How to Store Spiralized Vegetables

How to Store Spiralized Vegetables for Meal Prep

Spiralizing Tips & Info
Here's how to properly store zucchini noodles and other spiralized vegetables, including carrots, peppers, cabbage, and more. Use these tricks to perfect healthy meal prepped breakfasts, lunches and dinners at home.Ā 

How to Store Spiralized Vegetables

Whether you’re meal prepping for a week of healthy lunches with your spiralizer or you’re making dinner and want leftovers for lunch tomorrow, it’s important to know the right way to store your cut vegetables.

Spiralizing is an incredibly useful hack for healthier meal prep. When you have bags of fresh spiralized zucchini, carrots, peppers, cabbage, parsnip, radishes, and more on hand, you always have a quick and easy way to add extra veggies to every meal.

This article covers everything you need to know about how to store your spiralized vegetables for maximum freshness.

Read on for the details on:

  • Spiralizing for Meal Prep
  • Spiralized Meals That Work Best for Meal Prep
  • Meal Prepping with Zucchini Noodles
  • Some Meal Prep-Friendly Recipes to Get You Started

How to Use Spiralized Vegetables for Meal Prep

Meal prepping with spiralized veggies is a great way to commit to a healthy week and get extra veggies into every meal!

Here are the general guidelines for the most common spiralizable veggies and fruit:

Spiralized Apples

Raw Storage: Cut apples instantly brown in the refrigerator. To prevent this, seal apple noodles tightly in a Ziploc or airtight container (try to avoid letting much air in).

Store cut apples for 1-2 daysĀ  in the refrigerator.

Beet Noodles

Raw Storage: Seal cut beets in an airtight container or up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Bell Pepper

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Storing Spiralized Broccoli

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Butternut Squash Noodles

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Spiarlized Cabbage

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Frozen: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Carrot Noodle Storage

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 1.5 weeks in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Celeriac

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Chayote

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container over paper towels or napkins for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Do not freeze chayote noodles.

Cucumber

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container over paper towels or napkins for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Do not freeze cucumber noodles.

Daikon

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Do not freeze daikon noodles.

Jicama

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Do not freeze jicama noodles.

Kohlrabi

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Spiralized Onion

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Parsnip Noodles

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Spiralized Plantain

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Rutabaga

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Sweet Potato Noodles and Rice

Raw Storage: Place in a bowl, cover with water, cover and store for up to 2 days.

Frozen: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Turnip Noodles and Rice

Raw Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Frozen: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

White Potato

Raw Storage: Place in a bowl, cover with water, cover and store for up to 2 days in the fridge.

Frozen: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Spiralized Zucchini & Summer Squash

Storage: Seal in an airtight container, lasts up to 5 days in the refrigerator

Frozen: Do not freeze zucchini and summer squash noodles.

Best Spiralizer Recipes for Meal Prep

You can use spiralized vegetables to prep a full meal, or multiple meals in big batches.

These are the best kinds of recipes to use spiralized vegetables for meal prep:

  • “Raw”/cold dishes: If the recipe requires no cooking or is better served chilled, it’s a win-win! Prep the dish and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for as long as the raw components can be stored, according to the examples above.

 

  • Spiralized rice: many vegetable rice dishes tend to have drier vegetables like sweet potato and parsnips, they’re perfect for prepping in advance and reheating. They also can be frozen easily.

 

  • Non-zucchini noodle dishes with ragu-type sauces: If you’re making a bolognese over sweet potato noodles, this can easily be reheated and enjoyed. However, if you’re making a zucchini noodle dish with a bolognese, the water in the zucchini noodles will thin out the sauce and dilute its originally delicious flavor the longer it’s stored. Opt for starchier, firmer noodles for heavier sauces. You can also store the sauce and noodles separately to prevent any wilting.

 

One Pot Basque Chicken with Spiralized Potatoes in a bowl

  • DishesĀ with no sauce: If your recipe doesn’t call for a heavy sauce, that’s perfect. It will reheat well. Bonus points for recipes with cheese! Reheated cheese will melt nicely into the noodles and absorb excess moisture. This works with zucchini noodles too!

