, any type of tomato will work in this recipe.

You'll only need a few remaining ingredients to make the pasta — spaghetti, olive oil, dried basil, and salt.

In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves, dried basil, and ½ teaspoon of salt.

Cover and marinate on the counter for 1 hour.

When the tomatoes are done marinating, bring a large pot of water to boil.

While you wait for the water to boil, spiralize the zucchini.

Add the remaining oil to a large pan over medium heat.

Saute the shallots and remaining garlic for 5 minutes.

Add the spaghetti to the pot of boiling water and cook per package instructions.

When there is 1 minute left of cooking time for the spaghetti, add in the zucchini noodles.

Drain both the spaghetti and zucchini noodles in a colander.

Add both noodles to the frying pan with the shallots and garlic.

Stir in the tomatoes and red chard. Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Top with fresh basil and serve.

There are many vegetable choices that can be substituted in or added to this recipe. To continue on the squash theme, adding summer squash is a great way to include more nutrition and texture. You can use spiralized yellow squash in the same manner as the zucchini, or you can dice it to add another texture dimension to the recipe.

To add in more greenery, chopped asparagus or green beans can be added to the pasta. You can blanch them by adding them to the pasta water just like the zucchini, but give them 2 minutes of cook time because they are a little bit heartier than the zucchini noodles.

All types of leafy greens work in this pasta dish as well. You can use other chard variations or switch it up and add spinach, kale, or arugula. If adding kale, dinosaur kale will be the best option. Just strip it from the stems and cut it into fine slivers before adding.

Although using a spiralizer will give you perfect zucchini noodles, there are several other options with other kitchen tools you may have. If you have a julienne peeler, it will yield similar zoodles by just dragging it the length of the zucchini. You will want to avoid the very center of the zucchini where the seeds are for best results. You can also use a vegetable peeler and, because this will give you wider strips, you can stack them on top of each other and slice to achieve thinner, more noodle-like strips.

A mandoline is another tool that can be used to create noodles. Just use the julienne setting and carefully run the zucchini lengthwise over the blade, and consider wearing a protective glove to keep your hands safe.

The last method is slicing the zucchini with a sharp knife. You will want to start by cutting off the ends of the zucchini, then slice into strips and use the stacking method to cut several pieces into thin strips.