Pasta and ricotta is a great combination, creamy and light at the same time. Add some zucchini and you have a complete meal on a pasta plate.

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Cooking with ricotta
Ricotta is a cheese made by re-cooking (ri-cotta in Italian) the serum, called whey, is leftover after the milk has been curdled to make cheese. Therefore it is a cheese with a low-fat content. Usually made from cows milk, it can also be made from sheep or goats milk. Cow milk ricotta is better for making desserts as it has a milder flavour. In Sicily and in the South of Italy, it is often used in cooking, in particular, to make desserts in substitution of butter or cream. Delicious ricotta deserts are Cannoli Siciliani, Sfogliatella Napoletana, and the traditional Easter Pie Pastiera Napoletana. In savoury dishes, ricotta is used in quiche, pizza and lasagna.
Ricotta and zucchini
For this pasta I combine the ricotta with zucchini, specifically zucchini Trombetta which I am growing in my garden. Zucchini Trombetta are long and curved zucchini shaped like a trumpet and they are typical of the Italian Ligurian region.
They are crunchy and have a distinctive flavour and if you want to know more about it you can read my article: The Amazing Zucchini Trombetta Albenga In the article, you will find additional zucchini recipes and you can make them with any regular zucchini.
If I cannot find zucchini Trombetta, I always buy small zucchini as they have fewer seeds and they are not too watery.
If you want to know more about unusual Italian vegetables, you can find the video of my morning trip to Ventimiglia market here.
Other vegetables you can use with ricotta
In this pasta and Ricotta recipe you can substitute zucchini with many other vegetables. Ricotta combines well with many: spinach, tomatoes, artichokes, onion...
What also works well is a Soffritto (Italian) or Mirepoix (French) with onion, celery and carrot made stir-fried in butter. Sofritto or Mirepoix is the base for many Italian and French recipes and since I use it very often I always keep a bag of chopped onion, carrot and celery in my freezer.
So if I don't have any other vegetables at home I can always grab a bag of Sofritto add some ricotta, boil some pasta and a meal is ready in a flash. If I have some, I will also add bacon to complete. If you want to know more about what I keep in my freezer, you can read the article: Once a Month Freezer Meal Prep
How to make the zucchini and ricotta sauce
The ingredients to make the ricotta sauce are the following:
- 4 zucchini
- 1 garlic clove
- 9 oz - 250 g of ricotta
- 2 tablespoon butter (I usually use butter when I use ricotta but you can use olive oil instead)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
First I cook the zucchini:
- Cut the zucchini into round slices
- Slice the garlic and stir-fry with butter and olive oil
- Add the zucchini
- Stir-fry until golden
In the meantime make the pasta
- Bring to boil a pot of water with a tablespoon of salt
- Once it is boiling put in the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than what is written in the package
- Once it is done drain the pasta but remember to keep 2 tablespoon of the cooking water
In this recipe, I used Rotelle pasta De Cecco as the shape is the same size as the trombette zucchini, but you can use any other type of pasta that will trap the ricotta within. For example Tortiglioni, Zita, Rigatoni, Paccheri, Gnocchi o Fusilli.
