Zucchini noodles tossed together in a creamy avocado pesto for a delicious healthy weeknight dinner that is gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan and can be easily made in under 20 minutes!
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Happy Meatless Monday!
No I’m not a vegetarian, but sometimes I just love having a day where the only thing I fill my body with are fresh fruits and veggies, especially after a big Super Bowl weekend! Yup. My diet yesterday pretty much consisted of beer, chicken wings, cheesy dips and pizza…..uh I think my body is screaming for a serious detox, but you know what, I enjoyed every second of it! Especially the commercials. And Beyonce. I mean the Super Bowl only comes once a year so I totally welcome the little, err BIG splurge that comes with it!
This recipe is perfect because it’s super filling, crazy healthy and the best part is you feel like you’re eating a big bowl of pasta! It’s also incredibly quick and easy to make too (literally under 20 minutes), especially the creamy avocado pesto that’s gets drizzled over the top. No need to heat up either!
See how easy that is??
Just throw everything into your food processor
I also love zucchini noodles because they don’t take that long to cook either. Now zucchinis are made up of 95% water – crazy right?! – so it’s important to try and get out any excess water so you don’t have soggy noodles. The easiest way for me to do this is by putting them in a colander in the sink, sprinkling them with a little salt and letting the water drain out. Then I just pat them dry with a paper towel and they’re crisp and ready to go!
Now this dish honestly tastes just as good cold too, especially if you like crisp raw veggies, but since I prefer my zoodles having that “pasta-like” feel, I simply sauteed mine for a few minutes on the stove and then just tossed them with the pesto sauce. Super simple!
Just a quick note: avocado tends to brown easily so if you do want to enjoy any leftovers, make sure to wrap tightly with plastic wrap (making sure the plastic wrap is pressed up against the pesto sauce) to prevent from browning. This tastes best served immediately though – enjoy!
Zucchini Noodles with Creamy Avocado Pesto
Ingredients
- 6 large zucchini, spiralized
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
For the Sauce:
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- Cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Spiralize your zucchini and set aside on paper towels so that any excess water is soaked up.
- In a food processor, add avocados, basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, lemon juice and sea salt and pulse until finely chopped. Then with the motor still running, add olive oil in a slow stream until emulsified and creamy.
- Drizzle olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat then add zucchini noodles, cooking for about 1 to 2 minutes until tender.
- Add zucchini noodles to a large bowl and toss with avocado pesto. Season with cracked pepper and a little Parmesan, serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The Pesto is very yummy, very creamy and great flavor! Thanks!
Just a FYI.. if you are making the full recipe make sure to use it all. The pesto oxidizes rapidly due to the avocado . I have left over pesto that has blackened on the surface..but I will definitely use it..LOL!!
Wow – this was great, and super filling. I served the zoodles with a nice piece of salmon, and it was great. It definitely made way more pesto than we needed (and 2 zucchini was only enough for 2 people b/c we were eating the salmon along side – if you’re doing this as a main, definitely make more zucchini). But tasted great – my fiance agreed!
I made this tonight and loved it so much! The only thing I would advise it to use at least 3 zucchini’s (maybe mine were too small). I just had way more sauce than I probably needed so next time I will increase the zucchini noodles.
Could you use a blender instead of a food processor?
Absolutely! 🙂
This was quite tasty! Used three HUGE zucchini and still had at least half of the pesto left over though.
Also, when I make again I will probably use 4-5 cloves of garlic and 1.5C basil and use a food processor for sure ; it tasted a bit more like avocado than I was hoping for, but I couldn’t add more basil because using a blender was a nightmare (very well could be the fault of my $15 Oster blender ;)). I had a super hard time getting everything to mix. Some sauces work well in the blender for sure but I think this one is too thick with the avocado for it to incorporate.
Was delicious and will definitely make again! Thanks!
Does the Avocado pesto brown after a day or two or would you say it can last in the fridge for 3-4 days? Thanks,,,this recipe looks great but I meal prep on Sundays for 4 days and wondering if this will last in the fridge for that long.
Honestly I wouldn’t keep this more than 3 days as it might brown a bit, but when storing it in the fridge, press the plastic wrap tightly against the pesto – this will help with that a lot!
Never mind! I read it again and now I feel a little dumb.
No worries at all!! Glad you figured it out 🙂
Are the amounts for the olive oil reversed in this recipe? I’m going to assume they are.
This sounds delicious! My husband has to have some kind of meat protein with every meal. Do you think shrimp would go well in this recipe? thank you. jb
I think shrimp would taste fantastic! 🙂
I keep forgetting to buy pine nuts. Do you have a substitution suggestion?
Honestly they’re just added for some texture, but you could leave them out entirely and this would still taste delicious 🙂
I cannot wait to make this. Will it stay fresh if I refrigerate it? I know avocado usually turns brown when it oxidizes but I think the lemon might just do the trick. Ps. I only cook for myself and always have left overs. Thanks 🙂
Yes you can refrigerate this 🙂 What I like to do is cover it with plastic wrap and press the plastic wrap down until its touching the pesto, this will make sure everything stays fresh!
Is there other nut we use other than pine nuts
Walnuts would work great as well 🙂