Pasta Primavera
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This pasta primavera is a go-to when summer veggies are at their peak—it’s easy to prep ahead and just as delicious served warm or at room temperature.
Photo by Johnny Miller (Clarkson Potter, 2021)
The word primavera means springtime in Italian, but pasta primavera has come to mean pasta tossed with a chorus of vegetables from any season. This version—with roasted cherry tomatoes, corn, and zucchini—is an ode to summer.
It’s a fresh spin on the classic dish made famous by Le Cirque in the 1970s, once described by a New York Times food columnist as “by far, the most talked-about dish in Manhattan.”
Pasta primavera is rich and flavorful enough to serve as a main course, but it also makes a fantastic side to grilled chicken or Italian sausage. Bonus: it’s good at room temperature and doubles as a delicious pasta salad.
“This was a wonderful dish! So flavorful and satisfying but not heavy. Perfect pasta dish for summer!”
What You’ll Need To Make Pasta Primavera
- Cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and fresh corn: These peak-summer veggies add sweetness, texture, and tons of flavor.
- Shallots and garlic: The aromatic base that gives the dish its savory backbone.
- Extra-virgin olive oil and butter: Olive oil is used for roasting and a final drizzle, while a little butter adds richness and gives the sauce a silky finish.
- Fusilli (or a similar pasta): Twisted shapes like fusilli, penne, farfalle, gemelli, or campanelle all do a great job of catching the sauce and clinging to the veggies.
- Herbes de Provence and crushed red pepper flakes: A fragrant blend of dried herbs with a touch of heat to round out the flavor.
- Pecorino Romano cheese: Sharp and salty—perfect for tying everything together. Parmigiano-Reggiano works too.
- Fresh basil and pine nuts: Just before serving, a sprinkle of basil and toasted pine nuts adds brightness, crunch, and a final layer of flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Toss the longer-roasting veggies. On a foil-lined baking sheet, combine the cherry tomatoes, shallots, garlic, olive oil, salt, and a pinch of sugar. Toss everything together with your hands or a rubber spatula until the vegetables are well coated.
Step 2: Roast. Arrange the vegetables in a single layer and roast at 450°F for about 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes are burst and starting to brown.
Step 3: Add the quick-cooking veggies. Remove the pan from the oven and add the zucchini and corn. Toss with a rubber spatula and spread into an even layer. Roast for 5 minutes more, until the zucchini and corn are tender-crisp.
Step 4: Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water until al dente and drain.
Step 5: Put it all together. Add the pasta back to the pan, along with the roasted vegetables and all their juices. Add the butter, herbes de Provence, red pepper flakes, pecorino Romano, basil, and pine nuts.
Step 6: Toss and serve. Give everything a good toss, then taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Spoon into bowls, drizzle with a little olive oil if you’d like, and top with more grated cheese. Enjoy!
Video Tutorial
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Pasta Primavera
This pasta primavera gets a summery spin with roasted tomatoes, sweet corn, and zucchini—it’s fresh, flavorful, and so easy to make.
Ingredients
- 1¼ lbs (2 pints) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 4 shallots, thinly sliced
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- 1 medium zucchini, cut into ¼-inch chunks
- 1½ cups fresh corn kernels, from 2 ears corn
- 12 oz fusilli (or similar shape) pasta
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (see note)
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ cup grated pecorino romano cheese, plus more for serving
- ½ cup tightly packed basil leaves, roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted (see note)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil.
- Combine the tomatoes, shallots, garlic, olive oil, salt, and sugar on the prepared baking sheet. Toss with your hands or a rubber spatula until the vegetables are evenly coated. Arrange the vegetables in a single layer and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes are just starting to brown. Remove the pan from the oven and add the zucchini and corn. Toss with a rubber spatula (the tomatoes will collapse; that's okay) and spread into an even layer. Roast for 5 minutes more, until the zucchini and corn are tender-crisp.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain, then add the pasta back to the pan. Add the roasted vegetables and all their juices to the pasta, along with the butter, herbes de Provence, red pepper flakes, pecorino Romano, basil, and pine nuts. Toss well, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Spoon into pasta bowls and drizzle with olive oil, if desired. Serve with more grated cheese.
- Note: Herbes de Provence can be found in the spice section of your supermarket. Most markets carry it but if you can't find it, dried thyme may be substituted.
- Note: To toast the pine nuts, put them in a dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until golden in spots, about 3 minutes.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 540
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 66 g
- Sugar: 11 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 16 g
- Sodium: 695 mg
- Cholesterol: 27 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I’m thinking of making this recipe ahead of time, refridgerating and taking to a barbecue to serve cold/room temp. Do you think that would work? It sounds incredible
Hi Eileen, it’s good hot, cold, or at room temp, so I think it’s a good plan. Hope everyone enjoys!
I’m reading this recipe and I’m so used to an acid in the dressing – is this missing vinegar or citrus?
You are my go to site whenever I want to make something. The Caprese Pesto Pasta salad, Caesar salad, and Watermelon, Feta, Arugula Salad are home run hits!
Hi Rita, so glad you liked the recipes! I think this tastes nicely balanced without any acid, but feel free to add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end if you taste the dish and think it’s necessary. 😊
We are becoming more meatless all the time, so looking for a recipe I found this. A perfectly satisfying meal for anyone. Easy, and so tasty. It had color and flavor and texture. Will definitely make again. And I don’t even like zucchini! Cooked like this it still had crunch.
Thank you Jenn, I love your logical, professionally trained, but oh so approachable recipes.
Favorites include, Caesar dressing, (given to several people who asked), Thai curry, shrimp tacos, French apple cake , pickles etc etc.
It’s time I wrote a review!
I just made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to make it again for guests!
Hi Jenn!
I have made this dish and it is indeed delicious! A couple of questions for outdoor potluck preparation tho:
Can it be made a day ahead and refrigerated ? If so, should any of the cooked ingredients be separated before next day serving so nothing gets soggy? Also, is there any chance of the pasta getting stuck together either in the fridge or when it sits outside? And lastly, since it has some butter in it, can it spoil if outside for awhile?
Thanks so much!
Elise
Hi Elise, So glad you like it. Yes, it can be made ahead and stored in the fridge, and you really don’t need to keep the components separate. And because it’s not very heavy in dairy (butter, etc.), it should be fine sitting outside for a while.
I plan to serve this at room temperature. Is that OK?
Yup!
Made this twice this summer. It me a while to get pasta the name primavera is Spring in Italian I believe. It was fun for me because I had some great red cherry tomatoes, small zucchini, and basil in my garden, and access to great fresh corn. I just LOVE that it’s done on a sheet pan. And then when it’s all pulled together with the pasta, the veggies look like jewels, go great with a local NorCal rose, and GREAT for the 90+ days we were having. And it was delicious to boot.
Jenn, this was a winner – tasty, easy, and great in the summer. Thank you!
Jenn, Congrats on this recipe being included in the Daily Skimm today! Very cool!
Thanks, Doreen! 😊
Can the pine nuts be substituted with another type of nut? Walnuts? If so, what kind of nut would work best?
Hi Diane, you can use whatever nut you like here. Walnuts would be fine – some other good options would be pistachios or slivered almonds. Hope you enjoy!
Another delicious pasta dish! I didn’t have zucchini so used broccoli florets which worked out well.