A tasty and fairly simple way for people on a gluten-free or wheat-free diet to enjoy a noodle dish. I usually use 4 zucchini and 2 summer squash for a colorful mix.
I love zucchini "noodles", but this recipe can be simplified. Just use a potato peeler to make thin strips (discard the core/seeds), and sauté in a little olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste, and add sauce or grated Parmesan as desired.
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Mine turned out soggy and I tasted too much salt. I think next time I may add sesame seeds and sesame oil. I used just as a side dish. Was very pretty on the plate though : )
Read MoreI love zucchini "noodles", but this recipe can be simplified. Just use a potato peeler to make thin strips (discard the core/seeds), and sauté in a little olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste, and add sauce or grated Parmesan as desired.
I have always admired this when I've seen it done in restaurants so I was happy to find this recipe so I could duplicate it at home. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the "noodles" and in my case one minute was too long. I sliced the zucchini very thinly with a mandoline and, while I was happy with how that turned out, I found the one minute of cooking time in the boiling water made them limp rather than the crisp tender I was after. Next time I'll shorten that to maybe half that long, skip the step of continuing cooking in the skillet in the butter and garlic, and just simply toss the zucchini in that mixture instead. Great potential in this recipe that I'm looking forward to getting right the next time.
Yummy idea! It got me looking up all kinds of zucchini pasta ideas and recipes. I omitted the last step, just drained it well and served it with marinara sauce. It was fantastic.(Marinara sauce: sautéed onions with barest spray of oil, then added a can of whole tomatoes to the pan, a lot of basil, a bit of oregano, salt and pepper to taste and a couple tbsp of splenda, simmered till it was thick in consistency) For cheese, my bf used some parmesan and I used some low fat mozzarella. Very yummy, very low calorie!
I wasn't looking to use this as a noodle base for sauce, but rather as a simple veggie accompaniment. It was perfect. Wonderful flavor that I don't think I would WANT to mask with a sauce! I made my slices on the thick side, and the cooking method as such was spot on. They were beautifully bright green and crisp. I sauteed them in olive oil rather than margarine. P.S. This is the recipe that made my (normally zucchini averse) children clean their plates!
I used my vegetable peeler and made strands that way. I skipped the butter step at the end, and just sprayed with a zero calorie spray margarine. I topped with jarred fat free spaghetti sauce, and it was the best, most filling lunch I have had in a long time. I am not ashamed to admit that I am going to have it again tomorrow too!
I was aiming to make these as healthy as possible, so I just boiled them until they were cooked enough for me, drained, salt and peppered, sprinkled on parmesan cheese. I ate this with Marinara Sauce II. Delicious! Lucky me, I have enough left for lunch tomorrow!
This was a great alternative to eating my spagetti sauce with rice. The zucchini has great taste.
This is one of those simple dishes you can whip up in no time, and I cooked mine for the time stated in the recipe. Since my garlic was no good, I used a little sweet onion instead and seasoned the "noodles" with garlic salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings. Perfect with a dusting of Parmesan cheese. Yum!
I grated with a potato peeler and sauteed in olive oil and butter; salt and pepper and topped with my own version of healthy spaghetti sauce including red peppers, mushrooms, onion, garlic and jarred sauce. Soooo gooood! Thank you all recipes...couldn't find it anywhere else!
I bought a spiral cutter, and was going to make an alfredo sauce, but my daughter wanted something lighter and found this recipe. I'm glad she did! I didn't boil my noodles, just added them raw to the sautéed garlic and butter. When they were done, I drained off the excess liquid, added about 1 tsp. of herbs de Provence, a few tbsp of fat free half and half, and then the grated Parmesan. This was an amazingly good substitute for Fettucini alfredo and everyone loved it. Since the zucchini cooks down a lot (used 7 med ones for 4 adults with NO leftovers) this will be a great way to use up all the zucchini from the garden this summer. Thanks for the recipe!
Very good! Next time I will let the zucchini sweat for a little longer than 30 minutes. I cut my zucchini by hand (I really should get a mandoline slicer!), so it wasn't all that thin, but the recipe worked very well anyway. I served it with 'Simple Arrabbiata Sauce' over top. Thank you!
These were a nice change from how I normally cook my zucchini. I skipped cooking in boiling water and I don't think it needed it. They turned out a bit salty although I did rinse them before cooking, which I am sure wouldn't have been a problem had I not skipped the boiling. I will rinse them better next time. They turned out tender-crisp which is how I love my veggies. I made these for my lunch and served with spaghetti sauce and enjoyed every bite. Thanks for the recipe Becka!
