Creamy Parmesan Beef Cavatappi
with Zucchini & Lemon
- Wheat
- Milk
Creamy, zesty lemon-Parmesan sauce makes for a luxurious pasta night! You’ll whip up this sumptuous sauce and stir in ground beef sautéed with garlic and a blend of Italian herbs. Toss in tender zucchini and al dente curly cavatappi pasta, then load up your bowls and sprinkle with extra Parmesan for a meal that hits all the right notes.
Ingredients
1 unit
Zucchini
6 ounce
Cavatappi Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
2 tablespoon
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
½ unit
Lemon
⅔ tablespoon
Italian Seasoning
3 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 ounce
Cheese Roux Concentrate
(Contains: Milk)
10 ounce
Ground Beef
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Trim and halve zucchini lengthwise; cut into 1⁄2-inch-thick half-moons. Zest and quarter lemon.
• Once water is boiling, add cavatappi to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. • Reserve 2 cups pasta cooking water (4 cups for 4 servings), then drain.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini; season with 1 tsp Italian Seasoning (2 tsp for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. (You’ll use more Italian Seasoning in the next step.) Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 5-7 minutes (7-10 minutes for 4). • Turn off heat; transfer to a plate. Wipe out pan.
• Return same pan to medium-high heat. Add beef*; season with garlic powder, 1 tsp Italian Seasoning (2 tsp for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. (Be sure to measure the Italian Seasoning—we sent more!). • Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until cooked through, 4-6 minutes.
• Add cheese roux concentrate to pan with beef. Stir to combine. • Stir in 1 1⁄2 cups reserved pasta cooking water (2 cups for 4 servings) and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, 2-4 minutes. TIP: If pasta isn’t done cooking yet, ladle pasta water directly from pot. • Reduce heat to medium low; whisk in cream cheese until melted and combined. Season lightly with pepper.
• Add drained cavatappi, zucchini, half the Parmesan, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a pinch of lemon zest to pan with sauce. • Turn off heat; continue stirring until pasta is coated in a creamy sauce, 1 minute. TIP: If needed, stir in more reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time. • Taste and season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice if desired.
• Divide pasta between shallow bowls and top with remaining Parmesan. Serve with any remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Ground Beef is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 160°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Some found it bland or lacking flavor; others enjoyed the lemon and cheese combination.
- Ease of prep: Simple to make and quick to prepare, with generous portions that satisfied many.
- Suggestions: Consider draining excess beef fat, adding more herbs or garlic, and using less pasta water for a thicker sauce.
- Portions: Many found it filling, with some mentioning it made more than two servings.
- Texture: Some wanted a creamier sauce; try adding more cream cheese or reducing water for better consistency.
Reviews from our home cooks
The taste was amazing, super easy to cook, 1st time eating zucchini & like it; the only issue for me was that the meat released a lot of fat and had to strain it to enjoy the plate. Overall was really good & fun to cook.
This is good as comfort food but does not feel like a healthy option. Also, I don't think the lemon flavor was right for this - if I made this again, I wouldn't add the lemon.
Yum.. the hint of lemon and cheese made this delicious dish amazing. Would definitely add to menu again.
The dish is very greasy because of the rendered beef fat in step 4. A substantial amount of this should be drained before step 5.
Loved this meal! I didn't use the lemon, and I served the zucchini on the side. Can't wait to have this meal again.
One of our first meals and very pleased with the portion size and flavors.
Taste was good overall but could have used some stronger lemon flavor and maybe something earthier like sage or thyme.
That was waaay too much water for the sauce (1 1/2c???)... I side-eyed and almost didn't, but I trusted the recipe which was a mistake. Sure it made a lot of sauce but it was all runny & didn't stick to the pasta like a nice creamy sauce should. The flavor was all right but the sauce was very disappointing. :-/
This was delicious but it was hard to get everything in the first with this big clunky pasta...maybe a different pasta would have been better. I liked the noodle but this isn't the dish for it, IMO
Very good but would be better with more cream sauce and cream cheese. It was lacking enough of the sauce.