 

  • Pesto pasta: Pesto sauces work well with all vegetables and reheat well.Ā Actually, the olive oil in the pesto works to our advantageĀ with zucchini noodles. Throw in some kale, spinach or another vegetable that will absorb excess moisture, and you’ve got a pesto pasta, fit for lunch!

 

  • Noodle dishes or soups without zoodles: If you make a big batch of a spiralized noodle bowl or soup, you can definitely reheat it for lunch. That is, unless it includes zucchini noodles. I don’t recommend reheating zucchini noodles in soup, as they will dilute the dish. If you’re not concerned about losing some of the flavor in your soup, however, give it a try. You can always re-season the broth when you reheat.

 

 

 

  • Casseroles: If you love a comforting, hearty lunch, then you’re in luck: non-zucchini noodle casseroles work fabulously when reheated. You can reheat in the microwave or store in the baking dish and reheat in the oven.

chipotle sweet potato noodle salad with roasted corn

How to Meal Prep with Spiralized Zucchini

Please note: spiralized zucchini should not be frozen. When you go to defrost it, it will wilt and become a mushy mess.

It can be tricky to prepare a zucchini noodle dish in advance due to the vegetableā€™s high water content. The longer the zucchini sits in a sauce, the more moisture releases and the more watery/mushy the dish will get. This applies for cucumbers as well.

But if youā€™re saving leftovers from a spiralized dish that includes zucchini noodles, here are a few tips to prevent some of that sogginess:

1. Save Some Extra Sauce

While cooking, if you know you’re going to save leftovers, remove some of the sauce from your pot and save it in a container in the fridge.

Then, the next day, heat up the reserved sauce, cook fresh zucchini noodles, pour the sauce over and dig in!

For example, you could make a big batch of Gluten-Free Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles for dinner. Reserve a serving of the tomato sauce and meatballs. Then reheat the sauce & meatballs at lunchtime the next day. While the sauce and meatballs heat up, cook fresh zucchini noodles in a skillet. Finally, add the sauce and meatballs to the zucchini and dig in.

Fire Roasted Tomato Zucchini Pasta with Turkey Meatballs

2. MakeĀ it Raw

I have many recipes for yummy no-cook meals with spiralized zucchini and other vegetables. These can be saved in the refrigerator for later and donā€™t require reheating. Therefor, the noodles wonā€™t release too much water.

Try it out with this summery recipe for Avocado and Tomato Zucchini Noodle Salad with BasilĀ Vinaigrette. Just remember to add the dressing just before serving!

3. Add extra seasonings to your soup

If you just made a big batch of delicious zucchini noodle soup for meal prep, like the Minestrone from Inspiralize Everything or this Bacon and White Bean Zoodle Soup, here’s a tip: pack extra seasonings.

As the zucchini sits in the soup, its moisture will dilute the broth, making your meal less flavorful. To account for this, just before serving, add an extra dash of salt, dried herbs, hot sauce, or other seasonings that make sense for the recipe.

The best meal-prep recipes for spiralized vegetables

Get started meal planning with these easy-to-store recipes:

Easy Meal Plans for your Spiarlizer

If you’d like us to do the work for you, we’ve got you covered! Check out our Spiralized Meal Plans, here.

Happy, healthy planning!

 

And for your easy access, I’ve created a FREE resource with everything you need to know about the most common spiralizable vegetables, including:

  • How to prepare each vegetable with the Inspiralizer
  • How to cook vegetable noodles and rice
  • The best ways to serve each vegetable
  • Which blade works best
  • How best to store the vegetables for meal prep and planning (including which vegetable noodles can be frozen)

Click here for my master guide to spirilizing vegetables

Which spiralized vegetables work best for prepared lunches?

You can make healthy and delicious meal prepped lunches with nearly any spiralized vegetable.

Use these tips to ensure your vegetable noodles are crisp and fresh at lunchtime:

  • Zucchini & Cucumbers: store the noodles separate from any sauce or dressing. By separating, you avoid excess moisture building up and making a soggy mess. If you really want to use zucchini noodles, try adding elements that will soak up that moisture (like leafy greens, cheese, breadcrumbs or regular pasta)
  • Apples & Pears: fruits brown quickly and lose their crispness. So unless you’re planning on eating the meal that day or you don’t mind a little browning and soft fruit noodles, avoid spiralizing these in advance.
  • Kohlrabi, Jicama, Daikon Radishes: if you’re using these raw, note that they snap easily when packed tightly.
  • Beets: Beets can be messy when they’re raw. They’re a little more manageable when they’re cooked, but plan accordingly (wouldn’t want to ruin your slacks or a crisp white blouse at your desk with beet noodles!)
  • Butternut Squash: Butternut squash tends to over-soften quickly when cooked. When stored, your lunch may be a little softer than you expect if you’re eating butternut squash noodles.

