zucchini noodles

This delicious recipe is fresh and light. When sauteed in garlic and pesto, the zucchini takes on these favors. Being very versatile, zucchini or yellow squash noodles can replace spaghetti, making it a very low-calorie dish.

Zucchini Noodles

Being very versatile, zucchini or yellow squash noodles can replace spaghetti, making it a very low-calorie dish.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Mediterranean
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

Zucchini Noodles

  • 4 med/lg size Yellow Squash and.or Green Zucchini Size depends on how much you wish to make
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese Plus more for topping. Non-dairy cheese can be used.

Vegetable Saute

  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 4 chopped Italian chicken (or veggie) sausages Can replace chicken/sausages with non-meat products
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes Sliced in half
  • 1 16 oz. cremini mushrooms Cleaned and chopped
  • 2 cans Cannellini beans
  • 1/4 sliced Onion (white or red)
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Pesto

  • 1 lge garlic
  • 3 cups Fresh basil
  • 1/4 cup Pine nuts
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Cut the ends off the zucchini and put through a spiralizer (Veggetti and Paderno both make these handy spiral cutting tools) or use a manual vegetable peeler to get long spaghetti-like strands. Set aside.
  • Add garlic, basil, pine nuts and olive oil into a food processor.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
  • Heat a skillet on medium heat and add 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Cook chicken sausage until browned, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes.
  • Add mushrooms, tomatoes and onions to sausage in the skillet.
  • Stir until combined. It will create almost a stew.
  • Once vegetables are cooked through, add beans and salt and pepper to taste.
  • Heat another large skillet and add a tbsp. of olive oil.
  • Once heated, add the zucchini noodles, stirring occasionally. Sauté until zucchini is slightly softened, about 6 minutes.
  • Add pesto to zucchini and stir until noodles are evenly coated.
  • Add Parmesan cheese and a dash of salt, if desired. Lower the heat.
  • Put noodles in a large serving dish and top with vegetable mixture.
  • Give it a toss, and top with more Parmesan cheese, if desired, and enjoy!

Notes

Cook’s Note: Most pesto recipes call for you to add grated Parmesan at the beginning, but I like to add it at the very end so you can really taste the cheese and use less of it or leave it out altogether if you do not eat dairy.
OPTIONAL for Non-Meat or Non-Dairy: Replace the sausage with vegetable sausage or spiced up crumbles and get the same delicious flavors. There are plenty of cheese alternatives available.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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