How to make zucchini noodles

I have a new love, and it only cost $14.99.

I’ve wanted a spiral vegetable cutter for months, and last weekend I finally bought one. While I saw a few fancier versions on the market, the Veggetti from Bed, Bath and Beyond seemed like the perfect gateway spiralizer contraption for me.

With a 20 percent off coupon (and you know you have one of those sitting around), I actually paid less than $15 for this useful tool.

I was super excited to make my own noodles and was amazed at just how easy and quick it was.

Outside of just making a pasta replacement, you can use zucchini noodles as a side to a healthy entree, as a salad topper, or as a garnish on top of regular pasta, just to add some extra veggies to a dish.

Here’s how it all works …

How to make zucchini squash noodles 

It’s so simple, which is the only type of cooking method I enjoy. All you have to do is the following:

1. Buy some fresh zucchini squash or yellow squash.
2. Wash and dry the vegetables.
3. Using your spiralizer, put one end of the squash into the cutter, spin the squash with your hand and let the spirals fall into a big bowl. It takes about one minute to fully spiralize an average-sized squash.
4. Then, you can put the veggies in the fridge for later or continue the cooking process.
5. Bring a pot of water to boiling on the stove and add a little salt.
6. Throw in the noodles to cook for just two to three minutes. They cook very quickly, and if you wait too long they will get mushy.
7. Strain the noodles.
8. Serve as desired.
9. If you use the noodles as a spaghetti replacement, top them with your favorite sauce, meat and additional veggies.

Here’s a look at the cutting process …

And the spiral cut veggies before cooking …

I decided to use the noodles for pasta, so they went straight to my dinner bowl once cooked and strained.

Here’s the base of my dish. Looks like pasta, doesn’t it?

To finish it up, I sauteed up some fresh spinach leaves, cabbage, cherry tomatoes and chickpeas in coconut oil to go on top of my bed of veggies noodles. I topped that with Sockarooni pasta sauce and some Trader Joe’s turkey meatballs.

And this was my dinner twice last week, all thanks to the $15 spiralizer.

Add veggies to your life with a spiralizer

Pasta has been one of my twice-a-week go-to dinners for years and years and years. Dave shares a love of pasta and throughout the course of our relationship, I’ve converted him from white to whole-wheat pasta, which is what we’ve eaten together for a long time.

In order to add some more veggies into my life, lately I’ve been eating spaghetti squash in place of pasta. I love the taste and texture, but Dave does not, so he’s stuck with regular whole-wheat pasta. (Spaghetti squash is another great choice, and for a look back, check out my post on the easiest ways to cook spaghetti squash.)

The good news is that Dave took a bite of the zucchini noodles and agreed he liked it more than the spaghetti squash. If cooked properly (careful not to go too long), the zucchini is actually a bit firmer and crunchier. We haven’t made a full switch with him yet, but I think there’s a chance he would eat this one day, especially if I start by throwing a few on the top of his regular pasta as a teaser.

No go forth and spiralize!

Questions of the day

Do you have a spiralizer? What else have you made with it? And what’s your latest healthy food obsession?