Zucchini noodles (also known as “zoodles“) are the perfect gluten-free, zucchini pasta. Today, I’m showing you how to make zucchini noodles using a spiralizer.

One of the best things about having vegetables in your garden is finding out all of the cool things you can make with them. Zucchini noodles (also known as “zoodles“) are the perfect gluten-free, zucchini pasta. Today, I’m showing you how to make zucchini noodles using a spiralizer, with zucchini straight from our garden!

Garden Fresh Zucchini Noodles

It’s a dream come true when you work so hard to build a garden from the ground up and then it finally produces fruits and vegetables. We found that the best zucchini noodles are garden-fresh zucchini noodles using zucchini that we planted and and-picked in our garden. We can always count on our garden to produce the best zucchinis ever for making zucchini noodles.

One thing we always forget when picking for zucchini noodles is that if you don’t catch them in time and the zucchini grow too big, they can’t easily be made into zucchini noodles. If we have some extra large zucchinis, we usually cut them in half and use them as boats instead. You want to pick them when they are a little bit smaller, those are the perfect size for making zucchini noodles. Once you wash them up, they are ready to be made into delicious, gluten-free pasta!

How to Make Zucchini Noodles

There are several different ways to make zucchini noodles. You can use a cheese grater, a spiralizer, a julienne peeler, a mandoline, and I’m sure there’s another method or two out there. My personal favorite is the spiralizer. This is one of my favorite kitchen accessories and I bust it out every year to make zucchini noodles.

The spiralizer that we use is an attachment that fits right onto my Kitchen Aid Mixer. You just unscrew the existing attachment, screw it on, and BAM, you’re ready to make zucchini noodles. Attach the zucchini to the spiralizer on both ends, turn your mixer on, and watch the magic happen. You’ll be surprised at how quickly your fresh zucchini is transformed into a pile of fresh zucchini noodles right before your eyes.

WAYS TO MAKE ZUCCHINI NOODLES:

1. SPIRALIZER ATTACHMENT

2. JULIENNE PEELER 

3. MANDOLEN

4. HANDHELD SPIRALIZER

Zucchini Noodles with Pesto

One thing we all love is pesto, and its the perfect addition to the fresh zucchini noodles. We typically make a ton of pesto in advance and freeze it in ice cube trays. This way, when it’s zucchini season, we are ready to whip up a quick and fresh summer dish. Once you have your zucchini noodles made, you can defrost a few cubes of pesto and cook it all up with some protein and veggies.

When we make zucchini noodles, we don’t always follow an exact recipe. I usually cook up some meat like chicken or ground turkey to mix into this dish. Once the meat is cooked, we toss in the zoodles, some salt and pepper, maybe some onions and olives, and the pesto that we defrosted. This is such an easy dish to make and satisfying as well. Zoodles are the perfect replacement for pasta.

HOW TO COOK ZUCCHINI NOODLES:

Zucchini are comprised of 95 percent water (yes, 95%). So when you cook them, you may end up with a soggy, mushy mess of watery noodles – just by cooking one minute too long. The exact opposite of al dente. So when you’re cooking zoodles, remind yourself that your intention is simply to heat them up and not really to “cook.” I failed miserably at this in the beginning.

ZOODLES TIPS & TRICKS:

After making, eating and cooking zucchini noodles for several years I’ve learned a few tricks of the trade. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• don’t peel more nutrients on skin
• use smaller sized ones
• do not cut the end off when using it. Easier to spiral and hold

These noodles are always so much fun to make. If you have an amazing zoodle recipe or some other tips and tricks, let us know in the comments!

Hugs,

Christina & Trevor