Zucchini “Pasta” Noodles
It is on record that there are more than 600 pasta shapes produced worldwide. TODAY I declare that there are 605! :) It is also on record that to cook one billion (1,000,000,000) pounds of pasta, you would need two billion twenty-one million four-hundred and fifty-two thousand gallons of water (2,021,452,000 )- enough to fill nearly seventy-five thousand (75,000) Olympic-size swimming pools. Now I realize that you probably won’t cook that much,but as a society…. that is A LOT of water being used to cook pasta! If we could get everyone to switch over to zucchini noodles…well shoot, think about how much water we save. OK, I realize that converting our world over to zucchini noodles will take some time (haha) but let a girl dream, OK?
Did you know that October is National Pasta Month? That is some time away yet but I challenge everybody to switch over to zucchini noodles during that month!
Here is a little nutritional comparison:
Cooked Spaghetti Noodles:
- Calories: 200
- Fat: .7 grm
- Carbs: 39 grm
- Protein: 6.3 grm
Raw Zucchini Noodles:
- Calories: 28
- Fat: 1.7 grm
- Carbs: 2.7 grm
- Protein: .5 grm
Ways to make zucchini noodles:
Potato Peeler: Approx. $8
- Wash and peel the outer skin off of the zucchini ( you can eat that if you wish).
- Hold the zucchini at one end and in a long stroke motion, run the peeler from top to bottom.
- Rotate the zucchini in a circular motion and continue peeling until you reach the seeded core. Stop once you reach this. Don’t throw it away, use it in a smoothie or salad.
- After making your noodles, place them in a dish and sprinkle heavily with salt. This will help to draw out the water and make them softer. Rinse noodles when ready to serve and press out the extra fluids.
- To speed up the process you can also place the bowl in your dehydrator and warm for about 1 hour at 118 degrees. Again, rinse and press out the extra fluid when ready to serve.
World Cuisine Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer: Approx. $29
- This slicer comes with 3 different blades which give you 3 complete different textures and shapes.
- Wash and peel the outer skin off of the zucchini ( you can eat that if you wish) or have the skin become part of the noodles.
- Follow the instructions that come with the machine (WAY EASY) and make your noodles.
- After making your noodles, place them in a dish and sprinkle heavily with salt. This will help to draw out the water and make them softer. Rinse noodles when ready to serve and press out the extra fluids.
- To speed up the process you can also place the bowl in your dehydrator and warm for about 1 hour at 118 degrees. Again, rinse and press out the extra fluid when ready to serve.
Joyce Chen Saladacco Spiral Slicer: Approx. $25
- This is another type of spiral slicer that gives you even more options. The main one I use with this one turns your noodles into angel hair thickness.
- Wash and peel the outer skin off of the zucchini ( you can eat that if you wish) or have the skin become part of the noodles.
- Follow the instructions that come with the machine (WAY EASY) and make your noodles.
- After making your noodles, place them in a dish and sprinkle heavily with salt. This will help to draw out the water and make them softer. Rinse noodles when ready to serve and press out the extra fluids.
- To speed up the process you can also place the bowl in your dehydrator and warm for about 1 hour at 118 degrees. Again, rinse and press out the extra fluid when ready to serve.
Posted on Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011 at 4:59 pm. Filed under: Main and Side Dishes, Raw Culinary Tools, Raw Techniques RSS 2.0 feed.
I eat zucchini noodles about every day for lunch with mashed avocado, nutritional yeast, yellow pepper, tomatoes.. you get the picture. I don’t salt mine to get the excess liquid out.. I do not mind the crunch! But boy are they yummmmy!
I love zucchini noodles too! They make a great vessel for yumminess. haha Thanks for stopping by Beth. :)
Hello Beth, I hope I don’t offend you I just wanted to share with you that nutritionalyeas contains MSG. In case you didn’t know and are concernedwith things of that nature. :)
Thanks for sharing Chesica… can you give us a link stating that? Beth, if you are still visiting the site, can you share what brand you use?
Good evening Chesica … Yesterday I emailed the manufacture of the Red Star Nutritional yeast (the brand I use and have been recommending on my site) and asked them if their brand contained MSG. Today, I got a response back from
Florence FARKAS
Sales Specialist
Florence.farkas@lsaf.com
http://www.lesaffre-yeast.com
and she stated that their brand does NOT contain MSG… it is good though for others who choose to use different brands to investigate this if it is a concern. amie sue
I was just blessed with one of the noddle machines by
my friend Sheila Shea. Now I understand why men like their tools! :) It’s the little things that make life easier. Thank you Amie Sue, now I am ready for pasta month. :)
That is awesome Gabrielle. I use mine all the time! I love serving them to my guests and have them in total shock that they are zucchini which they usually reply, “I normally hate zucchini, but these are so good!” hehe
Oh these guys again. I remember when I first went raw I tried this, well making them. I made the marinara sauce which was good, but the noodles were so wet, it diluted the taste of the marinara so much. I never made it again? Any tips? Can you dehydrate them where the water is gone? and then the sauce will give them the needed moisture? haha like storing dehydrated zuch noodles in the pantry.