I can't believe how delicious and easy this was. I just regret not making more. A new favorite that I can't wait to make again. I ended up letting the zucchini sit in the colander for a few hours, should prep in the morning for delicious lunch or dinner meal.
Great recipe! Instead the margarine, I put olive oil. Much healthier, great taste!
Every year I seem to have a ton of zucchini left in my garden and have no idea how to use it up. It usually just goes bad and I feed it to the cows. But this recipe changed everything. It's DELICIOUS!!!! Sorry cows, this years zucchini is for me!! Thanks for sharing :) :)
No need to salt and boil your zucchini noodles. Simply cut into thin strips and cook in a skillet with a little butter or olive oil. I grate the garlic on a zester so it is super fine and distributes better through out the dish. I use salt and pepper to taste as well as the Parmesan cheese.
I've been making zucchini 'noodles' for my family for a couple of years now because we try to keep our carb intake low. The dollar store sells cheap plastic mandoline's that work very well. I just trim the ends, push the squash through the mandoline, then stack and slice into ribbons. I also don't cook for 30 minutes, I think 10 is plenty.
Made this with Chicken Marsala (also on this site). Needs no changes at all, but will say be careful with the garlic. A little less is better than a little more in this instance.
If you have a "Y" peeler, you can make this by pressing a little harder on the zucchini and making thin ribbons. Then you don't need to boil them, just saute them in a pan for about 1 minute. Add a tablespoon of pesto and you'll think you died and went to heaven. FYI, both zucchini ribbons and zucchini noodles can be frozen easily and thawed quickly.
DELICIOUS! I actually simplified the recipe, as I had very little time to cook and had to come up with a vegetable side dish, quick, quick, quick. I peeled the zucchini, and cut them into strips. Then I heated up a bit of olive oil in a frying pan and added the zucchini, sprinkled in some garlic salt, pepper and some minced garlic from a jar. Let is cook (all the while stirring) for about 5-7 minutes until it reached my desired firmness/tenderness (I like them still a bit crunchy). That's it! simple and delicious!! Thanks for the idea!!
These were pretty tasty I did skip the salt and the boiling, and went to the fry pan and turned out just fine. I also used yellow and zucchini and a little red pepper to give it some color will use again thanks
My daughter gave me a spirooli, which cuts the zucchini and yellow squash into spirals. This was the recipe I chose to make "zoodles." I loved the flavor and decided I prefer squash cut this way rather than in rounds. So much better and slightly crispy rather than soggy and limp! The first batch I followed the recipe exactly. On the second batch I decided to see what the difference would be if I omitted steps 1 and 2. No noticeable difference, so I'll take the shortcut next time. I also served the cooked squash topped with a garlic and basil tomato reduction. Another delicious way to eat it!
Zucchini Noodles' Haiku: "I love zucchini! I liked eating it this way. (I didn't boil.)" I used one hefty zucchini just for me for lunch, which I sliced w/ a potato peeler, then left the strips out on a clean dish towel, sprinkled in salt, for a little over an hour, b4 following the rest of the directions (save boiling) in the skillet. Even just w/ the butter, garlic, s&p and parmesan, it was fantastic, but I went ahead and scooped on some leftover AR's "Brian's Favorite Sauce" (an Italian sausage spaghetti sauce) which put this over the top!
These were really good. I made exactly as written. Even my 7yr old liked them . Thanks!
For what this is, its pretty good. It was pretty low-calorie which is what I was looking for, and fairly tasty too. I probably could have eaten 16 servings myself though :) I would make this again though... but it is sort of a lot of work peeling al of the zucchinis with a peeler. Tasty though.
I haven't made this dish but can contest to the genius of using zucchini as a noodle substitution in soup dishes. Spaghetti squash works equally as well too!
I used a peeler to make long thin strips, and sprinkled some salt on them, and let them sit for 30+ min. Then I rinsed them in hot water, and drained them until I was ready to sautée them for 5 min. Tender crisp! My husband really enjoyed it. I used 2 large zucchinis and it was enought for our family.
This is simple and delicious! It's a great way to eat squash. The recipe is a keeper!
