This sausage pasta dinner has zucchini, summer squash, and cherry tomatoes in a light basil cream sauce. It’s a hearty but fresh, and definitely easy, summer supper.
Did you know that the British use a different word for zucchini than Americans do? They call it courgette. You may have already known this but did you also know that the word courgette and the word zucchini have very similar origins?
This favorite green vegetable first made its way to Italy from North America during the 19th century. It was quickly given the Italian name for squash, zucca, but with the diminutive attached, making it zucchini. When it subsequently arrived in France, the French followed the same naming pattern, giving it the French name for squash, courge, and adding the diminutive, making it courgette.
Zucchini Love
I love this parallel language fact almost as much as I love zucchini itself. I’ve been a bit obsessed with zucchini lately, as you may have noticed from this Summer Vegetable Gratin and these Zucchini, Tapenade, and Feta Bites. It’s probably my favorite vegetable right now.
This vegetable and sausage pasta dinner featuring zucchini is very hearty while also being fresh.
Making Summer Vegetable And Sausage Pasta
I used trotolle noodles, a new pasta shape available at my grocery story (don’t you love discovering new noodles?), which I cooked according to package directions. Into the oven went chopped sweet Italian sausage, chopped zucchini and summer squash, and slightly squashed cherry tomatoes on a large baking sheet. They got a douse of olive oil and salt and pepper first too, of course.
While that all cooks, you microwave half-and-half cream mixed with some chopped fresh basil. Let that steep until everything else is ready. Then you strain the cream over the sausage mixture and stir it. Lastly, toss it with cooked pasta and it’s ready to enjoy. This vegetable and sausage pasta is sure to be a hit for dinner.
Summer Vegetable and Sausage Pasta Dinner
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This sausage pasta dinner has zucchini, summer squash, and cherry tomatoes in a light basil cream sauce. It’s a hearty but fresh, and definitely easy, summer supper. If you can’t find trotolle noodles, don’t worry. Use another robust pasta shape like rigatoni, cavatappi (corkscrews) or rotini.
Ingredients
- 340g trotolle pasta noodles
- 4 sweet Italian sausages
- 2 medium zucchini
- 2 medium summer squash
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. coarse pepper
- 8 large fresh basil leaves, plus some small leaves for garnish
- 3/4 cup half and half cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Put water for pasta on to boil.
- Cut the sausages lengthwise in quarters and then chop into 1/4 inch pieces. Do the same with the zucchini and the summer squash. Put it all onto a large rimmed baking sheet.
- Put a few cherry tomatoes on your cutting board. Use the side of a large knife to gently squash them just so that they pop open a bit. They may squirt. Scrape popped tomatoes and their juices onto the pan. Do this with 1/2 of the tomatoes. Put the rest in whole. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Stir to coat.
- Bake until everything is hot, veggies are soft, and a few tomatoes are starting to brown, about 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions. Roughly chop the 8 large basil leaves. Put them in a small microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream. Microwave 30 seconds at a time until very hot, about 1 minute total. Add a pinch of salt. Stir.
- When the sausages and veggies are done, strain the cream overtop. Stir. Toss with the drained pasta. Serve garnished with extra basil leaves.
This post originally appeared in July 2014 and was revised and republished in June 2021.
Tom says
This was super easy to make and pretty tasty! You’re not kidding when you say the tomatoes will shoot everywhere. I changed the sauce up a bit by adding basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and some parmesan cheese. Instead of microwaving, I heat it up in the pot that I cooked the pasta in to thicken the sauce up a bit more.
Christine Pittman says
That sounds great, Tom. Thanks for letting me know!
betsy says
I would make a cold pasta salad with a pinot.
Tina W says
I would make a pasta with fresh zucchini, tomatoes and eggplant from the garden and pair it with a lovely glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.
★★★★★
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
I would love to try this dish!!
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen says
The perfect summer dish!
David says
I would make home fires with these sausages chopped up and mixed in.
Arthur in the Garden! says
Yummy!
★★★★★
Shelley @ Two Healthy Kitchens says
What a wonderful summer dinner – so many of my favorite flavors (and I’m a big al fresco sausage fan, too!). I especially love that all the veggies and the sausage roast together – how quick and easy! Beautiful, beautiful!
Becca from It's Yummi! says
Summer squash and zucchini are my two favorite summer veggies. I’ve got to try this dish soon!
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
Sausage, carbs and all my favorite veggies WITH a basil cream sauce? I love this and I love you for introducing my face to it. Pinned!