Zucchini Pasta with Gouda and Bacon
This Zucchini Pasta with Gouda and bacon is an easy, creamy, flavorful pasta dish. It’s full of summer flavors, easy to make, and is enjoyed by young and old at our house. A real hit!
Made with raw eggs, this is like the well-know Italian pasta dish, carbonara, but it uses lots more herbs and other different ingredients than would normally be used in carbonara.
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Ingredients for Zucchini pasta
- Bacon – great here because it is widely available, unlike the traditional, Italian pork used in this recipe. You can substitute with Pancetta or other Italian bacon, if available.
- Spaghetti – most common pasta to be used, but can be substituted with shorter pasta types as well.
- Zucchini – adding zucchini to this dish, makes it even more juicier and it’s a great way to use up all that zucchini from your garden.
- Eggs – should be room temperature. Used raw in the recipe, but are cooked because of the hot spaghetti.
- Gouda – traditionally, carbonara would use a hard cheese like Pecorino or Parmesan. I used Gouda here because it’s more widely available and not everyone likes the taste (or should I say smell?) of the hard cheese. The key here is to shred the cheese using a fine shredder, otherwise it will not melt into the pot.
- Herbs – fresh basil, thyme, oregano, and garlic. These bring a crazy amount of flavor into the dish converting it from the standard carbonara which most people know.
- Seasonings – salt, ground black pepper, and chili flakes. Chili flakes give a good, nice kick, but should be used sparingly.
Instructions for Preparing Zucchini Pasta
Start off by bringing a medium-sized pot of water to a boil. Also, make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature.
While the pasta is cooking, fry (or bake) the bacon and prepare the other ingredients – finely shred the cheese and finely chop the herbs.
Shred the zucchini. I use the normal side of my KitchenAid Box Grater, you can also use a mandoline slicer to make longer-zucchini pieces. Places the zucchini in a colander or a fine mesh sieve.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the eggs, shredded cheese and all the seasonings and herbs. Mix until well combined.
Once the noodles are done, pour them out over the shredded zucchini. The zucchini will get warmed through from the hot noodle water.
Return the zucchini and the spaghetti back into the pot and add the cheese-egg-herb mixture. Mix everything well until the cheese is melted, the eggs are cooked through and everything is well combined.
Crush the bacon and add to the spaghetti. Alternatively, sprinkle into individual bowls before serving.
This zucchini pasta is creamy, even a bit on the runny side. But keep in mind that it will absorb the liquid as it cools down. This pasta is best enjoyed hot/warm.
How to Store and Re-heat Zucchini Pasta
For any leftover pasta, cover it and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. I usually store it in the same pot to avoid dirtying extra dishes. Re-heat on the stove on low heat, stirring often so that the spaghetti doesn’t burn on the bottom.
What to Serve with Zucchini Pasta
Because this pasta is so creamy, it is great with a piece of crusty bread, like a fresh baguette or even garlic bread. A simple salad like this Burrata Caprese or this Tomato and Mozzarella Plate would perfectly round off this meal.
Other Pasta Dishes
We love pasta around here and here are some additional, yummy pasta dishes that are absolutely perfect for a weeknight dinner:
- Trofie Pasta with Pesto
- Spaghettoni with Ground Beef Sauce
- Gemelli Pasta with Spinach
- Easy Marry Me Chicken Pasta
Finally, if you make this Zucchi Pasta with Gouda and Bacon , please take a moment to comment below and leave a rating. It’s such a help for others who might want to try the recipe. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram if you make this recipe. I’d love to see the photos of the recipes you have made!
Zucchini Pasta with Gouda and Bacon
Ingredients
- 3.5oz (100g) Bacon
- ¾lb (340g) Spaghetti
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 2 Zucchini, small (mine were about 20oz/560g)
- 2 Large eggs
- 2 cups Gouda cheese
- ¼ cup Fresh basil leaves
- 1-2 tbsp Fresh thyme
- 4 sprigs Fresh oregano
- ¾ tsp Salt, or to taste
- ⅛ tsp Ground black pepper, or to taste
- Chili flakes, to taste
Instructions
- Start off by bringing a medium-sized pot of water to a boil. Also, make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature.
- While the pasta is cooking, fry (or bake) the bacon and prepare the other ingredients – finely shred the cheese and finely chop the herbs.
- Shred the zucchini. I use the normal side of my KitchenAid Box Grater, you can also use a mandoline slicer to make longer-zucchini pieces. Places the zucchini in a colander or a fine mesh sieve.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the eggs, shredded cheese and all the seasonings and herbs. Mix until well combined.
- Once the noodles are done, pour them out over the shredded zucchini. The zucchini will get warmed through from the hot noodle water.
- Return the zucchini and the spaghetti back into the pot and add the cheese-egg-herb mixture. Mix everything well until the cheese is melted, the eggs are cooked through and everything is well combined.
- Crush the bacon and add to the spaghetti. Alternatively, sprinkle into individual bowls before serving.
The recipe was inspired by halfbakedharvest.com‘s Zucchini carbonara recipe.
