Zucchini Alfredo Sauce

A fresh and summery alfredo sauce with parmesan, pureed zucchini, lemon and basil!

Alfredo sauce is a pretty popular sauce for pasta and other dishes. Traditionally it’s made with butter and parmesan cheese and a lot of versions contain cream and garlic. I am a huge fan of the original versions and I sometimes like to change it up with the addition of a pureed vegetable, like zucchini, cauliflower or pumpkin. This zucchini alfredo sauce starts out by cooking the zucchini and and onion in butter until tender before adding garlic, pureeing with cream and mixing in the parmesan cheese. I like to brighten the sauce up with a splash of lemon juice and plenty of fresh basil, which gives this sauce the essence of summer! You can easily cook some pasta in the time that it takes to make the zucchini alfredo sauce to make a complete meal!

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Servings: 4(4 cups)

A fresh and summery alfredo sauce with parmesan, pureed zucchini, lemon and basil!

ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 medium zucchini, diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup heavy cream (or milk or broth)
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan cheese), grated
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

directions

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat, add the zucchini and onion and cook until tender, about 5-8 minutes.
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
Transfer to a food processor or a blender, add the cream and puree before returning to the pan.
Melt the cheese into the sauce.
Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove from heat and mix in the basil.

Option: Add corn from the cob, after pureeing, for even more summery freshness!
Option: Use another cheese, such as pecorino romano, asiago, etc.
Tip: Cook some pasta while making the sauce!