Basil, Squash, and Tomato Pasta Toss

3 Reviews
ADD YOUR REVIEW
Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower
Active Time
30 Mins
Total Time
30 Mins
Yield
Serves 4 (serving size: about 1 3/4 cups)
By Adam Hickman
July 2016
RECIPE BY Cooking Light

Grated zucchini will cook as the pasta is tossed. If you don't have a grater, cut the zucchini like the yellow squash, and sauté both.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons plus 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces uncooked whole-grain rotini pasta
  • 2 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2/3 cup), divided
  • 1 large yellow squash, halved lengthwise and sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 cup chopped tomato
  • 1 medium zucchini, grated on the large holes of a box grater (about 1 cup)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves

Nutritional Information

  • Calories 380
  • Fat 15.7g
  • Satfat 4.5g
  • Monofat 8.2g
  • Polyfat 1.7g
  • Protein 19g
  • Carbohydrate 48g
  • Fiber 7g
  • Cholesterol 16mg
  • Iron 1mg
  • Sodium 669mg
  • Calcium 232mg
  • Sugars 5g
  • Est. added sugars 1g

How to Make It

Step 1

Bring stock, 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons oil, and salt to a boil in a large skillet. Add pasta; cover and cook 10 minutes or until tender. Remove pasta to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Step 2

Return cooking liquid to a boil; cook 13 minutes or until reduced to about 2/3 cup. Stir in 1/3 cup of the cheese; cook 1 minute, stirring until smooth.

Step 3

While sauce reduces, heat another skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil; swirl to coat. Add yellow squash; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooking liquid, yellow squash, tomato, zucchini, and juice to pasta; toss. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and basil.

You May Like

Advertisement

Build-a-Meal

Find recipes with ingredients that you have on hand.

+ +

Read More

Advertisement

Ratings & Reviews

Disappointed

mcklem
August 10, 2017
Ok admittedly I am out of basil which another reviewer said was essential but I tasted this before and after adding lemon juice and went from thinking it was good enough for my kids to eat to oh no now what am I going to make for them for dinner. (My husband and I are already eating a shellfish dish they can't eat due to allergies). Now it just tastes like lemon juice.

Light, summer entree easily made vegetarian

Julie
June 19, 2016
Made the recipe exactly as written with the exception of substituting a lemon liquor for lemon juice (discovered I lacked the original too late) and used "no chicken, chicken broth" to make the dish vegetarian.  As this broth does not come salt free, I eliminated the additional 1/2 t. of salt.  Very nice, delicately flavored dish which needs the basil in order to shine.  Though the recipe didn't mention it, the leftovers were delicious eaten cold as a pasta salad,

Great alternative to traditional pasta salad.

Becky
July 08, 2016
For someone who does not like traditional pasta salads & potato salads, this was a wonderful dish for home or to take to a potluck!  I added fresh basil and rosemary for extra flavor and left out tomatoes.  I also just make this with zucchini and squash only, no pasta - just make zoodles.

Instant Classic

dthornbery
August 28, 2016
I've made this three times already. Cooking the pasta in the broth adds a lot of flavor. Yellow squash is hard to find around me for some reason, so I've used yellow bell peppers instead. Also added leftover grilled asparagus and broccoli. It's all good. Great dinner for summer. Will make it all year round for lunch. 

Exceeded expectations

daneanp
November 04, 2016
After reading the ingredients, I was worried this would be pretty bland.  But it wasn't.  My teenager doesn't usually like whole wheat pasta or squash or lemony dishes, but she declared this meal a winner.  Super easy to.  I really liked how the pasta was cooked and then the water/oil was reduced down to help form the sauce with that melted parmesan.  Will definitely make again.