2tablespoonButterolive oil, avocado oil, or oil of choice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Using one of the tools below, spiralize the zucchini. See the above post for tips!
Place the spiralized zucchini on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt.
Allow to "sweat" in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
Wrap the noodles in paper towels and gently squeeze out the excess moisture. Do not try to squeeze out every last drop or the zucchini will be mushy!
Heat the oil in a medium to large-sized pan over medium heat. Once heated, add the zucchini and saute until desired tenderness, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt, if desired, add sauce and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Expert Tips
Zucchini noodles continue to seep water as they sit, so I don't recommend mixing them with sauce until they're ready to serve to prevent watery pasta.
Zoodles can be spiralized and kept in the fridge for a few days before using, but I don't recommend cooking them until they're ready to be used.
Zucchini noodles cannot be frozen, it ruins the texture - trust me!
Don't skip letting the noodles sweat! Otherwise, they will be watery.
You can also sweat the noodles by sprinkling them with sea salt and placing them in a colander over the sink for 30 minutes. However, I prefer letting them sweat in the oven. It just seems to make them a bit drier.
Whatever you do, don't skip the salt! The salt is what helps bring out the moisture and allows them to "sweat".
While you could peel the zucchini for prettier noodles, I've found that I prefer to leave the skin on. The skin makes them more sturdy and releases less water.
How To Make Zucchini Lasagna NoodlesUsing zucchini in place of lasagna noodles is really easy! They're especially perfect in my Paleo & Keto Lasagna! There are 2 simple steps:
Slicing the zucchini: Slice the ends off of the zucchini. Holding the zucchini upright (vertical, standing on a sliced end), use a sharp knife to slice down creating ¼-inch slices. Try to make the slices as uniform as possible.
To prevent a watery lasagna, you’ll need to get out the excess moisture. To do this, place the zucchini slices on paper-towel-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with sea salt and allow to “sweat” in a 200-degree oven for 20 – 30 minutes. Wrap in paper towels and gently squeeze to remove the excess moisture, do not try to get out every drop or the noodles will be mushy! Then, use them in place of the noodles when layering the lasagna and bake as directed.
Tools Used To Spiralize
Spiralizer. This is my favorite! Spiralizers can create long, thick, beautiful noodle strands. They're also fast and easy to use. This is the spiralizer I recommend: OXO Spiralizer. It's very similar to one I have but friends have told me the suction cups on the bottom actually stay put! I can't tell you how frustrating it is when the suction cups come up and the spiralizer moves around! Or you can buy a hand-held spiralizer. It requires a little more work and the strands aren't as thick, but it works!
Julienne Peeler. A julienne peeler definitely requires more work and the noodles come out shorter and thinner, but it's a good option if you don't have a spiralizer.
A knife. A knife works well when making zucchini lasagna noodles. While you could use a knife to make spaghetti strands, I don't recommend it. It's time-consuming and really hard to get the noodles in the right shape and size.