Zoodles – Zucchini Noodles Recipe

Zoodles. They’ve been popping up everywhere lately: noodles made out of courgette (or zucchini- hence the name zoodles). The idea behind this is using vegetables instead of pasta in dishes, so as to provide a healthier option. My interest was sparked when I first came across zoodles, and I don’t even know why it took me so long to try them out. I gave them a go recently and was very pleasantly surprised. They’re easy to make, inexpensive, healthy, and taste really good.

Don’t go into eating zoodles expecting pasta- if you do, you’ll be disappointed. Zoodles taste nothing like pasta, but they’re very tasty in their own right, and they do simulate the pasta experience to some extent. I made my zoodles with a simple red sauce which worked really well, but of course you can experiment with what sauce you use.

Ingredients

1 courgette
1 red bell pepper
1 cup passata
1 tomato
1 small onion
sundried tomato
garlic
salt & pepper

I’ve found that one courgette per person is a nice amount for a full meal. It looks like a lot of noodles in the beginning, but they reduce a lot when cooked, and don’t forget this is a vegetable. It won’t saturate you as much as pasta would.
The sauce recipe serves two.

Firstly, you’ll need to cut your courgette into noodles. I used a mandoline slicer, but you can use a spiralizer or grater instead, if those are more easily accessible. Place your zoodles in a large bowl.

Press a couple of cloves of garlic (I used one per courgette), and toss the zoodles with the garlic, and some salt and pepper.

Heat up some oil on a pan, and cook the noodles over medium heat until they soften (I cooked mine for approximately 5 minutes).

To make the sauce, dice your onion, bell pepper, tomato and sundried tomatoes. Heat up some olive oil in a pan, and sauté the onion. Add your bell pepper, then add the passata and allow this to simmer for a few minutes. Add your tomatoes and sundried tomatoes and salt and pepper, and allow to simmer for a few more minutes.

I’m a fan of zoodles! I think they would also taste very good with just a little bit more garlic, and drizzled with olive oil, and a little salt and pepper. But the sauce does add a little more nutritional value.

Have you tried zucchini noodles yet? What do you think?