Creamy Courgette & Bacon Pasta
This Creamy Shredded Courgette Pasta is destined to be one of your new favourite pasta dishes!
I really love courgette (aka zucchini), but don’t cook with it enough. It’s incredibly versatile and great in so many dishes! One of my favourite things to do with it is incorporate it into a gorgeous, creamy pasta dish. If that sounds like a bit of you then follow me…
Grated Courgette and Bacon Pasta
Instead of slicing the courgette, I love grating it. You might imagine it goes a little mushy, but it actually holds its own really nicely and adds a lovely texture to the pasta. No peeling or other prep is required, just grab a box grater and shred to your heart’s content!
Courgette and Bacon
This really is a match made in heaven. I love using streaky bacon and slowly rendering down the fat in a pan. I do this for a couple of reasons; mainly so the bacon goes nice and crispy, but also so you can use the excess fat to incorporate in the sauce to add heaps of flavour.
Process shots: grate courgette (photos 1&2), fry bacon (photos 3&4).
Creamy Courgette Pasta
The sauce is cream-based and has gorgeous bursts of garlic and herbs. The key? Boursin cheese, of course! I LOVE the stuff. I find it so handy for these kinds of recipes. It melts perfectly into the sauce and not only helps form a thick, creamy sauce, but it also adds loads of flavour (without the need for a chopping board!).
Lemon Courgette Pasta
I originally tested this as quite a lemon-heavy dish but ended up holding back a bit. Lemon and courgette go together PERFECTLY, but I like the lemon to be more subtle in this recipe, just to let the other flavours shine through. The sauce definitely needs the lemon though in order to cut through the richness, so don’t leave it out.
Sauce Consistency
Courgette is packed with water so it will release a lot of it when added to the pan, especially after you stir in the salt. In order to avoid a watery sauce you’ll want to slightly undercook the pasta and finish it off in the pan. That way you can use the excess water to cook the pasta and avoid wasting any flavour. Also, the excess starch from the pasta will help thicken the sauce.
Process shots: add courgette, lemon zest, salt and pepper to pan (photo 1), fry (photo 2), add chicken stock, cream, Boursin, parmesan and lemon juice (photo 3), simmer (photo 4), add pasta (photo 5), stir in bacon (photo 6).
Courgette Pasta FAQ
What kind of pasta should I use?
I love Bucatini because it’s so thick and holds the sauce really nicely, especially with the thin shreds of courgette. You can use regular spaghetti or any other long-cut pasta though!
Do I have to add bacon?
It does add a lot of flavour, so do add it if you can. If not I recommend subbing in more parmesan to make up for the lack of salty flavour lost.
What if I over-thicken the sauce?
Just toss in some of the leftover water you cooked the pasta in. This will thin out the sauce without diluting the flavour.
Serving Creamy Courgette Pasta
Finish with extra parmesan and lemon juice if you fancy! This is a pretty hearty dish, so you won’t need any other sides.
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this creamy courgette pasta shall we?!
How to make Creamy Courgette Pasta (Full Recipe & Video)
Creamy Courgette & Bacon Pasta
Equipment
- Box Grater & Large Bowl (for courgette)
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Deep Pan & Wooden Spoon
- Large Pot, Colander & Tongs
Ingredients
- 175g / 6oz Streaky Bacon, diced (see notes)
- 350g / 12oz Bucatini (see notes)
- 750g / 1.6lb Courgettes/Zucchinis, grated on a box grater
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1/2 tsp EACH: Salt, Black Pepper (plus more as needed)
- 1 Lemon (1/2 tsp zest + 2 tsp juice)
- 120ml / 1/2 cup Double/Heavy Cream
- 120ml / 1/2 cup Chicken Stock
- 1x 150g/5.3oz block of Boursin Garlic & Herbs Cheese
- 40g / 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve if desired
Instructions
- Add the bacon to a large deep pan over medium heat and gently fry until crisp with the fat rendered down.
- As the bacon begins to finish, add the pasta to salted boiling water and cook for a couple of minutes less than you usually would. It’s essential the pasta is fairly al dente as it will continue cooking in the sauce. Drain the pasta, saving around a cup of the leftover pasta water.
- Once the bacon is crisp, remove it and place to one side, leaving the excess fat behind. Melt the butter then add the grated courgette. Increase the heat slightly to medium-high then stir to coat the courgette in the butter/bacon fat. Add 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and lemon zest and fry for a few minutes until it wilts and begins leaking out water (should reduce by around half).
- Stir in the stock, cream, Boursin, parmesan and 2 tsp lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer until the liquid begins to thicken (3-5 mins).
- Add the drained pasta and toss to coat in the sauce. It’ll likely still be pretty watery at this point, but the sauce will gradually begin to reduce and thicken. Just continue gently simmering and tossing until the sauce turns into a creamy, glossy consistency and the pasta finishes cooking through. It will thicken so have faith! If you over thicken or need more liquid to finish cooking the pasta through just toss in a splash more pasta water as needed.
- Stir through the bacon then check for seasoning and adjust if needed with salt and pepper. You can also add in more lemon juice if you feel it needs it.
- Serve with extra parmesan if desired then tuck in and enjoy!
Video
Notes
b) Bacon – Don’t rush the frying, you want to go fairly low and slow to render out as much fat as possible. This will not only leave the bacon nice and crispy, but you’ll also get all that liquid gold to incorporate into the sauce! You can use smoked or unsmoked bacon.
c) Consistency – It’ll seem alarmingly watery at first, but it does thicken, especially after you add the pasta. The excess starchy pasta water helps bind the fats in the sauce and helps create a creamy, glossy sauce.
d) Lemon – I actually like the lemon to be fairly subtle. It’s definitely needed to brighten up the dish and cut through the richness, but start off with a little then you can adjust later on.
e) Calories – Whole recipe divided by 4 with no extra parmesan.
Nutrition
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