General Spiralizer Meal Prep Tips & Tricks

Here’s a quick cheat-sheet of the best vegetable noodles to store raw and cooked to help you perfect meal prep every week.

    • Best Spiralized Veggies to Store Raw:
      • Zucchini (separated from sauce/dressing)
      • Cucumber (separated from sauce/dressing)
      • Onion
      • Chayote
      • Kohlrabi
      • Jicama
      • Carrot
    • Best Spiralized Veggies to Store Cooked:
      • Potatoes (all kind)
      • Parsnip
      • Rutabaga
      • Kohlrabi
      • Daikon Radish
      • Celeriac
      • Carrot
      • Broccoli stem

What are the best containers for storing spiralized lunches?

The number one rule is that your container for storing spiralizer meal prep should be airtight! I like to buy a pack of containers that come in various sizes so that I have options, depending on the type of meal I’m making. This Rubbermaid set has all types of sizes, perfect for packaging spiralized veggies, dressings, and sauces.

Meal Prep Lunch Recipe Roundup

If you’re still stumped, I’ve created a Pinterest board full of all of my recipes that can be cooked in advance and reheated for lunch (or dinner!) Click the image below to access the Pinterest board:

Inspiralized Meals for Lunch Meal Planning

 

How to Store Zucchini Noodles and Spiralized Vegetables

with love, Ali

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comments

  • This is super helpful! I'm trying to get better about meal prep for the week, and as someone without a dishwasher, fewer things to wash every night is a good thing as well!
    Reply
  • Thanks for sharing. My days start at 3:30 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. so this tip on prepping the vegetables will help immensely.
    Reply
  • So helpful! As a mom with a full-time job and full-time blog, it's so hard to make time to make healthy meals. And my husband and I always argue over how long vegetables can stay fresh in the fridge. I can't wait to show him this and prep my meals for next week on Sunday! xo, Katie www.pearshapedgirl.com
    Reply
    • Thanks Katie! It's definitely a great way to prepare meals ahead for the work week! Good luck :)
      Reply
  • I am trying to see if you have ever done kohlrabi ones? They are not always available here (in South Africa) but at the moment some grocer have them so I got them this weekend..and I'll try..I like zucchini - but have strong intolerance to them, so that's why I'd like to try other options too
    Reply
    • Unfortunately, those are not very accessible in the USA, but I will keep my eyes out - I would love to try them!
      Reply
  • Hi, I recently discovered your website and LOVE it. I just have a quick question. How can you store carrot and regular potato noodles?
    Reply
    • Thank you so much. Carrot noodles can be stored in the refrigerator and frozen as well. They have the storage life similar to butternut squash noodles. However, carrots can get crispy, so they are best enjoyed within 3 days of spiralizing. Potato noodles are the same as sweet potatoes! I hope this helps.
      Reply
  • Great! Just the type of tips I needed and was looking for!!
    Reply
  • Cani inspiralized butternut squash without peeling? That's the worst part for me even though I love them.
    Reply
    • No, butternut squash cannot be spiralized without peeling - sorry! It's a pain, but totally worth it!
      Reply
      • Get a Titan Peeler for the butternut squash. Works like magic.
        Reply
      • Butternut (and other winter squashes) can be consumed when young and the shell is not yet hard. I bet that would spiralize now. Ask at the farmers market, the butternuts are probably at exactly the right point!
        Reply
  • Thank you! Exactly what I needed to know!
    Reply
  • I found your blog a few days ago and am in LOVE! I have a quick question though- any thoughts on sprializing and storing beets?
    Reply
    • Thank you! It's basically the same as the rest of the noodles! More similar to a butternut squash.
      Reply
  • I peeled way too many fresh beets. How long can I store fresh, peeled, beets? Or can I freeze them?
    Reply
  • How long do leftovers last in the frige after being cooked?
    Reply
  • Would adding lemon or lime juice to the noodles help them to stay fresher longer? I know it helps things like guacamole stay fresh not to mention tastes great? Have you tried that?
    Reply
  • Just a suggestion-- you should consider putting the two links here at to of the list all the way up to the top. lots of questions answered before asked.
    Reply
  • This is exactly the post I have been searching for!! Thank you!!
    Reply
  • What kind of spiralizer do you use? I am looking into purchasing one.
    Reply
  • Awesome! Starting raw food tomorrow and spiralizing for week in advance, happy I stumbled on this blog. I'm a mom of a 5 month old & 8 year old, working part time & you just saved me time AND money :)
    Reply
  • Love your site Found You On Pintrest.. I had already orded a Spiralizer last Week & waitingfor it to arive Hopefuly Today From Amazon :) Moncheri
