If you need an easy summer dinner in 10 minutes, or if you are trying to boost your fiber and vegetable intake, you need to make sauteed zoodles tonight. You can really boost how many vegetables you’re eating when using a vegetable as part of your main course. Really, what you’re doing is replacing a carb, like a pasta, in your meal with a vegetable, which is much lower in carbs and high in fiber and vitamins.
In this case, we’re going to replace a carb with zoodles, which are just strips of zucchini that have been sliced thin so that they can be sauteed and have the texture and satisfaction of a pasta. Zoodles are delicious, very fast to cook, and filling—they take 10 minutes to make, tops! You’ll see how fast and delicious they are, and I bet you’ll be making them all the time. My kids will say, “I love zucchini!” after eating this – and I have teenagers!
You can certainly use these zoodles with a marinara sauce if you want to use the zoodles as a spaghetti replacement, but they are also delicious as-is. This recipe is going to use garlic, parmesan cheese, and roma tomato, plus some simple sauteing to get maximum flavor with very little time.
If you’d like to see how I use the zoodles in lunch boxes for meal prep, check out my Youtube video here:
I will put the recipe here and step by step pictures below!
Sauteed Garlic Parm Zoodles
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Trim the ends off of your zucchini, and then turn the zucchini into zoodles.
- Over medium heat, heat the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds to a minute.
- Add the zoodles to the pan, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt. Saute the zoodles, stirring, for about 3-5 minutes or until softened, but not mushy. Taste and add more salt, if needed.
- Stir in diced roma tomatoes, and saute for 2 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Video
*Please consult your health professional for health and nutritional advice.
How do I make zoodles at home?
The first thing that you’re going to need to do is create the zoodles, if you don’t want to buy pre-made zoodles. Making zoodles is super easy, so I recommend making them at home! Then, the zoodles are fresher, too.
The zoodle maker I have is kind of a mandolin style where you just scrape the noodles across the edge almost like a cheese grater. It’s on Amazon here (affiliate link). If you want a more budget-friendly option, try this mandolin-style zoodle maker. Or, this cute German-made zoodle maker looks great, too, and is a mid-range option.
My zoodle maker doesn’t make the zoodles look perfectly uniform—they’re more roughly cut—but that doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, it’s super fast because you swipe the zoodle back and forth, so it cuts twice. And, no cranking for my wrists! Y’all, I even think a cheese grater could work!
Step by Step Sauteed Zoodles in 10 Minutes
To start, trim the edges of your zucchini, and then create the zoodles.
While you’re making the zoodles, you can heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. You do want the oil to be warm. As soon as it’s warm, add two minced garlic cloves and saute for 30 seconds.
As soon as the garlic is starting to smell really good, you want to add all of the zoodles at the same time.
Immediately start tossing them and add about a quarter teaspoon of salt. We will taste the zoodles later and add more salt if needed. I use tongs to flip the zoodles over and just continue to stir them and nestle them down into the pan to make sure that they’re actually touching the heat. Continue to stir them for 5 minutes. At that point, you want to taste the zoodles. You want to make sure they feel al dente like a pasta noodle; they should be tender but not mushy.
If they need more salt, now is the time to add more salt or cracked black pepper. You can even add crushed red pepper or a quarter teaspoon of cayenne if you like yours spicy. I prefer just salt, garlic, and olive oil on mine.
As soon as they are cooked how you want them, turn off the heat and add two diced Roma tomatoes.
The tomatoes are not going to be fully cooked; they will just cook with the residual heat in the pan. This allows the tomatoes to still stay fresh and bright.
Then you want to top with a quarter cup of Parmesan cheese.
You are finished in less than 10 minutes. You have an amazing high-fiber, delicious, low-carb dinner recipe. I like to pair these zoodles with my high-protein turkey meatballs, and they are delicious leftover in a meal prep lunch box.