Hi Davy,
The water that releases out of them is due to the salt in the sauce recipe (that is if you don’t already salt them to make them more limp). In the future a few things to keep in mind; don’t add sauce tot he noodles till ready to serve and if you are salting them to make them more limp, gently squeeze the excess liquid off of them and then lay out on some paper towels to cut down on the liquid. I am afraid that if you dehydrated them that there wouldn’t be anything left of them. They are high in water content. :)
I can’t find one of these machines down here in Queensland Australia. :(
Hello Judy,
Is there Amazon on-line in Australia? Or have you looked on-line to order?
Which machine is better the saladacco spiral or the 3 blade spiral…?
Good evening Patricia,
I used both, as they offer different sizes but if I had to pick one over the other… I like the 3 blade spiral. It holds a larger piece of veggie and it has suction feet to help give it some stability. Have a great evening, amie sue
Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I LOVE these noodles! Love the site, too :) Thanks for taking the time to put all this up!
You welcome Lisa… my pleasure and passion :)
Hey! I had a question about the caloric value. It says 28 cals for the zucchini noodles, but how many ounces or grams or cups is that? I have been trying to find the nutritional value for zucchini noodles forever!!!
Brittany,
The best way to figure out the calories in the zucchini noodles is to take you zucchini, weigh it or measure it out the best you can and then use this site… http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-squash-summer-zucchini-includes-skin-i11477
amie sue
Hi Amie Sue,
Does the world cuisine veggie slicer make the spaghetti type noodles as well as the ribbon type?
Yes, Elizabeth, it makes a thicker “spaghetti” noodle, where as the other machine does more of an angle hair style. I love these machines.
Hello amie-sue,just came across your web site and sent it to my daughter ,we both think it looks great.Recipes looks amazing and the information is wonderful.The website is wonderfully put together.Thank you and many blessings for your career.
Hope one day I can do the same.Cant wait to try out a bagel :)
Thank you Fran. :) I hope the site brings your much inspiration and wonderful dishes to adorn your table! Have a wonderful day, amie sue
I new to making these noodles and did not know about the salt tip! I will make them again tonight using the salt. Thank you so much for posting so much helpful information! Your website is WONDERFUL for a newbie.
Thank you Diana… these little tricks can make all the difference in how the textures turn out. Sometimes it is nice to have a crunchier noodles whereas other times a nice limp noodle can bring a better over all feel to a comfort food dish. Have a wonderful day! amie sue
just wanted you to know that your affiliate links aren’t working! i tried to click through to buy some of these things but amazon gave me a “page not found”
Hello Liz, it must have been a glitch. I checked it yesterday and this morning and they are working just fine. Have a wonderful weekend, amie sue
I just bought a new spiralizer and haven’t used it yet. I’m living in Central America now and zucchini’s out of season but I’ve recently discovered chayote,(similar texture to zucchini, so I’m looking forward to trying to make noodles from them–hopefully for dinner today while my go green bread is dehydrating!!:) All the best as God continues to bless, Grandma Shelley!!
Sounds delicious! You can spiralize most hard root veggies. Carrots, beets, celeriac root, the list goes on… make for very colorful and exciting salads! Thank you for sharing and many blessings! amie sue
Beth, how much tsp you use nutrition yeast on zucchini avocado smash?
Please clarify your question, I am not sure what you are referring to Elzbiea.
Hi Amie Sue, love your blog… Speaking of zucchini noodle.. Sprinkle with the salt and leave it there for how long?
Thanks elzbieta
Hi Elzbiea,
Just sprinkle salt over the noodles, it will always depend on how many noodles your make. You can always rinse it off when you are ready to make the noodles. For how long? You have control over how soft or firm you want the noodles, so this time will vary. Anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours. Have a great evening, amie sue
Thank you. I’m gonna try this one ASAP. You inspire me. Have a good weekend.
Elzbieta
Wonderful Elzbiea, I hope you enjoy them! Have a blessed weekend, amie sue
Hello Amie-Sue.. Beth posted on Aug 24, 2011 regarding on zucchini noodle. She added the nutrition yeast on it besides yellow pepper, tomatoes and mashed avocado. I would like to know how much she used the nutrition yeast on her lunch zucchini noodle.
Oh dear, not sure we could ever find out. :) I am not sure if she still visits this site to tell us. I would suggest that you start with a few teaspoons and work up from there. It depends on your tastes and how strong you want the cheesy flavor. I LOVE the stuff and tend to have a heavier hand when I use it. Good luck and I am sure you find the perfect balance for you Elzbiea. amie sue