    Reply
  • As the zucchini can be very watery, I dry it in the oven for 20 minutes. Should I do this before storing in the fridge? ps love your blog, and I think we are jc neighbors btw.
    Reply
    • Kristin - I don't use any pre-drying methods, since the beauty of zucchini is that it's quick and easy! But as it sits in the refrigerator, water doesn't release. Thanks for the kind words and hi, neighbor!
      Reply
    • A friend told me she had used this tip about drying the zucchini noodles in the oven for 20 min and liked the result. I'm wondering what temp to use.
      Reply
      • I just let them sit in a colander with salt for 30 mins and let the water drain, then dry between layers of paper towels. This way my homemade tomato sauce doesn't get all watery from the noodles
        Reply
  • Thanks so much for this invaluable information. This is something that might work...spiralize your vegetables and wrap in a paper towel and place in one of the "Debbie Meyer" type yellow or green plastic bags for storing veggies to make them last longer. I'm going to try this and will let you know if it keeps the veggies fresh for a longer period of time. I love my Spiralizer and I love your website and the IOS app. It's so awesome.
    Reply
    • Linda - I have a post all about saving veggies for future use! Check it out on my How To page!
      Reply
    • I like that idea!
      Reply
  • I'd like to add one other thought. I think the sweet potato noodles are BETTER cooked after frozen particularly if you want to do a noodle dish stirfry.. I did this last night with an orange ginger chicken and not only do they cook faster.. but because they are wilted they STAYED as noodles and didn't break apart. The meal worked better. oh.. and was TOTALLY yummy
    Reply
  • Thanks so much! This is literally exactly what I was looking for, and then some. Time to get my spiral on :)
    Reply
  • Thank you so much! I am a total newbie and your site is absolutely the best.
    Reply
  • Answered my question exactly! However, not the answer I wanted. I wanted to freeze spiralized zucchini. Thanks for saving me from failure. Love your blog, read it every day!!
    Reply
  • Okay, so we bought 6 large, shallow rectangle Zip Lock storage containers. The plan is to pick out 6 recipes for the week and label each container with the recipe name. Then we will spiralize the main veggie and put in an air tight zip lock. We will then chop the rest of the recipe's veggies and store those in another zip lock in the same container. When it's time to prepare dinner all I have to do is select the container I want and add the seasonings/sauce. So organized, quick & healthy. :)
    Reply
    • Brilliant!
      Reply
  • Can I freeze spiralized rutabaga?
    Reply
  • Have you tried vacuum sealing the noodles and freezing them? I'm curious how this might affect them.
    Reply
    • Does vacuum sealing work better for the refrigator or freezing
      Reply
  • HAve you tried vacuum sealing vegetable noodles - would that keep them fresh in the fridge longer?
    Reply
  • So I have three giant zucchinis in my fridge that I would like to store, and was a bit disappointed to find out that they don't freeze well. After a little bit of research, I found an article (http://www.hgtvgardens.com/freezing/chill-out-freezing-your-zucchini-harvest) that suggests blanching the zucchini before storing them in the freezer. This pretty much involves dropping the noodles into a pot of boiling water, but only for about 2-3 minutes, and then quickly moving them into ice water to stop the cooking process. This should kill off the enzymes that would normally turn the zucchini to mush, and allow them to be frozen for future enjoyment! I'm trying this myself right now, so no guarantee that this will work, but thought I should share anyhoo!
    Reply
    • This TOTALLY works and I was going to make my own comment about it, but you have it covered!
      Reply
      • Serena... have you had success with blanching and freezing? I want to be able to put up zoodles in summer when our CSA has plentiful zucchini.... Thanks!
        Reply
  • This is fantastic. I've recently been following a vegetarian diet, much to the dismay of my steak loving husband, and any kind of tips on preparing these meals ahead of time is a lifesaver for both of us.
    Reply
    • Get this book: Kitchen Divided - Vegan Dishes for a Semi-Vegan Household.....ISBN 978-1-57067-292-7 It should solve most of your problems.
      Reply
  • Hi! I was wondering...have you ever dehydrated spiralized noodles when in season to preserve them for use in winter?
    Reply
    • I, too, want to know about this! Squash season is upon us!
      Reply
  • Very helpful and exactly the info i was looking for. I also very much appreciate getting to the point quickly!
    Reply
  • This was really helpful thanks. Out of one butternut squash I have noodles for 2 for dinner tomorrow. Chunks for soup later in the week and a whole bulbous section to roast for dinner tonight. Not bad for less than $2. I was concerned about keeping the spiralized noodles overnight and it is so great to find you have done the research. Thank you.
