This recipe for vegan avocado zucchini noodles with pesto with a gluten free, keto friendly, nutrient dense meal that’s high in fibre and healthy fats!
It’s no secret that I love zucchini. I’m also kinda crazy about all things avocado so I often whip up an easy avocado sauce. My kiddos love this version that’s extra high in iron, but for us adults who are looking for something a little prettier and more refined, these vegan avocado zucchini noodles with pesto totally fit the bill. They’re creamy, rich and 100% plant based!
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
Zucchini noodles, only the best thing since sliced bread! OK so not really but I do love zucchini noodles as a way to sneak in some extra veg. So in short, zoodles are zucchini noodles that have been spiralized into spaghetti like shapes. They are certainly no replacement for pasta, but they are a great way to get more fibre and antioxidants into your day, so I am totally on board with that! I also love these zucchini noodles with pesto because they are:
- Great for those with dietary restrictions (gluten-free, keto, and vegan)
- Packed with fiber (26 grams) and protein (21 grams) per serving
- Flavored with delicious herbs
- SO easy to make!!
Key Ingredients
Zucchini – Zucchini is a neutral flavored vegetable that makes a great pasta substitute for those with dietary restrictions or preferences. Zucchinis are also rich in vitamin C and vitamin B6!
Avocado – Using whole avocados for this avocado sauce makes the yummiest and creamiest sauce. Not only that, avocados are packed healthy fats and rich in nutrients.
Nutritional Yeast – Nutritional yeast is a form of deactivated yeast that’s packed with protein, fiber, and vitamin B12. It also adds a delicious umami cheesy-like flavour to any pasta dish!
Herbs – I listed a few of my favorite herbs I use to make the delicious pistachio pesto. But feel free to use what you have on hand or whatever is in season!
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: Line a baking sheet with a few layers of paper towel. Lay the zucchini noodles down and sprinkle with salt. Top with another few layers of paper towel, a cutting board, and some heavy items like books or pots. Let sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, transfer the noodles to a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water to remove the salt.
Step 2: Refresh the paper towels on the baking sheet with a few new layers. Gently squeeze and shake the zoodles and lay them down on the paper towel. Top with a few more layers of paper towel, the cutting board and the heavy items. Let dry for 10 minutes.
Step 3: If making the pesto, to a food processor, pulse the parsley, pistachios, garlic, lemon and nutritional yeast. Add in the olive oil and drizzle in the water until it reaches your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
Step 4: For the avocado sauce, to a food processor, add the avocados, garlic, lemon, parsley, chives, oregano and nutritional yeast. Once fairly smooth, add the olive oil and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 5: Heat a pan over medium-high heat with 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the zucchini and saute for 2-3 minutes as you toss the zoodles.
Step 6: Transfer to the bowl with the avocado sauce and toss until well coated. Transfer the zoodles to a serving dish, top with the pistachio pesto (if using), pistachios, olives, and chives. Enjoy.
Expert Tips
Zucchini naturally contains a ton of moisture, and because we want to mimic the texture of pasta noodles, we want to try to extract as much moisture as possible from the zucchini so we aren’t left with mushy zoodles. I like to do this by laying the zucchini noodles on a few layers of paper towel, sprinkling with salt, and then topping with another few layers of paper towel and some heavy items like books or pots. Through the process of osmosis this will naturally extract moisture from the zucchini noodles.
Unsure how to spiralize your noods? If you don’t have a spiralizer on hand you can purchase pre-spiralized zucchini noodles from your local grocery store.
I love to use the following herbs to make the pesto sauce: parsley, garlic, and oregano. But If you are in a you can also easily buy store-bought pesto instead.
If you don’t have a food processor to make the avocado sauce and pesto, feel free to use a blender! You can also try using a hand mixer, just make sure to thoroughly blend out chunks.
Recipe FAQs
If you want to make zucchini noodles that aren’t soggy, you have to salt them with kosher salt to draw out the moisture (aka. through the process of osmosis). Then you can give them a light rinse and then pat them super dry with paper towel before adding them to the sauce.
Yes! Because of the high fat avocaodos, olive oil and nuts in the pesto, this is a higher fat, low carb pasta dish that is both gluten free and keto friendly while still being completely plant based
More Recipes Like This
Looking for other yummy zoodle recipes to add into your weekly rotation? Check out some of these recipes below!
Avocado Zucchini Noodle with Pesto
Ingredients
- 3 large zucchinis spiralized
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- Pistachio Pesto optional:
- 1 cup parsley shelled
- 3 tbsp shelled pistachios
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Avocado sauce:
- 2 large ripe avocados pitted
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 large lemon juiced
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- ¼ cup chopped chives
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- To serve:
- Black olives sliced
- Chives minced
- Pistachios minced
- Store bought pesto if not making your own
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with a few layers of paper towel. Lay the zucchini noodles down and sprinkle with salt. Top with another few layers of paper towel, a cutting board and some heavy items like books or pots. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, transfer the noodles to a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water to remove the salt.
- Refresh the paper towels on the baking sheet with a few new layers. Gently squeeze and shake the zoodles and lay them down on the paper towel. Top with a few more layers of paper towel, the cutting board and the heavy items. Let dry for 10 minutes.
- If making the pesto, to a food processor, pulse the parsley, pistachios, garlic, lemon and nutritional yeast. Add in the olive oil and drizzle in the water until it reaches your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
- For the avocado sauce, to a food processor, add the avocados, garlic, lemon, parsley, chives, oregano and nutritional yeast. Once fairly smooth, add the olive oil and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat a pan over medium high heat with the 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the zucchini and saute for 2-3 minutes as you toss the zoodles.
- Transfer to the bowl with the avocado sauce and toss until well coated.
- Transfer the zoodles to a serving dish, top with the pistachio pesto (if using), pistachios, olives and chives. Enjoy.
Nutrition
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Robin G says
Made this for dinner tonight and it was awesome! Not soggy but flavourful and low carb!
Abbey Sharp says
yay! No one likes soggy zoodles