Zucchini Spaghetti
In an effort to add to my Whole 30 recipe inventory I am sharing another recipe with you that is EASY and compliant. This zucchini spaghetti has actually made it into our meal planning rotation now that we are not on Whole 30 because it is so good and makes great leftovers. If you want to read more about the most amazing & simple meal planning strategy, check out this post where I tell you how I take the stress out of meal planning.
So I think the technical or culinary term for zucchini noodles would be zoodles and they have become so popular, that if you don’t want to spiralize your own, you can find them in the produce department or the frozen aisle of most grocery stores. But I suggest spiralizing because it’s cheaper and really easy! I use this handheld spiralizer my mom bought me a few years back, but they also have big fancy ones or attachments for your Kitchen Aid mixer if you want to go that route.
You will want to “sweat” your zoodles (I spiralize one zucchini per person or double if trying to have leftovers!), so I like to spiralize right onto a baking sheet lined with paper towels. I don’t usually peel my zucchini, but lots of folks do so try it both ways and decide on your preference for future zoodling! Season them with salt and then place in the oven on 200 degrees for about 30 minutes! Once they are finished take another paper towel squeeze out any remaining water by pushing down from the top. Sweating your zoodles will make your final dish a lot less liquidy since zucchini hold a lot of water when they are raw. You can either saute your zoodles in a little avocado oil for 5-6 minutes or throw them in your meat sauce while it is simmering about let them soften that way (about 10 minutes).
While the zoodles are sweating, now is the time to prepare your meat sauce. If I am not on Whole 30 I will sometimes used an organic & sugar free marina sauce with these meatballs. YUM! But if we are sticking to Whole 30 we want to make sure our meat sauce is compliant. Check out the full recipe for that below.
- 1 zucchini per person (double if wanting leftovers)
- Avocado or Olive Oil
- 1/2 pound of grass fed organic ground beef
- 1/2 an onion, diced or 1/2 cup of frozen diced onions
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 16 oz can of diced tomatos
- 1 jar of Classico Roaste Garlic Spaghetti Sauce (or any Whole30 compliant sauce)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
- Prepare zoodles according to directions above...spiral, sweat, squeeze.
- While the zoodles are sweating prepare your sauce.
- In a large pan over medium heat drizzle your oil. Then saute your onions until soft (about 3-4 minutes).
- Add minced/chopped garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Then add ground beef. Cook until brown throughout.
- Add remaining ingredients (diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce & seasonings) and bring to a slight boil. Then turn your heat to low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- You can cook your zoodles one of two ways. First, after sweating them you can saute in batches using a little olive oil for about 5 minutes or until they reach your desired tenderness.
- Another option is to throw them in with the meat sauce and let them simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Enjoy!
As a quick FYI, these don’t taste just like regular pasta noodles. You can’t go into trying this dish thinking you won’t notice a difference from traditional spaghetti. However, zoodles are a great healthy replacement and this dinner is delicious, heavy on the veggies, and I promise you will feel so much better after eating zucchini spaghetti for dinner than carb loaded pasta! ENJOY!