    Reply
  • Great info. I've had success with turnips and rutabaga lasting 5 days in the fridge.
    Reply
  • Hmmmm...a lot of talk about saving time. Spiralizing veggies is so awesome...I use my Paderno pretty much once or twice a day and one of the best things about spiralizing is how quick it is and how easy it is to clean the spiralizer. And fresh! You can literally spiralize a zucchini in less than one minute from washing it to trimming the zoodles... Butternut squash take a bit longer to prep, but still...spiralizing is already the time saver! You rocked that fire roasted tomato pesto zoodle dish, and how quck and easy was that?!
    Reply
  • Dumb question, but what "tool" do you use to make vegetable noodles. I've been trying to do this to make a crab and cucumber salad and I keep failing. Help!
    Reply
  • Thank you for doing the experimenting with freezing the different types of veggies so we all don't have to!!! I appreciate all the time and love you put in this site!
    Reply
  • What type of tool do I need to get to make spiral veggie noodles?
    Reply
    • Jerry, it's call a 'spiralizer' - google (https://www.google.com/search?q=spiralizer&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) that word and you'll get lots of links to full size and hand held, like the 'Veggeti' (this one works like a hand held pencil sharpener). I use the Veggeti (it works beautifully, and is VERY, VERY SHARP) because I have a very, very small kitchen. Every large store (Walmart, Target, some grocery stores) carries it for $14.99 US.
      Reply
  • Question: What if you make zuchinni spaghetti in a sauce (tomatoes, baked tofu, veggies, spices, etc.). Can you freeze that with the zuchinni spaghetti in it? What about baked tofu in a sauce, can you freeze that?
    Reply
  • This will be for my Mom
    Reply
  • I love your blog...just found it today
    Reply
  • Thanks for these tips for spiralising vegetables. But once they have been prepared in a recipe, would the sweet potato and butternut squash noodles freeze well after its been prepared in a lasagna or pasta sauce? what do you think? I do my meal prep with fully prepared meals for the week so that would be very useful to know.
    Reply
  • If I prepped zucchini noodles for work week with sauce, can you put in microwave?
    Reply
  • Can you can the noodles? I'm canning our tomatoes and such this next weekend and wondered about zoodles.
    Reply
  • I've been dying to try a spiralizer, especially since it's prime time for our garden zucchini. Lo and behold, a friend gifted me the spiralizer she's no longer using. Woot! I am SO happy to know zoodles will last several days in the fridge. Thanks!
    Reply
  • This was super helpful! Tha ks!
    Reply
    • This was great information for the spiralize zucchini noodles. I just bought the hand machine and this is my first time to ever try something like this!Thanks you are a blessing ?Ginger
      Reply
    • What about beet noodles ? Do they freeze?
      Reply
      • Yes!! You can also see some more information about storing veggie noodles here: https://inspiralized.com/meal-prep-with-spiralized-vegetables/
        Reply
    • Thank you this is great information. Best wishes on the DREAM;}
      Reply
    • Thanks. This was great and helpful information.
      Reply
  • Super useful. Thank you so much!
    Reply
  • Thanks for the info - so sad about the zucchini noodles! Also, thanks for recognizing the "struggle" of those of us working full time with kids!
    Reply
  • I saw the post about blanching zucchini noodles before freezing, but how about purging? I always purge them before I cook them to help them retain their noodle-like consistency. Do you know if this will help with the enzymatic problem with freezing?
    Reply
    • Thanks for the question! We don't recommend boiling zucchini noodles beforehand, as they cause them to become limp and soggy. We do not recommend freezing at all!
      Reply
  • Just a suggestion: this may be a good thing to put under FAQs. I looked through all of them and didn't find this link until I did a Google search
    Reply
  • What about broccoli noodles? I have stalks left over from using the heads and was thinking of spiralizing and freezing them. I know they usually recommend blanching broccoli before freezing. Would I need to do this with the noodles?
    Reply
    • You can learn everything you need to know here: Inspiralized.com/broccoli
      Reply
  • What about refrigerator pickling the noodles?
    Reply
    • Oh yes! I'm curious about that....or fermenting them???
      Reply
  • I'm going to make Tuna Zucchini Noodle Casserole. After it is baked in the oven can it be frozen in small portions for another meal. I'm cooking for one.
    Reply
  • What about carrots how long will they last in the refrigerator
    Reply
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    Reply
