Chicken zucchini pasta is the ultimate weeknight hack for busy schedules-quick to cook, affordable, and surprisingly comforting. With caramelized zucchini transforming into a rich, silky sauce, this recipe turns simple ingredients into an easy meal prep or satisfying pasta dinner.
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Why you'll love this recipe
Pasta meal prep. By following my pasta meal prepping tips, this dish keeps well for the week, just like my sausage tomato pasta or creamy sundried tomato chicken pasta.
Affordable. Zucchini caramelizes down into a silky sauce, making this recipe budget-friendly when zucchini is in season-similar to my zucchini canned tuna pasta.
Chicken breast meal prep. A lean protein that's easy to batch cook for multiple meals, just like my gochujang chicken pasta or Cajun chicken pasta.
Ingredients
Pasta. You can choose any pasta you want. Whatever you choose, you'll only want to cook it for half the time on the packet as it continues to cook when mixed in with the rest of the ingredients (and when you reheat for meal prep)
Chicken breast. It's an affordable cut of chicken and lean so it's great for meal prepping. You can swap for chicken thigh if this is your preference (or you can use leftover roast chicken).
Lemon and garlic. There's minimal ingredients in this recipe so I really recommend using the fresh produce.
Parmesan. Please don't use the shelf stable stuff you find in the pasta aisle or the pre-grated. Use fresh parmesan that you grate yourself.
Please check the recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantity.
How to make chicken zucchini pasta
Step 1: Heat olive oil in a skillet, season chicken breast, and cook until golden. Remove and set aside.
Step 2: In the same skillet, add more oil if needed and cook zucchini until it breaks down into a paste-like sauce (see the image - you want to take it past crispy and back to soft until it forms a paste). Add garlic and oregano.
Step 3: Boil pasta in salted water until half done, then drain (reserve some pasta water).
Step 4: Add pasta to the skillet with zucchini, tossing so it absorbs the sauce. Stir chicken back in.
Step 5: Add lemon juice and rind, Parmesan, parsley, and pine nuts. Toss well and serve.
Top Tip
Cook pasta halfway. It will finish cooking in the skillet, soaking up all the zucchini flavor.
Be patient with zucchini. Let it cook down fully-it should look caramelized and saucy, not watery.
Storing and reheating chicken pasta
Let the dish cool down and then divide into containers and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
As the zucchini sauce is light, it reheats better than cream-based pastas which often split or dry out.
Before reheating, add a small splash of water or olive oil to the dish then begin to reheat (don't stir yet). After a minute of reheating, the pasta should have loosened up enough so you can mix without breaking. It should reheat after about 3 minutes in the microwave.
My top tip. Add an extra sprinkle of parmesan, lemon juice and fresh herbs after reheating for the "freshly cooked" touch.
Freezing pasta
This pasta freezes well if undercooked. Store in freezer-safe containers for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, then reheat gently on the stove or microwave. Add lemon and parsley fresh after reheating to restore brightness.
If you want more meal prep information, check out my Meal Prep for Beginners post and my Meal Prep Basics E-Book.
FAQs
The key is patience. Zucchini naturally releases a lot of water, so it needs to be cooked down until the liquid evaporates and the flesh caramelizes into a jammy, golden paste. Use a large skillet to give the zucchini room to sear instead of steam, and wait until it turns deep golden brown before adding pasta or liquid.
Bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, or spinach can be tossed in at the end for extra nutrition and color without complicating the recipe.
Does this work with leftover chicken?
Absolutely. Shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken can be added at the end of cooking, saving you a step.
Other chicken breast meal preps
Or, you can have a browse through my chicken breast meal preps for more delicious eats.
Recipe
Chicken Zucchini Pasta
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 400 g (14 oz) pasta, of choice
- 15 g (1 tablespoon) olive oil
- 500 g (1 lb) chicken breast
- 450 g (1 lb) zucchini , approx. 3
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed, fresh recommended
- 5 g (1 tablespoon) oregano, dried
- ½ lemon, juice and rind, fresh recommended
- 50 g (½ cups) Parmesan, freshly grated, see note 1
- ½ cup fresh parsley, optional, roughly chopped
- salt and pepper , to taste
Instructions
Prepare ingredients
- Thinly slice 450 g (1 lb) zucchini Mince: 4 garlic cloves
- Cut 500 g (1 lb) chicken breast into 1inch cubes and toss with 5 g (1 tablespoon) oregano and salt and pepper .
- Heat a large pot with salted water (at least 4L)
Cook
- Heat 15 g (1 tablespoon) olive oil in a skillet and cook 500 g (1 lb) chicken breast until golden (approx. 5 minutes). Remove and set aside.
- In the same skillet, add more oil if needed and cook 450 g (1 lb) zucchini until it breaks down into a paste-like sauce. Add garlic toward the endIt'll go from soft to crisp to soft and paste-like. This should take about 30 minutes (but dependent on stove). Stir occasionally.
- Add pasta to salted water and cook for half the time on the packet. Reserve ½ cup pasta water before draining.
- Add 400 g (14 oz) pasta and reserved pasta water to the skillet with zucchini, tossing so it absorbs the sauce. Stir chicken back in.
- Add ½ lemon (juice and rind), 50 g (½ cups) Parmesan and ½ cup fresh parsleyToss well and serve.
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