Zucchini Noodles with garlic, basil, olive oil, toasted pine nuts ( optional) & shaved pecorino cheese- a simple, delicious low- carb meal, made w/ zucchini noodles! 
This may look like pasta, but it’s not. It’s zucchini noodles! Zucchini, cut into fine strips, mimicking noodles, and sautéed with olive oil and garlic, finished with basil ribbons, toasted pine nuts and shaved pecorino-romano cheese. I first posted this recipe before the invention of a Spiralizer– but please feel free to use!
Serve these simple Zucchini Noodles on their own or with a piece of seared fish or tofu, and you’ll have a delicious low carb meal, full of flavor and totally gluten-free. It could be made vegan, but truthfully the salty, pungent pecorino cheese adds that little extra something, that really makes the dish shine.
How to make zucchini noodles without a spiralizer?
- Thinly slice zucchini (a mandolin is great for this, but not imperative) and stack them.
- Stack several layers together and finely slice the long way creating long thin noodle shaped strips.
- If possible, select zucchini that are very straight with an even diameter from end to end. This will make this whole cutting process easier.
Make basil ribbons by stacking 8-10 leaves, rolling them up and slicing into thin strips.
Shave or grate a little pecorino-romano cheese. If you would like to have shaved cheese, use a vegetable peeler, it works great.
In a non-stick pan or cast iron skillet, warm the oil and saute garlic on medium heat for about one minute. Add the zucchini noodles. Add salt and pepper and stir occasionally until liquid starts to release and linguine becomes translucent and tender. When zucchini is just about done, stir in half of the cheese, half of the pine nuts and half of the basil.
Plate and finish with the remaining cheese, pine nuts and basil.
Top the flavorful Zucchini Noodles with a piece of seared fish, chicken or tofu – or serve it just like it is!
I hope you enoy this!
xoxo
For more of my favorite Zucchini Recipes….. try these!
- Kung Pao Zucchini
- Zucchini Hummus
- Zucchini Rolls
- Zucchini Basil Soup
- Zucchini Corn and Basil Stir Fry
- Greek Zucchini Fritters
Zucchini Noodles with Garlic, Basil and Olive Oil
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: low carb, paleo, gluten-free, vegetarian, main
- Method: sautéed
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Ingredients
Scale
Instructions
Cut zucchini into thin slices (or use a mandolin), and stack them. Cut them the long ways to make thin noodle shaped strips.
Rough chop the garlic and make basil ribbons. Grate or shave the pecorino, and toast the pine nuts until fragrant and golden.
In a nonstick or cast iron skillet, coat with olive oil. On medium heat saute garlic for one minute until fragrant. Add zucchini and 1/4 tsp kosher salt (or a generous pinch) and pepper. Stir occasionally until zucchini renders it liquid and becomes tender, about 8-10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook, otherwise it will fall part. Timing really depends on the thickness of the strips, so cooking time will vary.
Once zucchini is tender, add half the cheese, half the pine nuts and half the basil ribbons. Saute for one more minute until cheese melts and plate.
Garnish with remaining cheese, pine nuts and basil. Serve with a seared piece of fish, chicken or tofu.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 317
- Sugar: 6.4 g
- Sodium: 525.4 mg
- Fat: 27.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.2 g
- Fiber: 4.2 g
- Protein: 9.6 g
- Cholesterol: 14.8 mg
This is delicious!! My husband absolutely loves it.
How well does this dish freeze?
That is a great question. I feel like it would get overly mushy?
Great tips to cut the zucchini. Absolutely loved that recipe, even without basil. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed Chloe!
delicious! kids loved it too. used toasted pecans because i couldn’t find pine nuts. sooooo good!
Perfect Natalie!
Thanks for these, can’t wait to try!
The Zucchini Linguine is our all time fave. A refreshing alternative to pasta, that leaves us fresh and satisfied every time. ❤
Awesome Jess!
Thank you for the delicious recipes for using the abundant surplus of zucchini from the garden. Delicious!!
I’ve been making this for years now. Always so good!!!
Great to hear! It’s an older one- but I like it too!
This recipe and the pictures look awesome! You inspired me to try my own version of this…I hope it is okay I linked to your blog in my blog so people could try your recipe, too. If not, I can easily remove. Thanks for posting. 🙂
Fantastic instructions, beautiful gallery of pics! Really good food blogs leave you with the feeling that you’ve already made it and experienced the flavors. You do this well.
The photos are gorgeous! And I’ve just printed out this recipe because I think even my cooking-challenged boyfriend could cook this up :):):)
The photos are gorgeous! And I’ve just printed out this recipe because I think even my cooking-challenged boyfriend could cook this up :):):)
YES! Love this! I made zucchini fettuccine a couple weeks ago and loved it! such a great meal! and safe for people with gluten allergies to boot! 🙂
Beautiful photos.
Wow, these photos are fantastic, and this looks delicious. A piece of simply cooked white fish would be delicious alongside.
Thanks and yes, fish goes great with it.