This fast pasta recipe is my summertime go-to when I want a quick dinner - ESPECIALLY during the omg there's more zucchini season.

I added pesto, goat cheese and vegetables to my pasta and yet AGAIN I feel like I invented something that will land me on the front page of The New York Times cooking section.
The exact same thing happened when I thought I invented quesadillas which had very much already been invented and named.
Even though I'll accept the same is probably true for my pasta dish it doesn't make it any less delightful.
This will take you 20 minutes from beginning to end, but here it is in 20 seconds ...
Table of Contents
Creamy Pesto Pasta (Video)

What makes it so good?
- You can use any vegetables you have in the fridge.
- You can use any pasta you have around.
- There are only 5 ingredients.
- Even though it's pasta it tastes bright and fresh, like summer.
- It's done in 20 minutes from beginning to end.
If you made my garlic scape pesto earlier this summer this is a perfect place to use it, otherwise just use a jar of pesto.

Creamy Pesto Pasta with Zucchini, Red Peppers and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta (any kind)
- ½ cup pesto
- 4 oz goat cheese
- 2 cups diced zucchini, red peppers .. whatever vegetable is lonely in your fridge
- ½ cup sundried tomatoes
Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions then strain.*
While the pasta is boiling away, dice and sauté your vegetables. Throw the sundried tomatoes into the pan to warm up once the vegetables are done cooking.
Add the sautéd vegetables, pesto and goat cheese to strained pasta and toss or stir until the goat cheese melts and coats pasta.
Notes
*Ignore everything you know about cooking pasta in a big pot of boiling water. Cooking it in a shallow pan with a small amount of water reduces the time it takes to come to a boil, PLUS this increases the pasta starch in the water which helps sauces cling to the pasta later on.
I should have mentioned the other reason this is so good is that it's easy. All you do is cook pasta, sauté vegetables and then mix all the ingredients together.
Would you like to save this stuff?


There's that super fantastic non stick Carote pan on the left that I told my subscribers about a couple of weeks ago.
A reader sent me one as a gift. He had been introduced to them by his brother. And then for her birthday I gave one to my sister. Word of mouth, man. It is THE best advertising.
Also I *really* need to do a post on how buying individual pieces is a much better idea than buying a "set" of pots and pans.
A word about dicing a zucchini. I don't know about you but when I'm using up the few zucchini that I haven't thrown into peoples cars and open house windows, I like a nice even dice.
Dice it up
Below is a recap on how to dice a zucchini, you can read the full how-to on how to dice a zucchini with a video in this post.




- Grab your zucchini and cut the ends off. Then cut the zucchini into 3 chunks.
- Flip each piece on its end and slice ¼" thick.
- Lay down then slice ¼" in the opposite direction.
TIPS
- For the pasta use a noodle that's going to hold the sauce well. Something swirly or with ridges is ideal. Example: Rotini, penne, cavatappi or rigatoni.
- Don't worry about the amount of vegetables you use. I often double up on the vegetables if I have lots.
- Add what you like and what you have. Experiment! I also had some pickled Sweetie Drop peppers in the fridge from when I made pizza the other night so I added some of those as well.
- If you're using store bought pesto squeeze some lemon juice over the dish before you serve it. My pesto has lemon juice in it so you don't need to do that if you're using my scape pesto recipe.
My zucchini plants are still just stems with a pair of leaves so I won't be picking zucchini for at least 4 days.
Nathalie DESPRES
Dear Karen,
I stumbled upon your wonderful blog by following a Pinterest link about a DIY chicken coop! Since discovering it, I've been delighted to read your newsletters, and today I tried out your ingenious puzzle. It was a real treat. What a brilliant idea!
I'm reading from France where I've been glued to my Sofa since March 23rd.
A stupid gardening accident. A classic. A fall from a stepladder. A double compound fracture of the leg. Four months of immobilization and two months of rehabilitation to come.
Stepladder = 1
Neorural = 0
(I left Paris two years ago. I live in Champagne region. Yet, I'm no novice when it comes to country living... no one is safe from danger.)
A huge thank you for your Posts.
You are my ray of sunshine, my intellectual delight.
Sincerely.
Nathalie DESPRES
Karen
Welcome Nathalie! That is a *long* time to be immobile. A longgggg time. Too long! ~ karen!