Zucchini Noodles

Zucchini noodles, or zoodles—whatever you want to call ’em—are the internet’s favorite pasta substitute. The lean, green spirals are thin slices of zucchini styled to mimic the look of pasta. They offer a low-carb, low-calorie, gluten-free option for pasta dishes like spaghetti and meatballs or fettuccine carbonara. But zoodles can do so much more than pasta: They’re also fantastic for making zucchini noodle recipes like soups, stir-fries, salads and lasagnas.

After trying zucchini noodles a few different ways, we’ve learned a thing or two about preparing them. Homemade zoodles have a slightly crunchy texture and a mild flavor that allows the sauce and toppings to shine. But the thing we like the most about zoodles? They’re so much fun! Instead of adding the same old boring zucchini rounds to a dinner, these bouncy green strings brighten up the plate. And sometimes simple changes in presentation can make a world of difference when it comes to eating more vegetables.

How to Make Zucchini Noodles with a Spiralizer

TMB Studio

Our Test Kitchen’s favorite way to make picture-perfect zucchini noodles is with a spiralizer. At first glance, this contraption looks a little medieval, but it’s easy to learn how to spiralize zucchini. There are several types of low-cost spiralizers, and they’re useful for more than just this zucchini noodle recipe; the gadget can also be used to spiralize vegetables like beets, sweet potatoes or carrots.

Step 1: Trim the zucchini

To make curly zucchini spaghetti, trim off the ends of the zucchini. Depending on your preference, you can keep the skin on or peel it off before carving the vegetable into noodles.

Step 2: Load the zucchini into the spiralizer

Align the zucchini perpendicular to the spiralizer so the cut end meets the blade. Poke the claw insert into one end of the zucchini to hold it in place.

Editor’s Tip: If the zucchini is crooked, cut it in half. This will leave you with two straight pieces that are smaller but easier to spiralize.

Step 3: Spiralize the zucchini

Crank the handle and apply light pressure as you feed the zucchini into the grating blades. Keep turning until the zucchini is completely spiralized.

How to Make Zucchini Noodles with a Vegetable Peeler

TMB Studio

This method takes a little longer but doesn’t require special tools. Almost everyone has a vegetable peeler in the drawer! Use a regular vegetable peeler to create skinny pappardelle-like noodles or a julienne peeler for fine strips that look like angel hair pasta.

Step 1: Peel half the zucchini

Lay the zucchini flat on a cutting board. Starting at the top of the zucchini, apply light pressure and peel downward toward the bottom of the zucchini.

Editor’s Tip: Stop when you reach the zucchini’s soft-seeded core center. The flesh in the middle of the zucchini creates zoodles that turn out soft and mushy.

Step 2: Flip and continue peeling

When you reach the soft center (about halfway through the zucchini), flip over the zucchini and position the peeled half on the cutting board. Continue peeling until you reach the soft center.

How to Make Zucchini Noodles with a Mandoline or Knife

TMB Studio

Hand-sliced zoodles look more rustic and have a thicker bite than peeled zukes, but their firmer texture is fantastic for dishes like lasagna. Zucchini slices turn out thinner and more consistent with a mandoline slicer. (Brush up on your mandoline safety to avoid cutting yourself on the extremely sharp blade.)

Step 1: Create wide noodle strips

Trim off the ends of the zucchini. Using a mandoline or knife, carefully cut each zucchini lengthwise into slices until you reach the core.

Editor’s Tip: For a baked zucchini squash noodles recipe like lasagna, we prefer 1/4-inch-thick slices that will withstand the oven’s heat. For raw or sauteed dishes, you might want to go a little thinner.

Step 2: Cut the strips into thinner noodles (optional)

To turn the wide strips into thinner noodles, stack a few of the wide noodles on a cutting board. Cut the noodles lengthwise into multiple strips.

Editor’s Tip: Cut the zoodles into 1/4-inch strips to resemble fettuccine or thinner 1/8-inch strips to mimic linguine.