Made this for me and maw tonight....we LOVED IT!!!. Only had five zucchini on my plants, but worked well. I cut the butter back to two tablespoons of butter and about a tablespoon of olive oil and doubled the garlic, also cut up and added about eight basil leavs and a tomato cut in large pieces. Put the tomato in just before Serving, salt, pepper and cheese to our taste. Next time I am going to add a bit of onion and some mushrooms. What a great way to use zucchini. Think this will be great cold also.
this was so good.. didn't salt and drain them.. just sauteed the noodles in the butter and garlic.. salt and peppered to taste.. enjoyed the parm on this but would like to try mozz.. topped with chopped cilantro.. ty so much for the recipe
Absolutely wonderful! I made this last night for my family. I wasn't sure how my hubby would like it but surprisingly he loved it and insisted I make it more often. My 8 year old also loved it! I think next time I'll add onion as well.
I thought this was an interesting recipe. Seems like it would be perfect for someone on a low carbohydrate diet. I thought it did just taste like a soft somewhat noodle shaped zucchini which it was. The downside of the recipe is I felt like I had to clean quite a few dishes between chopping, boiling, straining, and sauteing the zucchini. I did 1/2 recipe, but it still seemed like a bit much. I also thought even though the zucchini was boiled for a minute the salt still was more than I personally prefer. It did all get eaten, and we did enjoy it, just too many steps for a sauted zucchini.
I used a mandolin with large grate to get long noodle shapes. I foolishly skipped the salting and boiling part. I sauteed some onions, garlic, chicken (diced, cooked) and mushrooms, and then added the zucchini, diced tomatoes, freshly ground pepper, salt, and chopped fresh basil. A diced pepper (hot and/or mild) would have been good, but I was too lazy to go and pick one. The noodles cook very quickly, and they cook down quite a bit. I plated it, leaving the juices in the pan, and grated the parmesan on each serving. I only used 1 medium zucchini and it made two reasonably sized portions. It was one of the best things I ever tasted. Thank you for this neat idea. I would like to try these noodles in a cold salad with balsamic vinaigrette, in a cheesy rich sauce, or in a "pasta" casserole.
Great way to avoid carbs, it was surprisingly very much like regular pasta when prepared similarily. I added sauteed mushrooms, some baked chicken (cubed), tomato sauce and topped it with parmasan. Only downside is minor and does not hinder the immediate meal at all, it is very soggy if you have leftovers.
I hand slice the zucchini into long square strips and saute in EVOO and a little butter for flavor.
Just as good as it looks! It does make a few dishes to clean up, but definately worth it. Let the zucchini sweat in the salt for the whole 30 mins, a bit longer if you can so it won't turn out soggy. Yum!
The kids & I loved these for lunch because Dad isn't wild about zucchini, but we are!
Mine turned out soggy and I tasted too much salt. I think next time I may add sesame seeds and sesame oil. I used just as a side dish. Was very pretty on the plate though : )
I did like the flavor of these but after all the cooking mine seemed to have a lot of juice which I wasn't sure if it was from not draining enough or too much butter - looked like it could have been a combo of both so next time I will try to address that better. I will probably try to use olive oil for the part of sauting on the pan.
ok, but probably won't make again unless I have these ingredients on hand and need to use them up.
Mine turned out soggy and I tasted too much salt. I think next time I may add sesame seeds and sesame oil. I used just as a side dish. Was very pretty on the plate though : )
MY HUSBAND AND I BOTH LOVE THESE NOODLES. I SERVE SWEDISH MEATBALLS ON TOP OF THEM. I FOLLOW THE RECIPE PRETTY MUCH AS IS. THANKS FOR SHARING
Exactly the way I want to eat zucchini. I left out the garlic and parm and sliced them pretty thick and it still turned out awesome.
We enjoyed this recipe. Nothing fantastic but nothing bad either. Worth trying.
Used a veggie spiral slicer ($5 amazon) to slice the zucchini. I skipped the first two steps and just threw the slices in a cast iron skillet with sautéed garlic and olive oil. Seasoned with salt and pepper, a little butter and topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Served with chicken marsala. Was delish!
Yumm! I was too lazy to mince garlic so I just added garlic salt. I tossed in some pizza sauce and sprinkled with cheddar and parmesan cheese! It was delish!
No need to boil the zoodles! Just sauté in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper until tender and top with parmesan. Yummy!!
Excellent dish. Can even be mixed with squash cut the same way. Everyone in my family loves it!
These were fantastic! My husband and my son even loved them...and they're typically not big fans of zucchini. Great recipe to use up zucchini. Like many others said, I used olive oil instead of butter. Added some red pepper for a little kick, too. Loved the "noodle" effect, and the "al dente" texture/bite. Preparing zucchini this way eliminates the mushy texture you often get with steamed or boiled slices. This made it much more appealing, too. I'd imagine that you could also add long thin strips of carrot (as well as yellow summer squash) to this veggie noodle dish. Thank you for this recipe!
