We have fallen in love with zucchini noodles. They are delicious, easy to make and filling with out the risk of eating too much and feeling completely stuffed afterwards. We have found they are great for just about any sauce. Pesto is one of our favorites. Our old pesto recipe called for parmesan cheese so we took that out added a little more salt and we were in business. A heads up before you make this it is very spicy from all the garlic. If you don’t like it as spicy cut back on some of the garlic. This certainly wouldn’t make for a great first date meal. Better reserved for someone who already loves you garlic breath and all!
We tried our mandolin and our OXO julienne peeler to make the noodles and the verdict is we prefer the peeler. Minus that tiny gash I put in my hand when I got a little close! Sucker is sharp. The peeler gives us more control of what part of the squash we use. I found that if I get too many seeds it makes the noodles watery. I am certain down the road I will do a whole post about this but I love it so much I have to tell you about it now. You can use yellow squash and carrots to add some color and flavor to your noodles. Get a bag of rainbow carrots and imagine the possibilities!
You can eat this while you are doing the Whole 30 but pine nuts are something you should limit in your diet. We only had it once for that reason. This would make a great side dish if you took out the shrimp. The below recipe is a double from the original. If you want the cheese version check it out here.
Ingredients
- 3 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup pine nuts toasted
- 12 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Salt and Pepper
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- About 20 large shrimp peeled and deveined
- Fresh Parmesan for garnish
- 3 large zucchini
Instructions
- Toast the pine nuts if not already toasted.
- Put pine nuts, basil, garlic, and cheese into a food processor. Pulse a few time to get everything chopped up. Slowly add the olive oil through the feeder tube. Continue pulsing to get oil mixed in properly. If it is too thick add a little more olive oil.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan and toss the shrimp and garlic into the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the shrimp are almost cooked through and the garlic is tender. Toss your pesto with the shrimp and finish cooking
- Julienne 3 large zucchini with a julienne peeler, mandolin or spiralizer.
- Steam for 7 minutes
- Toss shrimp and pesto with noodles and enjoy!
I’m gluten free, and I LOVVVE zucchini noodles! YUM!
I have been so curious to try zucchini noodles. We’ve been eating too many carbs lately. I’ll have to give this a try.
Hope you like them. We have loved them so far. We add carrots too for a different color and flavor.