Make Zoodles with Homegrown Zucchini

What are zoodles and how do you make them?
All you need is a spiralizer and some zucchini and you’re on your way to a tasty dinner.

Did you grow more zucchini than you expected this year? We did too. I thought we’d be overrun with tomatoes but it turned out to be zucchini we couldn’t keep up with. So what do you do with all that zucchini? We make a lot of stir frys with zucchini and many of the vegetables from our garden. We also simply saute zucchini on the stove top in teriyaki sauce for a delicious side dish. Zucchini can be a very versatile vegetable to cook with though. You can make zucchini boats, fried zucchini, zucchini fritters, zucchini bites, zucchini brownies, zucchini bread…the list goes on and on.

We have a new favorite way to use up a lot of zucchini at once though: zoodles! What are zoodles? It sounds like something from Dr. Seuss, but it’s really just zucchini noodles. To make zoodles, you need a Spiralizer. I received a Spiralizer as a gift from my mother in law. She knows just how much I love kitchen gadgets and this has quickly become one of my favorites.

I discovered a rather large zucchini (13 inches/33cm) hiding in the garden this week and knew it was destined for something great. At first I considered making zucchini bread or zucchini brownies, but then I remembered the Spiralizer. Perfect! As soon as I opened the box, our children came running to see what this new amazing gadget was. Then they quickly made a u-turn to their rooms to gather their chef outfits. They love to dress up when we cook. The Spiralizer is a very easy to use kitchen tool, perfect for little helpers.

My Spiralizer has five different blades, but you can buy a seven or ten blade Spiralizer as well. You simply slide the plastic insert with the blade that you want into the holder. Then cut off the ends of the zucchini. Push the larger end of the zucchini into the Spiralizer’s arm and slide the arm forward. It’s quick and easy. Once I had the blade in place and the zucchini attached, I let the kids take turns creating zoodles. They were thrilled! The Spiralizer has a handle to hold onto that you push forward as you turn the crank. Spiral noodles come out of the other end. There are suction cups on the feet so you don’t have to worry about it sliding around. It was very easy for our 2 and 6 year old to use. No batteries or plugs involved.

That one giant zucchini made two full plates of zoodles. I was amazed! If you are looking for a great way to use up zucchini or are interested in substituting pasta, this is a great option. It’s also really great for a quick dinner. You won’t have to wait for water to boil to make noodles when you use zoodles. Skip that part and just toss them right into the pan with the sauce. It only takes 3 minutes to cook. We chose to have shrimp with our zoodles and it was delicious.

However, the Spiralizer isn’t limited to just making zucchini noodles. You can use a number of fruits and vegetables: carrots, apples, cucumbers, cabbage, beets, bell peppers, onions, turnips, rutabaga, potatoes, sweet potatoes and more. We’re going to make apple chips next.

What I love about the Spiralizer

Easy to use
Easy to clean
Suction cups keep it in place
5 different blade options: angel hair (2mm blade), fine shredding (3mm blade), coarse shredding, curly fries, flat blade
Our children want to use it and eat the vegetables they cut

There’s a reason the Spiralizer has almost 16,000 reviews on Amazon with 77% of people giving it 5 stars. The Spiralizer is so easy to use and yet it makes amazing noodles quickly. We eat a lot of zucchini and I have tried many recipes, but the Spiralizer has opened a whole new world of possibilities. Angel hair is my go-to pasta for most dishes that suggest a long thin noodle (instead of linguine or spaghetti). Now I’ll be substituting recipes with zoodles and saving some carbs.

For more Spiralizer recipe inspiration I turned to Denise at Sweet Peas and Saffron. She put together a great list of 24+ Spiralizer recipes that look amazing. I’ll be trying some of these recipes in the next few weeks.