Vegan Creamy Courgette Pasta with Potatoes

 This vegan creamy courgette and potato pasta is the perfect simple weeknight dinner. Serve on its own or with garlic bread.

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Vegan Creamy Courgette Pasta with Potatoes

Oh my goodness this vegan creamy courgette pasta is bloomin' tasty.

A great way to use a glut of courgette (zucchini) from the garden or bought cheaply from the supermarket while they are in season.

And of course, there are potatoes and we all love potatoes.

It would be a good pasta dish without the potatoes but it's better with them.

Which type of pasta is best with a creamy sauce?

Traditionally, flat long pasta is served with a creamy sauce.

Something like linguine, fettucine, tagliatelle or pappardelle (a larger form of tagiatelle).

For this dish, I wanted something heartier to stand up to the potatoes, so I used rigatoni.

You could also use penne.

It's going to be delicious with whichever pasta shape you use.

Zucchini or courgette?

Zucchini is the American name for what we call a courgette here in the UK.

It can also be called a summer squash or a baby marrow.

So many names. Fascinating, but confusing at times.

Preparing courgette for pasta

When adding courgette to pasta it can be grated, cubed, sliced and cut into ribbons.

There's no need to remove the skin and no need to salt and drain it, as some people do with aubergine (eggplant).

When you grate courgette it does draw a lot of liquid out, so it can sometimes be a good idea to squeeze some of the liquid out in a clean tea towel or at the very least pat dry with kitchen roll (kitchen paper).

Love courgettes? Try my cream of courgette soup with dill.

Use a potato peeler

Use a potato peeler to create courgette ribbons, to add to pasta or salad.

Just peel it like you would a potato but in long single strokes.

They look so pretty and they cook quickly too.

Spiralized zucchini for pasta

Zucchini (courgette) can also be spiralized to make an alternative to pasta.

It is used raw and doesn't need to be cooked.

You can buy them in supermarkets or making them yourself with a courgette spiralizer, which are fairly cheap to buy and fun to use.

Instead of serving just the (zucchini noodles) zoodles instead of pasta, I like to replace some of the pasta with zoodles.

Less pasta and more veg is always a good choice.

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Use waxy potatoes

When adding potatoes to pasta, you want a waxy potato.

Floury potatoes are good for creamy mashed potatoes or fluffy roast potatoes but they aren't ideal in a pasta dish.

They are the ones you want when you are making gnocchi, but not when you are adding the potatoes as an extra vegetable in a pasta dish.

You want the potatoes to be firm and glossy not floury and soft. 

Waxy potatoes is where it's at!

Which type of potatoes are waxy?

Here are a few types of waxy potatoes available.

Waxy Potatoes UK

1. Baby potatoes
2. Charlotte 
3. Anya
4. Fingerling
5. Cornish Kings 
6. Pink Fir Apple 
7. Jersey Royals

Waxy Potatoes USA

1. New potatoes
2. Creamers
3. French Fingerling
4. Red Bliss
5. Red Adirondack
6. Russian Banana
7. Yukon Gold

Cooking potatoes to add to pasta

There are several different ways you can cook potatoes when adding them to pasta.

• Steam them in a steamer or over a pot of simmering water
• Boil them in a pot
• Microwave them in a bowl, covered with water
• Cook them in your pasta pot, then add pasta when the potatoes are partially cooked

Keep those skins on

Don't peel your potatoes.

A lot of the goodness is in the skin and just under the skin.

The skin is full of fibre and nutrients.

And let's face it, it's just a faff peeling them. I only peel potatoes when making mash and that's it.

What you need to make this creamy penne or rigatoni

Here are the ingredients you need to make this creamy vegan pasta dish.

1. Rigatoni - or penne (most shapes would work but these are heartier)
2. Baby potatoes - or another waxy potato (see the waxy potato guide above)
3. Olive oil - or rapeseed oil
4. Courgette - also known as zucchini
5. Garlic - add more if you like
6. White wine - you can skip it but it adds flavour, there's not a lot and it mostly cooks out
7. Chives - fresh or dried (the dried will reconstitute and soften in the sauce)
8. Salt & pepper - to season
9. Double cream - vegan cream, you could use single but double is thicker and will give you a richer sauce
10. Mayo - try it (optional)
11. Pesto - vegan pesto (we like Sacla Gluten-Free Pesto or Mr Organic Pesto)
12. Rigatoni - or penne are good options

Cast Iron Casserole

By the way, just in case you are wondering, my cast iron casserole is from Denby and not Le Creuset.