This was great! I let the zucchini "sweat" for 20 minutes, but think that's really not necessary as I'm putting them into boiling water anyway. I used a spiral slicer and it made curlicues that looked really cool.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this! It is great when you are watching your carbs. Tastes great! I never have left overs and I make a TON!
I thought that these zucchini noodles were wonderful. Great use of zucchini.
Turned out great and is a good healthy alternative. I was looking for something in order to add vegetables to our creamy pesto shrimp pasta and this is it!
I did not have a mandoline so I sliced my zucchini in 1/4" slices. Hubby and I loved this recipe. Much easier than I thought. Will be making this recipe many more times.
I too skipped the boiling step and just sautéed the noodles. I have a fantastic little julienne peeler so the noodles were very fine. I added a bit of Old Bay seasoning. I'll make this again. Even my 15 year old son loved them.
This is a really good base. I added marinara sauce and black pepper and it turned into a 5 star recipe.
I did this a few weeks ago using the special cutter. I used olive oil and roasted them on the grill. I did not boil them at all or soak in water. Just cut toss in EVOO season, grill then sprinkle with parm.
This was delicious. If you use zoodles (which we vegans call zucchini noodles), there is a vegetable "peeler" available that peels them into thin spaghetti-like strands... makes cooking this dish a snap!
Great recipe!!! as is but I do agree that it is not necessary to boil(we like al-Dente). I have tried altering but original recipe is still great. My personal favorite change was to add sautéed chicken breast cubed and my favorite pesto from this site by Anderval.
I actually forgot to drain my noodles for the 30 minutes -- they still came out great! I made them twice so far! Def make sure to add the salt! It really makes them less soggy! It only took me about 10 minutes to prep/cook 3 zucchinis with the spiralizer. Suggestions (also others mentioned): - Boil less than a minute if you want firmer noodles (they come out pad thai texture if you do a minute) - Merely toss in the garlic/butter stove-top mixture...5 minutes will be too long
I bought a little kitchen gadget called a spiralizer. By pushing/twisting zucchini (or, yellow squash, cucumbers, etc), through the gadget, it creates perfect spaghetti like strands. The prep of this recipe is made very simple.
The recipe is fine but the idea that you have to drain, boil and drain zucchini noodles again is absolutely ridiculous! I NEVER cook zucchini noodles and I've been spiralizing veggies for 20 years. You just spiralize them and put the hot or cold sauce of your choice on them. If you want to cook them or heat them a bit, just zap them in a microwave. I've been known to spiralize them and put butter and Parmesan cheese on them and micro them for a quick snack. They're fine. They do NOT require boiling and cooling to get them "al dente" like regular pasta for goodness sake.
What a delicious way to eat zucchini. We loved it. I will make this again. I did not use butter, but olive oil. Thanks for this great idea.
This was wonderful. I got a GEFU spiral cutter to make zucchini noodles. I've never cooked zucchini noodles before. I used ghee instead of margarine but did everything else according to the directions. It was much better than I expected it to be. It was delicious! I cannot wait to cook it again.
I like the taste of this dish but it is very easy to overcook the zucchini, and then they are just too mushy. Best works with young zucchinis, where seeds are not well developed yet. Would not recommend it for large size zucchinis - the seeds will all fall of and the texture will not be the same.
I used a mandolin for this fun recipe. We really liked this but along with some others, 1 minute was too long and my zucchini became limp, so I skipped the skillet and used this as a side with just a touch of butter & pepper. My husband, who has never cared for zucchini actually liked it. I think the process softens the texture and flavor. I will definitely make this again but will watch my boil time. Thanks!
Quite tasty. Served with "Simple Arrabbiata Sauce." I only boiled for about 3 minutes because I was afraid it would get mushy. After cooking on the skillet, the noodles tasted perfect. Served with "California Grilled Veggie Sandwich." I'm looking forward to making more of these noodles with the sandwiches to use up the bumper crop from my squash and zucchini plants.
This was a lot of work, but well worth it. I added a little sesame oil and some sesame seeds to give it a slight asian flavor.
These were pretty good and quite easy to make. I served them in spaghetti sauce and everyone in my family enjoyed them.
Excellent! We are growing zucchini and I needed a new idea. Even my three year old loved it!