  • Artist has a new way to Backburner their potential that is impressive and it is on the causes for the comedian book's foundation http://www.zeesmovie.com/.
    Reply
  • Hm this is surprising. I've been spiralizing a bunch of sweet potatoes and putting them in the fridge to cook later over the next week. I didn't realize that freezer is ok but refrigerator breaks them down, I might have to rethink my process. I came to this page because I was wondering how long daikon could store in the fridge after being spiralized, I've never cooked with daikon before so I was more unsure about what to expect in terms of spiralizing in advance. By the way, thank you for your blog and work, discovering this tool and some of your recipes have revolutionized how I've thought about what to eat and how to eat/cook healthier! So Thanks!
    Reply
    • Thank you so much for the kind words, Stephanie. We're so happy that you're finding the information that you need and that you're enjoying our recipes!
      Reply
  • Has anyone tried blanching the zucchini noodles before freezing? Just wondering if this might work better
    Reply
    • I've read that salting the zucchini and letting the excess moisture to drain from them for about 20 mins before freezing helps the noodles retain their shape after freezing.
      Reply
      • Thank you for sharing your tip with us!
        Reply
  • For the salad recipe of zuchinni, tomatoes and avacado how long in advance can you make it. Can you do it the evening before a potluck or will it get soggy.? I thought maybe I could prep the items and mix when I arrive at the party?
    Reply
  • Thanks for this post I have so much zucchinni this summer I was wondering if they would be a huge fail in the freezer....maybe canning them maybe work? I could update you if you'd like. Thanks for this blog! -nicole
    Reply
  • What do we do in the winter, spring & most of the summer for noodles until these veggies are in season again?
    Reply
      • Nice idea but some of us can't go that long without pasta!
        Reply
      • Zucchini, cucumbers, and bell peppers are summer crops. Most of the other things you would use are in season fall through spring. Sweet potatoes or butternut squash is harvested in fall and can store for most of winter. Broccoli is a frost-hardy, cool season crop, and root vegetables are in season fall and spring. So there should be something in season pretty much any time of the year
        Reply
    • I saw a great tip for freezing zucchini chunks: Blanche them in plain water. Lay them out on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels to drain, then remove the wet towel & put them on a silicon baking mat to freeze. The tip said adding salt made them loose flavor & texture. Great for soups & stews. I'm going to try that method with spiralized ones today. I bet it would work with strips too.
      Reply
      • I have grated and froze zucchini and used it later in tomato sauce and zucchini bread.
        Reply
    • A
      Reply
  • I spirilizer zucchini noodles....put them in colander and salt them....let them weep for awhile....then bag and freeze them. They are not mushy when I salute them later.
    Reply
    • Actually I don't salute them, but I might try that! I do sautĆ© them!
      Reply
    • What is the longest that you have froze them? Just wondering how ling I can freeze them before they will get mushy.
      Reply
  • Thanks for the info. I do refrigerate my sweet potato noodles for up to 5 days and cook them and enjoy them. Also, sometimes when I cook zucchini noodles they get super mushy. I just haven't figured out the right timing. Advice?
    Reply
    • Hi Cheryl, Sounds like you are cooking the zucchini noodles too long. Depending on your altitude they don't typically take longer than a minute because they have such a high water content. I cook ours in a steamer pot or a skillet for 60-90 seconds. too much longer and they wont stay together.
      Reply
  • I just made a sautĆ©ed salmon dish with spiralized zucchini and other veggies. Could I freeze something like this??
    Reply
  • Thank you very much!
    Reply
  • I feel like this was all obvious information....sorry you quit your job just to inform people that guess what, water based vegetables don't freeze well!!! DUH.
    Reply
    • I was always taught, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." If you knew this stuff already, there was no need for you to read it, let alone post any comments where you seem to be trying to make other people feel stupid.
      Reply
      • IMO, WELL SAID AMBER (MARCH 4, 2017 AT 9:15AM)
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    • I feel like your feigned pious spewing is really tedious.....Sorry you wasted precious time to leave such pointless feedback that guess what, you are an undiscovered genius!!! DUH.
