Summer Dinner Hack: Just 4 ingredients. My sister showed me how to make these little foil-wrapped bundles and stack them like bricks everyone is completely obsessed with what is hiding inside.

These slow cooker 4-ingredient creamy zucchini pasta packets are one of those little summer dinner hacks that feel almost too easy. My sister showed me how to tuck everything into foil, stack the bundles in the slow cooker like little bricks, and walk away. A few hours later, you open the packets at the table and everyone is completely obsessed with the steamy, creamy pasta and tender zucchini hiding inside. It’s a great way to use up garden zucchini, keep the kitchen cool, and still get a cozy, comforting pasta dinner on a busy night.

Serve the hot foil packets right out of the slow cooker and let everyone open their own at the table for a fun reveal. Add a simple green salad or sliced cucumbers and tomatoes on the side to keep things fresh and summery. Warm garlic bread or buttered rolls are perfect for soaking up any extra creamy sauce from the packets. If you like, put out a bowl of grated Parmesan and some black pepper so folks can finish their own packets just the way they like them.

Servings: 4

8 oz dry short pasta (such as penne, rotini, or shells)

Spray the inside of your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray for easier cleanup. Tear off 4 large sheets of aluminum foil, each about 12–14 inches long, and lay them flat on the counter.

Divide the dry pasta evenly among the 4 pieces of foil, piling it in the center of each sheet. Top each pile of pasta with an equal amount of sliced zucchini.

Pour the heavy cream (or half-and-half) into a measuring cup with a spout. Stir in the shredded mozzarella. Give it a quick stir so the cheese is mostly coated and not clumped.

Spoon the creamy cheese mixture evenly over the pasta and zucchini in each foil packet, making sure some liquid reaches the edges so the pasta can soften. The mixture will look loose—that’s what will turn into the sauce.

Bring the long sides of each foil sheet up and together over the filling, then fold them down tightly to seal. Fold up the short ends snugly so no cream can leak out. You want each bundle to be tightly wrapped, like a little brick.

Place the foil packets seam-side up in the slow cooker, stacking them like bricks if needed so they fit in a single snug layer. It’s fine if they lean on each other as long as they stay mostly level.

Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or on LOW for 4 to 5 hours, until the pasta is tender and the zucchini is soft. Try not to open the lid during cooking so the heat and steam stay trapped inside.

When the time is up, carefully use tongs to lift one packet and gently open it away from your face to check doneness—the steam will be hot. The pasta should be soft and surrounded by a creamy, cheesy sauce. If it needs more time, reseal and continue cooking in 30-minute increments.

Once done, leave the packets in the slow cooker on WARM until ready to serve. For serving, set the hot foil packets on plates or shallow bowls and let everyone open their own, stirring the pasta and zucchini together inside the foil to coat everything in the sauce.

Optional but nice: if the sauce looks a little thick, you can stir in a splash of warm milk or cream right in the packet. If it looks a little thin, let the open packets sit for a couple of minutes; the pasta will continue to soak up some of the sauce.

For picky eaters, you can slice the zucchini very thin or even peel off some of the green skin so it blends into the pasta more. If someone in the family truly won’t touch zucchini, make one or two packets without it and add a handful of extra pasta in those bundles instead. You can also swap the mozzarella for another melty cheese like mild cheddar, Monterey Jack, or provolone for a slightly different flavor. For a bit more richness, add a small pat of butter on top of each packet before sealing, or finish the cooked packets with grated Parmesan and black pepper. If you need to lighten things up, use half-and-half instead of heavy cream and reduce the cheese slightly; just know the sauce will be a bit thinner. To add protein, you can tuck in a few thin strips of pre-cooked chicken sausage or rotisserie chicken on top of the pasta before adding the cream mixture, but keep in mind that would increase the ingredient count beyond the basic 4-ingredient idea. Food safety tips: Always use heavy-duty foil or double-wrap regular foil so the packets don’t tear and leak cream into the slow cooker, which can scorch. Handle hot packets carefully with tongs or oven mitts and open them away from your face and hands to avoid steam burns. If you add any meat, make sure it is fully cooked before going into the packets; the slow cooker time here is designed to cook pasta and soften vegetables, not to safely cook raw meat from start to finish. Refrigerate any leftovers within 2 hours, storing them in an airtight container (remove the foil first), and reheat thoroughly until steaming hot before serving.