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.
I made this last night and froze the leftover pesto. Loved it!
Great idea! So glad you enjoyed this Jennie! 🙂
I must be off somewhere. I read this recipe & it called for 6 six zucchini. So many people are saying to double the zucchini , like it called foe 2,3,or4 maybe. And you clearly stated press plastic wrap against the cause so it doesn’t brown. I’m really gonna try this. Looks amazing. Thhanks so much.
I edited my recipe after so many people requested doubling the zucchini which is why it now says 6 🙂 The sauce makes a ton! And yes I like to press the plastic wrap all the way into the sauce when storing it in the fridge to prevent air from getting to it, this help to prevent browning. Hope you enjoy it!
Another way of storing the pesto to ensure it doesn’t turn brown and you don’t have to worry about ensuring the plastic wrap stays in contact with it. Just put it in a ziploc and then squeeze out the excess air if you want to be really finicky you can put a straw in the top of the bag and zip it close to that point and then u can suck out all the excess air. Make sure your straw is up high enough away from the sauce so you don’t get a mouthful ofsauce! Lol! I just lay it on a flat surface and just push out the excess air and then zip it all the way across.
Love this idea! 🙂
Just made this tonight. My husband is not too much into vegetables, but both he and I liked it!
I do think I might add sun dried tomatoes to it next time.
Have forwarded this pin on to family!
Thanks for a good, healthy dinner 💕
So glad you enjoyed this Alicia! Sun dried tomatoes would be delicious 🙂
Tried to make the sauce in my NutriBullet (don’t have a food processor)- didn’t work so well! So bummed!
I’m so sorry this didn’t work in your nutribullet! I’ve never tried to make this sauce in a blender, but perhaps you could try chopping the avocado up into smaller pieces so that it blends easier? Just an idea!
Thank you so much for these! I’ll be sure to try them out next time! I’ve got my own recipe as well. I’ve made Cajun Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles and it tastes so amazing! For my recipe, as well as how to make zucchini noodles WITHOUT a spiralizer, head to my blog here:
http://lifewithaudrey21.blogspot.com/2016/09/recipe-cajun-shrimp-with-zucchini-noodles.html
I don’t even know how I stumbled across this recipe. I’m guessing Pinterest because of the beautiful pic. I recently bought a spiralizer and decided this looked like the perfect attempt at breaking it in. Made this for dinner tonight and it was DELICIOUS. There were three of us all eating it as a full meal. 4 large-ish zucchini split three ways with about half the pesto was perfect. Thank you for the amazing pesto recipe. Adding avocado, such an awesome idea.
Thanks Melanie! So glad you all enjoyed this! 🙂
Are you supposed to hear this sauce up or eat it cold?
I meant heat not hear. Are you supposed to heat the sauce up or eat it cold?
This tastes great either way! I personally like this sauce as-is over the warm zucchini noodles 🙂
Does anyone know if you can freeze the pesto?
Hi Mary! You could freeze it, but the avocado make it turn a bit dark and the texture doesn’t remain quite the same so I would suggest eating the pesto within 2 to 3 days of being made! 🙂
Loved this idea! Hey guys, I’ve got a great recipe to go with Zucchini Noodles and its Cajun Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles. Check it out over here
http://audreyforyou.blogspot.com.au/2016/09/recipe-cajun-shrimp-with-zucchini-noodles.html
Love this recipe! But I’m allergic to pine nuts…. Actually most nuts! Is there something else I could use?
Feel free to omit them entirely! They aren’t necessary for the pesto, just adds a little texture 🙂