Creamy Zucchini Pesto Pasta 🍝🌿 I’m continuing my Weeknight Staples series. Easy, affordable, and delicious meals you can make at home. The whole point of this series is to give you dinners that taste amazing, don’t cost much, and are simple enough to cook on a busy night. This creamy zucchini pesto pasta proves you don’t need heavy cream to get a silky, flavorful sauce. Zucchini cooks down until it’s buttery, releases liquid, and basically makes its own sauce. Toss in pesto, Parmesan, and pasta and you’ve got a meal that tastes restaurant-quality but makes 8 big servings for cheap. Recipe 👇 Save this to try this week and follow for more Weeknight Staples. Ingredients • 1 lb pasta (shell pasta is the best in this recipe) • 2-3 medium zucchini, sliced • 3 tbsp olive oil • 2 tbsp butter • 4 garlic cloves, minced • 2 tsp dried oregano • Pinch red pepper flakes • 6-8 oz jar pesto (@classico_sauce is what I use) • 1 cup Parmesan cheese • Fresh basil, chopped • Lemon juice + zest (optional) Instructions 1. Cook pasta in salted water until al dente. Save 1 cup pasta water. 2. Heat oil in a skillet, cook zucchini until soft and golden. Add butter, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. 3. Toss pasta with the zucchini, pesto, Parmesan, and a splash of pasta water if you need to thin the sauce. 4. Top with fresh basil, lemon zest/juice if you like, and serve. #pasta #pestopasta #EasyRecipe #budgetmeals #DinnerIdeas - @thecontrarianmoney