Home » Recipes » Summer “No Recipe” Pasta Delight
by Michelle on Jul 14, 2020 22 comments »
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Doesn’t my Summer “No Recipe” Pasta Delight dish just siiiiing summer?!? 🙂 It’s a little creamy, saucy, veggie-y, summery, all that! This dish was inspired by a fellow “instagramer”, Zeynep. She had shared a dish not too long ago that involved zucchini and eggplant with a homemade garlic tomato sauce and yogurt. Zeynep was originally inspired by a Turkish dish called “mixed fried vegetables”. Well, it was just so beautiful that I felt inspired to make this.
For this dish I wanted to use some of my favorite summer veggies, that can be either roasted or grilled. I made a simple marinara sauce with some of the tomatoes that I had grown and I knew that I wanted to pair that with a lighter pasta like orzo. You can certainly use a little bit of your favorite marinara sauce, if you don’t feel like making a marinara sauce from scratch. Now I don’t typically do this, but for this dish I’m calling it a “no recipe” dish because it’s fairly simple to make. So I’ll just share the basic ingredients that I used along with the process below.
If you like my Summer “No Recipe” Pasta Delight dish, you may also want to try Lemon and Spinach Orzo Soup.
Get the Recipe:Summer "No Recipe" Pasta Delight
Yield: 2 people
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 15 minutes mins
Total: 30 minutes mins
Doesn't my Summer "No Recipe" Pasta Delight dish just siiiiing summer?!? 🙂 It's a little creamy, saucy, veggie-y, summery, all that!
5 from 9 reviews
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Ingredients
- 1 cup orzo pasta, cooked according to the instructions on package and drained
- 1 to 2 medium zucchini, sliced
- 1 to 2 medium yellow squash, sliced
- 1 cup corn, I use one ear of corn that has been boiled or grilled
- 5.3 ounces plain non-fat Greek yogurt, or plain vegan yogurt – unsweetened
- 2 cups marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought
- salt and pepper , to taste
optional toppings
- a few sprigs fresh dill, roughly chopped
Instructions
Plate a bed of cooked orzo pasta. Top that with some roasted, pan-seared, or grilled zucchini and yellow squash. If roasting, feel free to season that with a little drizzle olive oil, a sprinkle of dried herbs, salt, pepper, red chili flakes, and some paprika. 450 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes (less, if you want a little bite).
Throw on some cooked corn cut right off the cob that you either boiled or grilled. Of course, you can use canned or frozen corn, if you prefer.
For this step you can use either use homemade or store-bought marinara sauce. I typically grow cherry tomatoes in the summer. So, I used those here. For my marinara sauce, I simmered (for about 30 minutes) some of my home grown cherry tomatoes, a little fresh oregano and basil, a clove of garlic (minced), and a couple tablespoons of finely chopped up onion together until they broke down and became “saucy”. Once your sauce is warmed, ladle some onto your dish.
Lastly, add a dollop of Greek yogurt onto your dish and sprinkle on some fresh dill, if using.
Notes
Please note that some of the nutritional information will differ depending on if you're making a homemade sauce or using a store-bought sauce.
Calories: 489kcal, Carbohydrates: 94g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 4mg, Sodium: 542mg, Potassium: 1681mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 21g, Vitamin A: 1658IU, Vitamin C: 56mg, Calcium: 166mg, Iron: 4mg
Bowls Entree Grill Options Pasta Recipes Summer Vegan Option Vegetarian
originally published on Jul 14, 2020 (last updated Jun 26, 2023)
22 comments Leave a comment »
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22 comments on “Summer “No Recipe” Pasta Delight”
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Amanda — Reply
Such an amazing recipe me and family loved it Thank you for sharing!!! Can’t wait to make the next recipe
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Michelle — Reply
That’s so awesome! I appreciate your support and feedback. Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
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Alyssa — Reply
This turned out fabulous! A great way to use up some leftover veggies and make a quick and delicious meal! Thank you:)
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Michelle — Reply
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it Alyssa!! 🙂
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Terri — Reply
Making this TONIGHT! So excited to see how it tastes – I predict it will become one of our summer favorites! (Also thrilled to have been introduced to your site through Food52!)
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Michelle — Reply
Oh yay! Truly hope you enjoy it Terri! 🙂
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Angel — Reply
I made this last night! My husband was skeptical because you know… vegetables and meatless. He loved it and agreed that we’ll have it again! So easy and delicious, thank you!
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Michelle — Reply
That’s so awesome Angel! Glad you both enjoyed it!!!! Thank you!
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Neha — Reply
I love this recipe! Amazing and easy! Have made this so many time 😋😋
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Neha! I’m so happy that you enjoyed it!! Thank you again for giving the recipe a try and making it your own! 🙂
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Lauren — Reply
My husband and I love this recipe! We saw it posted to Michelle’s Instagram last summer and had some squash and tomatoes on hand so we thought we would give it a go. We were let down by similar pasta dishes from other recipe sites, but let me tell you, the dill in this dish is a total game changer! It transforms the ingredients into something totally new and unexpected. This pasta has become a go-to summer staple in our house!
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Michelle — Reply
Thank you so much for your kind words Laura! I’m so happy that you and your husband (bonus points 🙂 ) enjoyed this dish! I love the dill on it as well! Haha!
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Pat — Reply
This recipe looks amazing and I plan to try it. Anything with corn, especially leftover grilled corn, is a go for me. My question is about the marinara sauce. I have tons of cherry tomatoes to use up so this would be perfect. Do you cut the tops off and after removing the stem before cooking? Thanks, Michelle.
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Pat! Aww…thank you. With my cherry tomatoes or any cherry tomatoes for that matter, I don’t typically worry about cutting the tops off. Unless your tomatoes are a bit bigger in size. I definitely remove any stems though. It just makes it easier. I rinse the toms and cut them all in half or quarters, depending on size. And if they are really “seedy”, then you can leave those excess seeds on your cutting board and rinse those away. I try to keep this as simple are free flowing as possible. 🙂
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Pat — Reply
Thanks for the quick reply. I’ve always roasted them in the oven with olive oil and basil. But that takes hours. This is definitely a better way.
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Michelle — Reply
Well wonderful! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
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Clare — Reply
This dish has become an absolute staple in my annual summer recipe collection! I’ve made it a few times now and it just never disappoints. The flavor combos are so unique (based on what I typically cook) so I always really look forward to whipping this up. Sometimes I like to top it with a sprinkle of feta or Parmesan 🙂
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Clare! Awww…that makes me so happy!! So glad that you enjoy it and that you’ve made it your own! 🙂
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Tracy Donovan — Reply
Hi, just wanted to say, I made this recipe tonight and it was fabulous. Such great flavor combinations. I added roasted carrots, which were a perfect edition. I roasted all the veggies in the oven while the tomatoes and the orzo cooked. The timing was perfect. I think my favorite part is that I had all the ingredients on hand.
Thanks, all your recipes are so good. Enjoy following you.
TCD-
Michelle — Reply
Hey Tracy! Oh wonderful! Sounds delicious! Thank you for giving the recipe a try!
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Clare — Reply
This recipe is SO good, I always come back to it every summer. It’s become a seasonal staple for me now 🙂 Thank you for this creative, simple, and fresh dish!
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Clare! So happy to hear that!! Thank you!!!
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