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If you are a clean eating enthusiast who loves pasta dishes as much as I do, then trust me, making zucchini pasta (also known as “zoodles”) will change your life. And the only thing you need to get started is a vegetable spiralizer. If you have a good spiralizer, you can crank zucchini noodles out in minutes. Here’s a video that shows you just how quick and easy zucchini pasta is to make.
As for where to buy a spiralizer, you can pick one up at Williams-Sonoma or order one online on Amazon for around $40.00. I personally prefer the Paderno Spiralizer (see photo above) as it is both lightweight and durable but also incredibly easy to use.
The Best-Tasting Zucchini Pasta Recipe
If you are looking for clean eating recipes with zucchini pasta, you’ll find oodles of them online, most of which call for using raw zucchini. There’s nothing in the world wrong with eating raw zucchini, but when it comes to taste I’ve found blanching the zucchini in hot water for about 45 seconds or cooking it “stir fry style” for just a few minutes results in the best-tasting zucchini pasta. Quick-cooking the zucchini is obviously an additional step that takes an extra minute or so, but it’s definitely worth it. The texture and mouth-feel of lightly cooked zucchini much more closely resembles the real deal!
And finally, if there is one thing I learned while on our trip to Italy it is that the quality of ingredients matter more than anything else. The fresher the better!
And of course I just had to share one quick photo from the trip too =)
Ok, on with the recipe…
Kitchen Favorites
Italian Zucchini Pasta Recipe with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
- 5 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (divided)
- Unrefined sea salt (to taste)
- Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1/2 red onion (thinly sliced)
- 6 cups spiralized zucchini
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives (sliced in half lengthwise)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1.5 ounces anchovies (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Arrange cherry tomatoes on a large baking sheet, drizzle with 2 teaspoons of oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast tomatoes for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- Heat the remaining 3 teaspoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add the onions and saute for about 4-minutes, or until they just begin to soften. Add the zucchini and cook, stir-fry style, for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until zucchini softens ever so slightly.
- Transfer the zucchini and onions to a large serving bowl and add the garlic, lemon, olives and basil; lightly toss the ingredients together. Gently fold in the roasted tomatoes. Add the anchovies (optional) on top. Serve at room temperature.
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Want More Clean Eating Dinner Recipes?
If you liked the Zucchini Pasta recipe, be sure to check out a full month’s menu of delicious healthy dinner recipes (including weekly shopping lists!) in our Clean Cuisine Dinners digital cookbook.
Chris
Friday 15th of July 2016
How many (of what size) zucchini do I need to make the 6 cups? Looks delicious and I want to try making it!
Ivy Larson
Monday 25th of July 2016
Hi Chris, this is a great question! I would say I usually use about 2 medium size zucchini to get 6 cups. But really, this is the sort of recipe that you don't have to be super exact with measurements either, you know?