These Creamy Pesto Zucchini Noodles are packed with nutrients from the zucchini and fresh herbs, healthy fats from olive oil and it even has powerful probiotics when made with my secret ingredient. It’s light and versatile, and you can even tweak it slightly to meet your needs whether you’re a vegan, on a round of Whole30 or wish to limit your dairy intake. Read below for more details!
Creamy Pesto Zucchini Noodles
You know when you get a dish at a restaurant and you try to recreate it at home but it’s just not the same? Well, this is not one of those times. This Creamy Pesto Zucchini Noodle Pasta is just as good as a dish I recently tried and I am so excited to bring the recipe to you!
This dish is packed with nutrients from the zucchini and fresh herbs, healthy fats from olive oil and it even has powerful probiotics from kefir.
DIETARY NOTES
These Creamy Pesto Zucchini Noodles are made with real ingredients and fit seamlessly into the following dietary needs when using the products/brands (or ones that are similar) listed in the recipe:
- gluten free
- soy free
- refined sugar free
- dairy free (when using coconut milk)
- Whole30 (when using coconut milk)
- grain free
- paleo (when using coconut milk)
- vegan (when using coconut milk)
- vegetarian
LET’S TALK ABOUT DAIRY
While I personally try to limit my dairy for my own health reasons, I absolutely love the stuff, so I know it’s not realistic for me to do completely without. When I do have dairy, I choose to have high quality dairy products and opt for ones that have added health benefits where possible.
In this recipe, I use some of the plain Lifeway Kefir (which is basically drinkable yogurt) because it has the added benefit of probiotics. This product is made with natural ingredients and is free from added sugar, which can be hard to come by with dairy. Studies have suggested probiotics found in kefir can boost your immunity, aid in digestive problems, improve your bone health and can even help in combating cancer!
Make it Your Own
This recipe is naturally free from gluten, grains and refined sugars and is also vegetarian friendly. If you’re looking to make this recipe Whole30 compliant, paleo friendly or vegan approved, simply swap the kefir for coconut milk/coconut cream, or even do without. If you leave it out, it will be less creamy, but it will still be delicious.
This dish is amazing with chicken added, if that’s your thing. Whether you want to throw on some grilled chicken or my Cassava Flour Breaded Chicken (also Whole30 compliant, paleo, grain/gluten/dairy/sugar free), you can’t go wrong!
Sans Dairy
For those of you that can’t have dairy, try to limit it for your personal health reasons or if you follow anything from a vegan to a Whole30 diet, you can swap out the kefir in this recipe with coconut milk or coconut cream! You can also leave out any type of milk to create my easy pesto sauce that is just as tasty, just not as creamy! Find my pesto recipe by clicking here.
FOLLOW ALONG
Be sure to follow me on Instagram to see all of the behind the scenes of recipe creation as well as how to videos to watch them come to life! You can also head over to my Pinterest to save all of my recipes in one spot that you plan whip up in the future.
PS – If you make these “zoodles” or any of my other recipes, I would be so grateful if you left a review so I can hear what you think! I also am happy to answer any questions you may have on here, but if you want a quicker response, be sure to shoot me a message on Instagram. Thank you so much and talk soon!
Creamy Pesto Zucchini Noodles
Equipment
- Veggie Spiralizer
- Food Processor
Ingredients
Zucchini Noodles
- 1 zucchini
- pinch salt
Creamy Pesto
- 2 cups basil leaves, packed
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup pine nuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup plain kefir or full fat coconut milk (can sub heavy cream as well)
Toppings
- ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
Instructions
- Spiralize zucchini and spread onto towels with a sprinkle of salt so that the excess moisture starts to absorb.
- Combine all remaining pesto ingredients (basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, salt and kefir/coconut milk) into a food processor and chop until a sauce forms.
- Add your "zoodles" and sauce to a pan on the stove over low heat. You'll want to warm your zoodles and creamy pesto just slightly here so that everything combines well without making to zoodles too soft.
- Use tongs to gently work the pesto into the zoodles as it warms just slightly. Add in the sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts. Add more or less to taste!
- Plate the zoodles and top with left over fresh basil and sea salt if you'd like. You can also add chicken if that's your thing.
Would give this a 10 star if I could! I made this with GF noodles instead of zucchini noodles to keep me full. It’s flavour packed, quick and easy to make leaving you satisfied.
Yummm, I need to try this with gluten free pasta! So glad that you loved this one too. 🙂