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    • Hi, Your comment prompted me to think of many "ugly, boring, jealous Women" that I came to know, understand and run from, during my youthful mid-thirties. We were a group of "Mom's " who were mostly "Overly Privileged Housewives and were drawn together by mutual couples. Our husbands wanted food, quiet kids and hot sexy wives that would cook for them whenever they were present and lots of steamy hot sex. Kitchen duty and cooking was necessary for these mountain men who loved to hunt, party hard and play often. Your comment above, sheds much light on the image that I have of the type of person you must be. I mean, who could intentionally- want to hurt or discredit another? This blog is for YOUR information. It's here to educate you and other "cooks" who appreciate opinion from experimenting with techniques in preserving Zucchini and other Vegetti type pasta. If you already knew about the frozen pasta, maybe you should start your own blog (and video series) and test the waters on self respect and wisdom? My hope for your future journey is to understand my Quote to you. "Stupid and Ignorance are very different. Stupid can't be fixed??" Have a nice night, Wonder Woman Wisdom
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    • Her channel and blog are full of recipes and cooking tips, much MORE than about freezing veggies. She quit her job for thatā€”to take on the ā€œjobā€ of teaching people healthy eating, to make a small difference in the world. Whatā€™s your job? I hope you read all the replies to your comment. If it makes you feel good to put others down, I really pity you more than people who want to know if you can successfully freeze zucchini noodles...
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  • Exactly what I needed to know! Making a zucch noodle dish for a gathering tonight and wasn't sure how they'd handle being prepped ahead of time. Now I know they'll be fine in the fridge. Congrats on your professional journey, Ali! It's a big, important deal, and not everyone has the courage. We feel for those whose reaction to disappointment in themselves is to try to pull others down. I'll be bookmarking your site!
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  • Awesome. This is so helpful. Do you have any information on storing cooked spaghetti squash?
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  • Now I am going to do my breakfast, once having my breakfast coming over again to read additional news.
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  • Just for clarity... when you defrost things, did you just set them out on the counter? Or defrost in the microwave? 40 min. seems like a long time for the microwave but I didn't want to assume with the Frozen Swoodles!
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  • Thanks! Very helpful.
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  • Super helpful - thank you!
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  • Hi there,I log on to your new stuff named "Ground Rules: Spiralizing & Storing Noodles ā€” Inspiralized" regularly.Your humoristic style is awesome, keep doing what you're doing! And you can look our website about powerful love spells.
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  • have you tried cooking the zucchini noodles before freezing? Not knowing you shouldn't freeze them i cooked our meal and put left overs in the freezer for lunches. I don't remember them being mushy or actually much unlike fresh. I'd like to know if you try it. I hope it wasn't a fluke.
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  • Yes this was quite helpful! Saved me from another kitchen fail :)
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  • Have you tried to dehyrate them in a dehydrator or oven? I'm going to be trying that this week to preserve some zucchini & summer squash noodle.
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    • Personally I'm not big on dehydrated zucchini. About the only way I can think of to use them afterward is to add the dehydrated noodles to a pot of soup to rehydrate in there
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      • I am planning on making some z-noodles to use as lasagna. This will be my first attempt at dehydrating anything.
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    • Joanna, I am very interested to find out how this worked for you. Please let us know. I am hoping to do some dehydrating so I can use different veggies through the winter.
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  • Thanks for the post! What I do with my cut vegetables is to use a mason jar, put a paper towel at the bottom, add the vegetable, add another paper towel, add more vegetable and then top with another paper towel and put on the mason jar lid. Works like a charm. Some vegetables, like onions will last over a week.
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    • Thank you for sharing, Cora!
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  • Never heard of sweet potato noodles most seen and eaten zucchini ones and knew acorn squash existed Came to find storing techniques going to try making sweet potato ones
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    • You must!! They will change the game.