I've actually never liked zucchini. I've made this twice now, as a substitute for pasta, and I absolutely love it!! The seasonings bring out the best flavor in the zucchini, and the zucchini itself is such an amazing compliment to red sauce. Thanks for posting this recipe. I would recomend letting the zucchini set for at least 45 minutes. The first time I made this, it was still a little too watery after only 30 minutes.
Nice way to use zucchini. A little too salty for me so I'd probably leave the salt out next time.
I used a mandolin with large grate to get long noodle shapes. I foolishly skipped the salting and boiling part. I sauteed some onions, garlic, chicken (diced, cooked) and mushrooms, and then added the zucchini, diced tomatoes, freshly ground pepper, salt, and chopped fresh basil. A diced pepper (hot and/or mild) would have been good, but I was too lazy to go and pick one. The noodles cook very quickly, and they cook down quite a bit. I plated it, leaving the juices in the pan, and grated the parmesan on each serving. I only used 1 medium zucchini and it made two reasonably sized portions. It was one of the best things I ever tasted. Thank you for this neat idea. I would like to try these noodles in a cold salad with balsamic vinaigrette, in a cheesy rich sauce, or in a "pasta" casserole.
These are fantastic. I normally use tofu shirataki noodles but wanted to use up some zucchini. Since my zucchini were cut on the thicker side, I did boil them and then sautéed with olive oil and garlic (and salt & pepper). I served with alfredo sauce and grilled chicken... YUMMY and will definitely do this again. The texture isn't the same as noodles but zucchini does not have an overwhelming flavor, which makes it perfect for this.
I melted butter with Italian seasoning and tossed it. I used minced garlic and shredded onion as well. My 22 year old daughter, who is not a fan of squash, ate 2 servings! Delish!
This "Zucchini Noodles" recipe is a definite keeper! I had to ad-lib the recipe at the last minute when I realized that "my" mandolin (inherited) had very limited capacity (slicer only). I shredded my zucchini in my food processor, resulting in 1.5-inch-long spaghetti-width strips. I sprinkled the zucchini strips modestly with salt to encourage excess moisture to drain off them, and let them sit in a colander for 4 hours while I waited for my husband to return from work late. The zucchini appeared to be reduced in volume by about 1/3 at the 1.5 hour mark (lots of moisture drained off), with only a little moisture draining off them in the remaining 2.5 hours. I cooked the zucchini by throwing it in a pot of boiling spaghetti sauce (homemade from garden tomatoes). I enjoyed the end result far better than regular spaghetti (much lighter); however, my husband refused to eat it based on appearance alone (next time I will use a spirooli for better presentation!). Thank you Becka for sharing your recipe.
This recipe was DELICIOUS! I followed the advice of others and used a potato peeler instead of a mandoline. I also added pesto to the skillet with the margarine and garlic. I will be using this recipe again!
This is my new favorite way to prepare zucchini. Why? Because it is so quick, simple and delicious! I also like to include chili flakes when I add the garlic and tend to omit the parmesan - although it is tasty as well.
My husband hates zucchini and he said it was "Really Good". I serves it under grilled pork chops.
Made it twice, loved it. It is much better with smaller, more tender squash picked before the seeds develop fully.
Loved this recipe. I used the noodles in many dishes instead of pasta. All of them turned out great. It's a keeper. Great way to use the summer zucchini in your garden.
Wonderful as a side dish instead of noodle replacement. Since I'm diabetic, I used this as my starch. Everyone else had rice, I had zucchini noodles until everyone tasted them .... then we all had them. Reading other reviews I skipped the boiling stage as my noodles were very thin as well. Can't wait to try it as a noodle based dish. I took the left over seedy part of the zucchini and cut it up and steamed it. No waste. Keeper in my recipe book!!!
I used as a side dish for two so only used one zucchini and one summer squash. Adjusted other ingredients accordingly. I also, like other reviewers suggested, skipped the boiling step. I would definitely make again and try changing it up with maybe chopped tomato or red pepper. Whatever is in season! Delicious as is or a good base recipe. Thanks!
I found that cooking the zucchini noodles in tomato sauce for an additional 5ish minutes really gives them a great flavor!
Really nice but used real butter instead of margarine, no one should be eating marg it junk.
My family loved this! I made one change, I added a couple of sprinkles of ground nutmeg. DELICIOUS!
This was really delicious. I added mushrooms and served it with salmon. it went nicely.
Super easy and awesome. I added crumbled bacon. I did not parboil the zucchini noodles. I did one pan.
