Charred Zucchini over Bruschetta Spaghetti
with Balsamic Drizzle & Parmesan
- Milk
- Wheat
Zucchini fact: Because this squash is 94% water, you can slice shallow cuts into its surface, salt it to draw out extra moisture, then dry it off with paper towels to improve its texture. High heat plus a short cooking time helps it char without getting too squishy! You’ll take that perfectly charred zucchini (brushed with garlic oil) and nestle it atop creamy Parmesan spaghetti along with a bruschetta-style fresh tomato and parsley sauce. Drizzle it with a tangy-sweet balsamic glaze and sprinkle on the Parmesan and chopped parsley for a trattoria-worthy pasta dinner.
Ingredients
1 unit
Green Bell Pepper
1 unit
Red Onion
2 unit
Zucchini
4 tablespoon
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
3 clove
Garlic
1 tablespoon
Italian Seasoning
3 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Tomato
1 teaspoon
Chili Flakes
¼ ounce
Parsley
5 teaspoon
Balsamic Glaze
6 ounce
Spaghetti
(Contains: Wheat)
Not included in your delivery
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
3 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Olive Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Halve zucchini lengthwise. Arrange zucchini halves, cut sides up, on a clean work surface. Make ½-inch-deep cuts on a diagonal into zucchini halves, spacing them ½ inch apart. Repeat with knife angled in opposite direction to form X-shaped cuts. • Generously season cut sides with salt. Set aside until ready to use in Step 4.
• Meanwhile, peel and mince garlic. Dice tomato into ½-inch pieces. Halve, peel, and thinly slice onion; finely chop a few slices until you have 1 TBSP. Roughly chop parsley. Halve, core, and thinly slice bell pepper into strips.
• Once water is boiling, add spaghetti to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. Reserve ¾ cup pasta cooking water (1½ cups for 4 servings), then drain. Keep empty pot handy for Step 6. • While pasta cooks, in a small bowl, whisk together half the Italian Seasoning (you’ll use the rest later), 1 TBSP olive oil, and 1 tsp garlic (2 TBSP olive oil and 2 tsp garlic for 4). Season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Pat zucchini dry with paper towels (do not rinse!). Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, carefully add zucchini, cut sides down. Sear, undisturbed, until zucchini is browned and beginning to soften, 5-6 minutes. • Transfer zucchini to a baking sheet, cut sides up. Brush tops of zucchini with garlic oil and tent with foil. • Roast on middle rack until tender, 13-15 minutes.
• While zucchini roasts, in a medium bowl, combine tomato, chopped onion, half the parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
• Melt 3 TBSP butter (6 TBSP for 4 servings) in pot used for pasta over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and sliced onion. Cook until bell pepper is lightly browned and onion is slightly softened, 5-7 minutes. • Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining garlic and remaining Italian Seasoning. Stir in cream cheese, half the Parmesan, and ½ cup reserved pasta cooking water (¾ cup for 4) until combined and slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes. • Turn off heat; add drained spaghetti to sauce; toss to coat. (TIP: If needed, stir in more reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time until pasta is coated in a creamy sauce.) Season with salt and pepper.
• Halve roasted zucchini widthwise. • Divide pasta between plates. Top with zucchini and bruschetta; drizzle with as much balsamic glaze as you like. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan, remaining parsley, and chili flakes to taste. Serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the dish's unique blend of flavors, especially praising the balsamic glaze and zucchini preparation 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Some found it time-consuming with multiple steps, but many felt the effort was worth it for the delicious result.
- Suggestions: Consider reducing onion, especially in bruschetta; some preferred omitting bell peppers for a more cohesive flavor profile.
- Leftovers: Several mentioned it reheated well, with some finding enough for lunch the next day.
- Portions: Many were pleasantly surprised by the generous, filling portions, especially given the vegetable-heavy nature of the dish.
Reviews from our home cooks
I really liked this one, but the instructions were very elaborate and confusing! I liked the balsamic glaze idea and making it bruschetta flavored, but it was much easier to just cut the zucchini up and add it to the dish! I also had some left-over mozzarella and grape tomatoes to add to this, so that made it even better! I think topping this with mozzarella made this extra good. But otherwise I liked the other ingredients and how this came out.
This dish has an amazing mix of ingredients and flavor is fantastic. The balsamic glaze puts it over the top. The zucchini prepared this way is delicious. One of the best recipes!!
Takes longer than what I normally order to make but SO worth it!! Tastes phenomenal!! Pro tip, add a small dollop of the balsamic glaze to the bruschetta and get the additional garlic bread and eat the bruschetta on top of the bread, so good!!
The zucchini was delicious, looked fancy, and was easy to prepare. Might make a good side dish (topped with bruschetta and parmesan but without the pasta) for an Italian dinner.
The only thing I didn't care for about making this dish is how many cooking vessels and bowls I needed for setting veggies aside into and for mixing purposes; there was the zucchini itself, the noodles, and the sauces and chopped veggies, plus 3 different cooking methods. Is there a way to simplify the zucchini by not pan searing it and perhaps broiling it in the oven while it's already in there? I loved how this meal turned out honestly and I would love to eat it again...even with all the steps and dirty dishes involved in its making. This was an excellent one!
It was very tasty, but the recipe could be improved. The steps weren't in a very logical order. Why start the pasta which cooks for 10 minutes before the zucchini which cooks for 20? The pasta was done too soon before the sauce was ready, and had to wait on the zucchini after rushing the sauce
I really appreciate the "new skill" series. It feels like going back to school again and I really hope it's something successful that continues. I'm going to choose as many meals like these as I can. I was fully anticipating to be on the fence about this recipe but I loved it and I learned something new about zucchini. Thanks to your team for keeping aspiring cooks in mind.
The char. The garlic oil. The balsamic. *chef's kiss* WOW. I'd love to give this 100 stars. One of those meals I will always get when I see it on the menu. ONLY change would be nix the peppers/onions in the sauce. They weren't necessary to the overall dish.
We don't normally like big pieces of zucchini or zucchini-as-a-main-focus dishes, but this made the zucchini good enough that we liked the dish!
The zucchini were too long to all fit in large pan and didn't sear well on the ends; maybe advise earlier in the instructions that they could be cut in half width-wise to better fit in pan.
