Zucchini Shrimp Pasta Salad

A simple and good Zucchini and Shrimp Pasta Salad that's suited to summer. The creamy zucchini sauce is made with almonds, garlic, basil and lemon and is served with juicy and good shrimp.

In Italy, 'pasta fredda' (cold pasta or pasta salad) is eaten a lot during the summer months. The variations are endless and it's a great way to use up summer veggies.

This recipe is simple yet full of flavour. The creamy zucchini sauce doesn't actually have any cream in it. It's fresh and vibrant, made with almonds, garlic, basil and lemon – so good!

The beauty of this recipe is that it's equally good served hot or cold and can be easily adapted with different vegetables. Serve it for a light lunch or at barbecues or picnics.

Looking for more ways to use up summer zucchini? Our Zucchini Patties with Smoked Scamorza Cheese and Creamy Zucchini and Stracchino Pasta our some of our favourites!

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Pasta – a short pasta is best for this (fusilli, rigatoni, penne etc) we have tried this with orzo pasta (risoni) and it didn't work great. We felt like it got lost in the sauce.
• Shrimp – choose good quality shrimp (you want them juicy and sweet) and de-vein and clean them before frying. Note: sometimes smaller shrimp don't need deveined, you'll be able to see if they need it or not.
• Zucchini (courgettes) – use large zucchini so you have a good amount of sauce. make sure they are firm and ripe and not bruised.

Visual walk-through of the recipe

1. Cook the pasta – cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, drizzle with a little olive oil and let it cool. See our tips for why we don't rinse pasta in cold water (photos 1 and 2).

1. Cook the zucchini – chop the zucchini into small cubes and saute until soft. Stir it often so it doesn't brown too much (photos 3-5).
2. Make the sauce – add the cooked zucchini to a bowl with the rest of the sauce ingredients and blitz to a smooth sauce (photos 6 and 7).

1. Cook the shrimp – saute the shrimp in a hot pan until pink and cooked through. Let them cool then mix the pasta, sauce and shrimp in a large bowl then serve (photos 8-10).

Recipe tips and FAQs

• Serve it hot or cold – it's up to you if you want to serve this hot or cold. We personally love it served at room temperature.
• To stop your pasta from sticking – the trick to stop your pasta from sticking once you've drained it is to add a small drizzle of olive oil and mix it through. Don't add too much you need a small amount.
• Use a short pasta shape – any short pasta shape will do don't use something like orzo (risoni) or long shapes like spaghetti.
• Don't rinse your pasta – when making pasta salads we don't rinse the pasta in cold water after cooking. 1) It doesn't taste as good as you're rinsing away the flavour and 2) it makes your pasta soaking wet. When you drain hot pasta the water evaporates pretty quickly but cold water won't do this.
• Variations – you can adapt this recipe with other ingredients such as adding in chopped avocado (good), sun-dried tomatoes, olives, a little mozzarella, fresh tomatoes or cucumber.

How long does it last?

The pasta salad will keep well in the fridge for up to 2 days.

More Italian summer recipes to try

Salads

Insalata di Riso (Italian Rice Salad)

Mains

Steak Tagliata with Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

Salads

Chickpea Tuna Salad

Salads

Authentic Tuscan Panzanella Salad

Ingredients

Makes 4 - 6 servings

• 10.5 oz (300g) short pasta (we used cavatappi)
• 11.5 oz (330g) raw shrimp (prawns)
• 2 large zucchini ((courgettes))
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small handful fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon (20g) 20g blanched almonds
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Devein and rinse the shrimp under cold water, pat dry and set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season it well with salt. Cook the pasta until al dente, drain it then drizzle a small amount of olive oil over it (about 1 teaspoon). Stir to coat lightly in olive oil then let it cool completely.

3. Meanwhile, trim the ends off of the zucchini and chop them into small cubes. Add 1 tablespoon of olive to a pan on a medium heat and saute the zucchini until soft. Stir it often so it doesn't brown too much (this should take around 10 minutes).

4. Once softened, transfer the zucchini to a bowl and add the almonds, basil, garlic, lemon zest and juice and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Blitz with an immersion blender until super smooth. Taste for seasoning and add any salt if needed, set it aside to cool.

5. Wipe the pan clean and add another drizzle of olive oil. Saute the shrimp on a high heat until pink and cooked through then set aside to cool.

6. Add the cooled pasta to a large mixing bowl and add the sauce and shrimp. Stir until everything is combined in the sauce and serve.

Kitchen notes

1. Although we like to serve this at room temperature as a pasta salad you can also serve it hot.
2. Put in the fridge if not serving straight away. It'll keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days.