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Costco Individual Serving Frozen Wild Salmon filets, thawed and dusted with El Gaucho Rub and baked for 12 minutes on top of pesto zucchini noodles.

Pesto zucchini noodles with chicken and spinach.

I’m currently obsessed with these spiralized pesto zucchini noodles. They seriously taste like something special and healthy that would be served at a luxury spa resort. In fact, chefs utilize the spiralizer kitchen tool for creating inventive vegetable dishes. At a trendy restaurant, my King Copper River salmon was served atop a bed of spiralized green and yellow zucchini with a creamy pureed pea sauce.

My favorite Paderno 3 Blade spiralizer can be purchased here. I like it because it is easy to set up, easy to use and easy to clean. It comes with three blades to make a wide variety of shapes like zucchini ribbons that I serve with shrimp scampi. Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles Recipe. 

Spiralized zucchini (or any other spiralized vegetable noodle) is a way to reduce the caloric density of what you eat as discussed in this blog about how to eat more and weigh less. And veggie noodles are more nutrient dense, packed full of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants.

I’ve been experimenting with variations and they all are wonderful. You can serve these noodles as is as a vegetable side dish or tossed with a bit of leftover cooked meat or tofu for a light main meal. They are also terrific in a cold salad. (for main dish salad inspiration, go here). You could also use the vegetable noodles as an interesting presentation for cooked fish or other entrees.

Maria Faires Pesto Spiralized Zucchini Noodles

Serves 2-3

3 Zucchini

4 Tbsp Prepared Pesto (I use Costco’s)

3 Tbs Grated Parmesan

Wash, dry and cut off ends of the zucchini. Set up your spiralizer. (My favorite spiralizer is found on Amazon here) and insert the shredder blade for cutting long, spaghetti-like spiral strands or the straight blade to create ribbons. 

Set a large nonstick skillet next to the spiralizer.  Or you can line a 13 x 9 pan with paper towels and spiralize the zucchini into that.

Spiralize all the zucchini into the skillet you will be using.  Put the skillet on the stove on a medium heat  burner. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until it is done to your preference. Do not overcook.

NOTE: The noodles can be a bit watery so drain in a colander to remove some of the water.

Add the pesto and stir.

Serve on plates and top with grated parmesan.

Adding spinach to the noodles and pesto.

Variations:

Add 2 cups of greens such as baby kale, spinach or Swiss chard to the pan about half way into the cooking process.

Add chopped Kalamata olives or marinated artichoke hearts.

Add half to one cup of cooked meat to zucchini at the beginning. You may have to add another tablespoon of pesto.

You could also make these noodles with the ribbon blade:

Ribbons made with both green and yellow zucchini.