- Mix the zucchini with the ricotta
- Add 2 tablespoon of water from the boiling pasta to soften the ricotta
- When the pasta is ready, drain it and add it to the zucchini
- Season with some parmesan and pepper and serve immediately
Tips for making the best pasta and ricotta
- Buy good quality ricotta
- Use a pasta shape that will trap the ricotta in between
- Keep the pasta al dente
- Combine with some stir-fried vegetables
- Stir fry with butter as it combines better with the ricotta
- For added flavour stir fry some bacon with the vegetables
- Add 2 tablespoon of pasta cooking water to make the ricotta creamier
- Add plenty of parmesan and black pepper
- Serve immediately
20 rules to properly cook pasta
If you are a novice cook, here are some important points you need to know to properly cook pasta:
- Pasta should be boiled in salted water, adding salt after doesn't work
- Add the salt as soon as you put the pan with water on the heat, so you don't forget
- If you don't remember if you added salt to the water, taste the water
- Use 1 tablespoon of salt per 4 quarts - 4 liters of water which should be enough for 1lb - 500 gr of pasta
- Make sure the pot is large enough so the water doesn't overflow once you put in the pasta
- If you put the lid on the pan, the water will get to the boiling point faster
- Do not add oil to the water
- The water should be boiling hot before you put the pasta in
- Use a good pasta brand. My favorites are (in this order): Rummo, Garofalo, De Cecco. Barilla is my least favorite one but better than any other unknown brands
- When you add the pasta, the water may stop boiling as the pasta lowers the water temperature. Put the lid on the pan until the water starts boiling again
- Once the water boils remove the lid otherwise the foam will overflow from the pan
- Stir the pasta from time to time
- Keep the heat high so the water boils all the time
- Always cook the pasta 1 minute less than what is written on the pasta box
- Taste the pasta and drain immediately when "Al Dente" meaning still firm and chunky
- Never leave the pasta floating in the water once it is cooked!!!!!
- As soon as the pasta is drained, season immediately and stir.
- If for whatever reason the seasoning is not ready, season the pasta with some extra virgin olive oil and stir
- Once the pasta is ready and seasoned, it has to be served and eaten immediately
- No parmesan in pasta with seafood, you can sprinkle toasted grated breadcrumbs or almonds
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Recipes you might also like
If you are looking for more pasta with vegetable recipes, you can check the category: Pasta
Also check the recipes below:
- Red Pesto Pasta Sauce
- The Classic Pesto Recipe Pasta Trofie
- Pasta Caprese Salad
- Black Truffle Recipe Pasta
- Pasta a Frittata: Italian Fried Pasta
If you are making this Pasta and Ricotta Zucchini Recipe, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.
📋Zucchini Recipe Pasta And Ricotta
Ingredients (Commissions Earned)
- 4 zucchini
- 9 oz ricotta
- 1 clove peeled garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb pasta I am using the wheels
- 1 tablespoon salt for the pasta
- 1 teaspoon salt for the zucchini
- freshly grated Parmesan
- black pepper
Equipment (Commissions Earned)
Instructions
- Cut the zucchini into round slices4 zucchini
- Cut the garlic and stir-fry with butter and olive oil1 clove peeled garlic cloves, 2 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Add the zucchini and season with salt1 teaspoon salt
- Stir-fry until golden
- In the meantime boil the pasta1 lb pasta, 1 tablespoon salt
- Mix the zucchini with the ricotta adding 2 tablespoon of water from the pasta boiling to soften the ricotta
- When the pasta is ready, drain it and add it to the zucchini. Season with some parmesan and serve immediatelyfreshly grated Parmesan, black pepper
Video
Notes
- Buy a good quality ricotta
- Use a pasta shape that will trap the ricotta in between
- Keep the pasta al dente
- Combine with some stir-fried vegetables
- Stir fry with butter as it better combines with the ricotta
- For added flavour stir fry some bacon with the vegetables
- Add 2 tablespoon of pasta cooking water to make the ricotta creamier
- Add plenty of parmesan and black pepper
- Serve immediately
Catherine Brown
I've never used ricotta cheese in pasta like this before... this looks super tasty! I can't wait for baby zucchini to be available again too! Looking forward to warner weather. 🙂
Laura
Oh, yes. Me too. It has been raining non stop here
Michelle
This pasta dish looks amazing. I love the ricotta and young zucchini combination. I'll keep an eye out for these unique Trombetta zucchini.
Laura
Thank you, Michelle, I hope you find them. They are exceptional
melve
It looks like super yummy and delicious. I hope to see zucchini in our market and try this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Laura
Yes, I look forward to the summer zucchini