If you’re a proud new owner of a spiralizer, congrats! You’re in for a delicious array of easy, veggie-packed dishes from here on out.
Spiralizing is my secret weapon to enhance and lightening my home cooking by:
- Adding more vegetables to every plate
- Replacing refined carbs with high-fiber foods
- Making dinner prep quick and easy
But I know that the world of spiralizing vegetables can be a bit overwhelming at first. When I was a beginner, I had no idea where to start.
I remember asking myself
What should I make with a spiralizer? How long do I cook zoodles for? What other veggies and meats pair well with zucchini? What else can I spiralize? Will Lu like it?
Now that I’ve become a seasoned pro at spiralizing over the years, I’m excited to help new spiralizer users go from novice to old hat as quickly as possible. That’s why I’ve rounded up the 10 best spiralizer recipes for beginners.
What Makes these Recipes Great for Beginners?
These are my best spiralizer recipes for first-timers because they’re easy to pull together but full of flavor. Whether you just got a new spiralizer or you’re trying to convince a friend to get one, these dishes are the perfect place to start. Or even if you’re already fully Inspiralized, you can add these recipes to your “quick and easy” list.
Don’t worry, these top 10 recipes aren’t just no-cook, basic dishes (though there are a few raw recipes too). All of the spiralizer recipes below are big on flavor, texture, and visual appeal with minimal prep work.
What’s the Easiest Vegetable to Spiralize?
All of these beginner recipes use zucchini noodles. That’s because it’s the easiest vegetable to turn into noodles with your Inspiralizer.
Before you get started, be sure to read my how-to guide to mastering perfect zucchini noodles that aren’t soggy and the Three Best Ways to Cook Zucchini Noodles.
After you’ve mastered cooking zoodles, you’ll understand the nature of spiralized vegetables and be able to take on anything from carrots to celeriac.
Top 10 Easy and Delicious Beginner Recipes for Spiralized Vegetables
If you haven’t already, check out this video on how to spiralize a zucchini:
Raw Zucchini Noodle Recipes
First things first, start your experiments with zoodles using a simple no-cook recipe. This is just a great way to incorporate spiralized veggies into your favorite salads without committing to a fully-cooked meal of zoodles.
1. Crunchy Zucchini Noodle Wrap with Avocado and Feta
This sandwich is an ideal lunch with zoodles. The zucchini noodles provide the right amount of crunch to counteract creamy avocado and tangy feta.
2. Avocado-Basil Zucchini Noodles with Chili-Lime Shrimp and Corn
The zucchini noodles in this recipe are actually raw, but the avocado-basil sauce adds a bold flavor and softens the noodles slightly.
Simple Cooked Zucchini Noodle Dishes
Next, try making an easy cooked zoodle recipe with ingredients you already know and love.
3. Zucchini Noodles with Chicken, Feta and Spinach
This easy recipe packs a lot of healthy flavors. The salty feta with the hearty chicken make this a great dish to ease into cooked spiralized veggies. It tastes delicious and the cooking method is a simple sautƩ (one of the best ways to cook zoodles).
4. Bacon Shrimp Zucchini Noodle Scampi
Cooking zucchini noodles with a sauce can be tricky. This recipe is a great way to start off, as it offers tons of smoky, seafood flavor and takes mere minutes.
Start with a Light Sauce
Hot sauces can cause zucchini noodles to become watery and limp. So start off with something lighter.
5. Puttanesca with Zucchini Noodles
This light sauce doesn’t drown the noodles. When you make this, take note of how much moisture that the zucchini releases. To avoid excess moisture, check out these tips.
6.Ā Shrimp Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai
This light Thai sauce helps keep your sautƩed zoodles crisp and infuses them with flavor.
Try Zucchini Ribbons
7. Broccoli Rabe with Sausage and Zucchini Noodles
Spaghetti is everyone’s go-to noodle with the spiralizer, but you can use a thicker ribbon-shaped noodle as well. This dish is a great way to experiment with different noodle shapes.
Add Cheese to an Easy Zucchini Noodle Recipe
Cheese can be a bit tricky to cook with since it can get watery with the zucchini noodles. In this cheesy and savory pasta recipe, it’s important to fold in the cheese, remove the noodles from heat and then transfer the noodles with pasta tongs into your plate, to let any excess moisture drip out.
Try A Zucchini Noodle Soup Perfect for Beginners
9. Ginger Scallion Egg Drop Soup with Zucchini Noodles
Zucchini noodles can easily be added to soups and they stay nice and crisp! You won’t believe how flavorful this simple soup is.
Go Big with a Thick, Rich Sauce
9. Bikini Bolognese
Finally, now that you’ve mastered the art of the zucchini noodle, throw it in with a heavy meat sauce. Remember everything you learned along the way.
What to Make After you’ve Mastered Zucchini Noodles
Your next spiralizer recipe? Try something with sweet potatoes! This is one of my favorite vegetables to spiralize, and I have a primer on the Best Ways to Cook Spiralized Sweet Potatoes to get you started.
Then, try these popular sweet potato noodle recipes:
- Sweet Potato Noodle Ham and Cheese Cups
- Shaved Asparagus and Sausage Sweet Potato Noodles
- Garlic Sweet Potato Noodles with Baby Spinach and Pancetta
Now that you have these 10 Best Beginner Recipes for the Spiralizer in your repertoire, you’re ready to take on any kitchen challenge. To learn more about how to make the most of your Inspiralizer, use these helpful how-to articles:
- How to Spiralize
- How to Spiralize Winter Produce
- How to Spiralize Chayote (Video)
- How to Pick the Best Vegetables for the Spiralizer
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