A great summer dish due to the availability of fresh zucchini and basil from your farmers market or garden, but then thanks to our grocery stores in the US, we can make this year round. We use a spiralizer to cut the noodles, but you could just use a chef’s knife to cut strips or medallions.

This recipe is non-dairy for you vegans or those who are concerned about inflammation from dairy – but the good news is it still tastes just like pesto – great! See pesto recipe under Sides for more information.

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Zucchini Noodles with Pesto

A great summer vegan recipe.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Equipment

• Spiralizer if you have one or chef's knife for slicing
• Food processor
• Large sauté pan or skillet

Ingredients

• 3 Zucchini, staight and medium sized
• 2 C Fresh basil, loosely packed
• 2 T Walnuts
• 2 Garlic cloves, peeled
• ¼ C Extra Virgin olive oil
• ½ t Salt

Instructions

Pesto

• Make your pesto first by adding basil, walnuts and garlic to a food processor and processing until smooth (see Pesto recipe)
• Slowly pour oil through processor chute until mixed thoroughly. By pouring slowly, you can determine when you've used enough oil. If you accidentally use too much oil, you can add more basil, or if you've used all your basil, you can use some spinach (or other greens) to balance out the oil.

Noodles

• Spiralize zucchini into noodles. If not using a spiralizer, slice zucchini lengthwise in half, then cut ribbons of zucchini to make noodles
• Sauté noodles, adding pesto after cooking noodles for a minute or two first
• Serve when cooked through (approximately 5-7 minutes)

Notes

Try it with toasted almonds on top! (To toast almonds, just brown them lightly in dry stove top skillet.)

Think about making extra pesto for other recipes. It freezes well too!