Creamy Courgette Bacon Pasta

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).

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?!