How to Cook Zucchini Noodles

TMB Studio

Step 1: Create the zoodles

Trim the ends of the zucchini. Use one of the methods above for how to make zoodles.

Editor’s Tip: You can stop here if you like. Uncooked zucchini has a crisp-tender texture and tastes fantastic in low-carb or keto salad recipes. If you’d like to soften the zucchini noodles up a bit, move on to Step 2.

Step 2: Cook the zoodles

In a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, and cook until slightly softened, one to two minutes, tossing the zoodles constantly with tongs so they do not overcook. Sprinkle with salt. Serve as-is or with the sauce of your choice.

Editor’s Tip: To preserve its fresh, crunchy texture, make sure that the zucchini cooks only slightly. Feel free to throw in other seasonings, like Italian herbs, or saute onion and garlic in the oil before adding the zucchini.

Ways to Use Zucchini Noodles

• Zoodles pasta: Pasta recipes like zucchini spaghetti are some of the best zucchini noodle recipes. Toss the zoodles with your favorite pasta sauce, from garlic butter to homemade Alfredo sauce, a savory tomato sauce, Emily Blunt’s turkey bolognese or store-bought pesto sauce. Then, add roasted veggies, grilled seafood or chicken (and plenty of Parmesan!) to create a winning combination.
• Zucchini ribbon salad: Toss raw zucchini noodles with olive oil and lemon juice to create lemony zucchini ribbons. Top the salad with crumbled feta or goat cheese to give it a creamy finish.
• Zucchini lasagna: Layer thinly sliced zucchini strips with tomato sauce, cottage cheese and mozzarella. Then, pop it in the oven to create a gluten-free zucchini lasagna.
• Zoodles pasta salad: For a lighter take on a classic dish, use raw zucchini noodles in any of our top cold pasta salad recipes.
• Zoodles stir-fry: Incorporate zoodles into any easy stir-fry recipe. Just make sure to add them at the last moment so they don’t overcook in the hot pan and fall apart.
• Zucchini noodle soup: Use zoodles in recipes like chicken noodle soup, sopa de fideo or Chinese beef noodle soup. Basically, if the original recipe calls for noodles, you can swap in zoodles!

How to Store Zucchini Noodles

Store zucchini noodles in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Raw zucchini noodles will last for up to four days. Cooked zucchini noodles can become soggy in the fridge, so plan on enjoying them within two days.

Can you make zucchini noodles ahead of time?

You can prepare zucchini noodles up to four days in advance. Keep the uncooked zoodles in an airtight container in the fridge. If there is a lot of condensation on the inside of the container, add a clean paper towel to absorb excess moisture.

TMB Studio

Zucchini Noodle Tips

What can you do with the leftover zucchini after making zoodles?

After making zoodles, little bits of leftover zucchini can be used in other zucchini recipes. Use the leftovers in recipes calling for grated zucchini, like zucchini fritters, zucchini frittata or zucchini cookies. Or, blend the pieces and fold the puree into smoothies, soups or sauces.

How do you cook zucchini noodles so they’re not soggy?

Zucchinis are 95% water, so they will become soggy if they’re overcooked. We recommend keeping the cooking time to a minimum—one or two minutes, tops. Use tongs to move the noodles around in the pan to promote even cooking. If your noodles are very thin, you may want to avoid cooking them at all. They will wilt perfectly when dressed with a hot sauce in a zucchini squash noodles recipe.

Do you need to peel zucchini before making zoodles?

We usually don’t peel zucchini before making zoodles to keep prep time to a minimum. Plus, the green peels contain nutrients and help brighten the plate in any zucchini noodles recipe.

Are zucchini noodles healthy?

Zucchini noodles are low in carbs, low in calories and completely gluten-free. According to the USDA nutritional database, 1 cup cooked spaghetti has about 200 calories and 40g of carbohydrates. By comparison, 1 cup raw zucchini noodles has around 20 calories and 5g of carbohydrates. That means it would take roughly 10 times the amount of zucchini noodles to equal the same amount of carbs and calories on a single plate of pasta. Simply put, you can layer on loads of these spindly spirals practically guilt-free!