Garlic Parmesan Zucchini Noodles

These Garlic Parmesan Zucchini Noodles are a healthy, low-carb option to pasta that’s ready to serve in about 10 minutes! Top them with your favorite sauce or serve them as a side dish to round out any meal.

It is truly wondrous what happens when you run zucchini through a spiralizer. This abundant summer veggie becomes a fabulously nutritious and seriously delicious low-carb, keto-friendly substitute for pasta in less time than it takes to bring a pot of water to boil. I had some doubters in this house the first time I served these Garlic Parmesan Zucchini Noodles in place of pasta, but they’ve quickly become zoodle converts.

Although quick and easy to prepare, there are some important tips to ensure perfectly cooked zucchini noodles.

I highly recommend purchasing a spiralizer which will allow you to effortlessly slice zucchini and a variety of other vegetables into different noodle shapes.

Types of Spiralizers

There are two main types of spiralizers – tabletop and handheld units.

Tabletop Spiralizers

I love my tabletop OXO Spiralizer. The pros:

• It comes with a nice blade box that holds 3 blades for different sized noodles.
• It has a strong suction cup that holds it in place on your counter while you’re working.
• It’s sturdy but compact enough to store easily.

The Spiralizer 5-Blade Vegetable Slicer is another popular tabletop model. I can’t vouch for it personally but it is a hot seller on Amazon and very reasonably priced.

Handheld Spiralizers

Handheld units will work in a pinch but are not as effortless as a sturdy tabletop variety. If you’re short on space or want to test the waters before purchasing a more expensive model, a handheld unit might be right for you.

The OXO Handheld Spiralizer is an Amazon’s Choice item and comes with 1 or up to 3 blades. The Ontel Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Cutter is the least expensive unit of all of these choices and has almost 5000 positive reviews on Amazon. No matter your budget, there is a spiralizer out there waiting for you!

Store Bought Zoodles

Don’t want to bother with a spiralizer? Most grocery stores carried bags of spiralized zucchini in the produce section. This is a more expensive way to go so if you plan to consume spiralized veggies on even a semi-regular basis, I recommend investing in a spiralizer and doing it yourself at home.

Ingredients

• You’ll need 3 medium zucchini to prepare enough zoodles to serve 4.
• I add a small amount butter and olive oil which adds really nice flavor when combined with minced garlic and Parmesan cheese.
• Crushed red pepper flakes add a little zing. Use a little, use a lot, or leave them out altogether if you’re group is sensitive to heat.

Instructions

Your zucchini noodles should be the last menu item prepared since they cook quickly. You want to stay with them through the entirety of the cooking process. If you walk away from the skillet, you’re likely to overcook them and end up with soggy zoodles.

• Slice the ends off your zucchini and use the spaghetti blade to spiralize them.
• Some of your zoodles will be VERY long – check out the video in this post for proof! Run a sharp knife through your pile to cut them to a more manageable size. You don’t have to be too precise here – just a few cuts in each direction will do.
• Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat.
• Add minced garlic and cook, stirring, for a minute or two until fragrant. Reduce the heat under the skillet, if needed, to avoid burning the garlic.

• Increase the heat to medium-high and add the zucchini noodles, black pepper, and crushed red pepper, to taste. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or just until the zoodles are al dente. They should be tender when pierced with a fork but still have some bite to them.
• Season with salt and stir in the Parmesan, remove from heat and serve immediately.

Feeding more than four? Double the recipe and use a Dutch oven. I do this ALL the time.

Tips for Avoiding Soggy Zucchini Noodles

• Cook them for 3 to 4 minutes, maximum. You want them to retain some texture and bite for the perfect al dente experience.
• Add salt last. Salt draws moisture out of vegetables and zucchini contains a large percentage of water.
• There will be liquid at the bottom of your skillet and this is okay! Liquid from the zucchini will combine with the buttery-garlic-Parmesan mixture and it’s going to be delicious.
• To avoid watering down pasta sauce, don’t add the sauce directly into the skillet with the cooked zucchini noodles. Instead, use tongs to pull the zucchini noodles from the skillet and transfer them to a serving bowl to eliminate the liquid altogether. Then proceed to top them with sauce or any other ingredients.

What to Serve with Zucchini Noodles

Any meal you would typically serve with a pasta side dish is a great candidate. They’re also delicious as a side dish with simply grilled fish, chicken, or steak.

Make it a healthy-delicious meal by serving them with my heavenly Cheesy Turkey Meatballs, my Chicken Bites, this Spicy Shrimp, or sub them for the pasta in my Creamy Lemon Chicken.