Ten Minute Zucchini Noodles (Zoodles!)

Zucchini noodles (or veggetti, or zoodles) are a quick, easy, and healthy alternative to standard noodles. This veggie spaghetti is an easy substitute for pasta in most dishes, and today we’re preparing this dish and using it in place of ramen noodles.

Vegetable Noodle Maker — Vegetable Spiralizer

The Gear

This little gadget is a Vegetable Spiralizer and it’s what turns your vegetables magically into noodles. Veggie noodle makers typically come in two form factors: the handheld ones, as pictured above, and the larger hand crank version like this.

The smaller version is cheaper and easier to store, and the larger version is a little more versatile and can handle larger vegetables more easily. We recommend trying the smaller one to see if veggie noodles are for you and if so, consider upgrading to the hand crank version.

Four smallish zucchini typically yields two full dinner servings of zoodles

Step One – Prep

Before you begin, wash your hands thoroughly and give your produce a rinse as well. Next, cut the ends off the zucchini on the opposite side of the stem. You’ll use the stem as a handle while you’re cranking out your noodles. Also have a bowl or a small pot ready to catch your noodles as you create them.

Chop the non-stem ends off and leave the stems to hold

Step Two – Make Noodles

The noodle maker we’re using provides two options for veggie noodle thickness. For our ramen dish, we’re using the thicker setting so the noodles hold their shape in the hot ramen broth. Experimenting on different veggies and different thicknesses will help you find what works best for you.

Hold your noodle tool in your non-dominant hand over your bowl or pot, and then grasp the stem of the zucchini with your dominant hand. Next, twist the zucchini (or the noodle maker) in your hand and let the noodles fall into your vessel. When your zucchini is reduced to a little veggie nubbin, toss it in your compost bowl and tamp out the core of the zucchini that emerges from the other end. The zucchini core that remains makes for a nice mid-preparation snack!

Zoodle Tips and Tricks

As you’re cutting your veggie noodles, you’ll notice that the noodle furthest down in the cutter will start to mostly be the seed roll from the middle of the zucchini. These seedier noodles tend to fall apart when cooked, so for ramen we set them aside for later composting, but they’re totally edible if you’d like to incorporate them. Here’s a peek at the zucchini innards in our compost bowl:

Compost bowl — Pre-composted zucchini innards pictured center

Step 3 – Plate and Enjoy!

Depending on your application you’ll want to keep an eye on the length of your zucchini noodles. We’re making ramen with these so we left them pretty long so in the event they did break, they’d still be long enough for gathering and slurping up!