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  • My usual go-to meal in a hurry is ramen noodles. Thank you for doing the experiments, so I can try preparing in advance, and replace the ramen with something healthy!
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    • Of course! You're so welcome!
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  • You can probably kill the brittle issue of sweet potato noodles by storing them in a plastic deli container in water. They should last about 5 days in the fridge that way and stay nice and fresh! I would try the same for celery, carrots and butternut squash. You might want to change the water and get them to last even a little longer.
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  • Great post thanks. I have been looking into freezing zoodles, and I came across an article that said after you zoodle your zucchini if you put them into a mesh strainer sprinkle them with salt, let them sit for 20-30 minutes letting the moisture drip out that they freeze pretty well. I would need to try it, I thought I would post maybe someone has already tried this method? Great blog.
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    • Check out this post! It's all about the best storing methods for each veggie noodle: https://inspiralized.com/meal-prep-with-spiralized-vegetables/
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    • Has anyone tried this method for zucchini noodles yet? "put them into a mesh strainer sprinkle them with salt, let them sit for 20-30 minutes letting the moisture drip out that they freeze pretty well." I saw it posted above but didn't know if it was tried by anyone yet?
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      • I have frozen mine in a food saver bag. Thaw in strainer then Saute
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    • I tried the salt and spiralized zucchini and still ended up with a wet mess after freezing ?
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  • This page https://onceamonthmeals.com/recipes/zoodles-spaghetti-style-noodles/ has *great* information on freezing zucchini noodles. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm pretty confident in it -- make sure you look at the comment about blanching the noodles, too! In summary, it's: - Make the zoodles - Lay in a single layer and sprinkle with 1T salt. Let sit 30 mins. - Turn them over and sprinkle with 1T salt. Let set 30 mins. - Pat dry with paper towel - Blanch (which means, drop in boiling water for 60 seconds) - Let cool, pat dry, flash freeze (in a single layer on a baking sheet) and then put in whatever freezer container you like. Is that a heck of a lot of work? Yes. Is it potentially worth it if you're freezer cooking a few weeks' worth of meals? I think so.
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  • Hi ! I'm new to this way of cooking. I find it fun and easy BUT after I spiralize zucchini or squash and set it aside in the strainer. I find it limp and wet. What happened to the crisp? I sad with my results and want to give up.
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    • Hi Tia! Don't give up! We have a super handy video that covers avoiding watery zucchini noodles that might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mILFcumUbuk&t=39s
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      • Link does not work. Returns "nothing found" or some such.
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  • Daikon radish noodles can be frozen w no prep and last for months!
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  • It would be nice if the National Center for Food Preservation addressed freezing spiralized veggies. They are at: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze.html The thing that worries me about this blog is the lack of blanching. Better information is needed about blanching times in regards to freezing veggies this way, for safety. I'd love to put up a lot of a lot of zucchini noodles for the winter, when have zucchini growing in the garden, but would like to know am doing it safely.
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  • I got this site from my friend who informed me about this web page and at the moment this time I am visiting this website and reading very informative articles or reviews at this time.
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  • I love all the information provided here on your page and I subscribe to your youtube channel. My only problem here is that I get all the way to the bottom of the page and it is still not finished loading. It even gave me a crash message early on. I know you must include ads to support your page, but with my Chrome browser it has still not finished loading. Some of the ads may not even be seen due to the long load time. All that said, you have a great youtube channel and give excellent info on spiralizing. Keep up the good work and thank you for your insights.
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