After cooking in both for years, I prefer the Denby casserole pans as they wash up better. 

The enamel stays cream-coloured for years with no marking.

I can't say the same for my Le Creuset pots which are not looking quite so great, with lots of dark staining on the inside.

Oh and I do chuck them in the dishwasher.

You added mayo?

I know, I know, mayonnaise doesn't sound the obvious addition to a hot pasta dish.

You can skip it if you like.

But a dollop of vegan mayo, does add a certain richness to the creamy pasta sauce.

Try it and see.

Reader's Photos

I love when readers get in touch and let me know they've enjoyed a dish, but it's even more fabulous when they share a photo.

Penny shared a photo of this creamy courgette pasta. Her daughter made it for her and used penne instead of rigatoni.

Doesn't it look good?

More delicious vegan pasta dishes

Here are a few more easy but super tasty pasta dishes for you to try.

• Best Summer Pasta Salad
• Boursin Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes
• Easy Vegan Mushroom Carbonara (with mushroom bacon)
• One-Pot Mushroom & Cherry Tomato Spaghetti
• Pea Pesto Pasta
• Quick Red Pepper & Olive Spaghetti
• Roasted Ratatouille & Cherry Tomato Pasta
• Summer Greek Pasta Salad
• Summer Vegetable Pasta with Peppers & Corn

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How to Make Creamy Courgette Pasta

Scroll down for step-by-step photos followed by a full printable recipe. If you don't have a printer, hit print then save as a PDF.

Step 1

• Cook the potatoes. You can steam, boil, microwave or add them to the pasta pot full of salted boiling water, then after they have been cooking for 10 minutes add the pasta.
• Peel the courgettes into ribbons with a potato peeler.

Step 2

• Add the courgette ribbons to a large pan with olive oil and garlic and cook gently until they are starting to soften.

Step 3

• Add the chives and season with salt and pepper.
• Add the wine and allow it to cook in for a couple of minutes.
• Now add the vegan cream and pesto.

Step 4

• Mix well and season again with salt and pepper.
• Add the cook potatoes and mix well to coat.
• If you are adding the mayo for richness, add it and mix in.

Step 5

• Once the sauce is well mixed, stir in the freshly cooked pasta.
• Serve and enjoy!

vegan pasta, courgette pasta, creamy pasta, creamy vegan pasta, zucchini pasta

dinner

Italian, vegan

Yield: 4

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Vegan Creamy Courgette Pasta with Potatoes

This vegan creamy courgette and potato pasta is the perfect simple weeknight dinner. Serve on its own or with garlic bread.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Ingredients

• 450g baby potatoes (160z) or another waxy potato, halved or quartered
• 1 large courgette, cut into ribbons using a potato peeler
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely grated
• 1 tablespoon dried chives (or one handful of fresh chives, chopped)
• 3 tablespoons white wine (optional but adds flavour)
• 250ml (1 cup) vegan cream (double is preferable, but single will work)
• 2 tablespoons vegan pesto
• 2 tablespoons vegan mayo (optional)
• Salt and pepper
• 200g rigatoni

Instructions

1. Cook the potatoes (boil, steam or microwave).
2. Pop the pasta on to cook in a large pan full of salted, rapidly boiling water.
3. In a large pan or frying pan, saute the thin courgette slices and garlic in olive oil until they're starting to soften.
4. Add the chives and season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the wine and cook for a couple of minutes, before adding the cream, pesto and mayo and mix well then season again.
6. Add the cooked potatoes and drained, cooked pasta to the sauce and still well.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Tweaks

1. You can skip the wine, but it's only a little and a lot of it burns off during cooking.
2. You can skip the mayo, but it does make the sauce richer.
3. You can use fresh or dried chives.
4. You can use homemade pesto.
5. You can use single cream instead of double cream, but double will give a thicker sauce,
6. You could use penne instead of rigatoni.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

573.99

Fat (grams)

22.77

Sat. Fat (grams)

6.2

Carbs (grams)

78.87

Fiber (grams)

5.05

Net carbs

73.81

Sugar (grams)

8.64

Protein (grams)

12.29

Sodium (milligrams)

478.66

Cholesterol (grams)

3.54

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