Kale Pesto Zoodles
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Enjoy a bowl of zoodles–zucchini noodles–smothered in a creamy, flavorful kale pesto. Topped with mushrooms and shrimp, these Kale Pesto Zoodles are a healthy weeknight dinner!
Who wants to eat carbs when you can eat vegetables?! I’m kidding! I love carbs, but sometimes you just need more veggies in your life, and that’s where zoodles–zucchini noodles–really come in handy.
These zoodles are a fun way to replicate spaghetti noodles, and in this recipe they’re covered in pesto and topped with sautéed shrimp and mushrooms. They’re gluten free, dairy free, paleo, AND whole30 and SO, so tasty. Also, the whole recipe comes together in under 20 minutes, which you know I’m all about during the week.
KALE PESTO INGREDIENTS
- Kale
- Basil
- Garlic
- Pine nuts
- Olive oil
Typical pesto includes parmesan cheese, but in order to keep this dairy free, I opted to omit it. To be honest, out of all the pesto ingredients, parmesan cheese is the one you can skip out on.
If you can’t find pine nuts or don’t want to shell out the money for them (they’re a tad on the pricey side), you can use walnuts or almonds instead.
HOW TO MAKE PESTO ZOODLES
Before you can make zoodles, you need a spiralizer! I’ve had my spiralizer for years and I LOVE it. It’s incredibly reliable, and it comes with three different colored blade options so you can easily tell them apart.
For this recipe, you’ll use Blade C, meaning the blade with the smallest triangles so that you’re able to create thin, spaghetti-like noodles.
I like to slice both ends of the zucchini off first, then secure the zucchini to your spiralizer and simply turn the handle to run the zucchini through the spiralizer, which will turn the whole zucchini into zucchini noodles. It’s that easy!
After you have your zoodles, you’ll want to sauté them in a skillet for 1-2 minutes. The key is to get them to be warm and slightly softened but not soggy.
As far as the pesto goes, you can add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor and pulse until the mixture is smooth. Note that you may need to add a little more water, and if you do, be sure to add just one tablespoon at a time so the pesto doesn’t become too runny.
ADD-INS
Want to add more stuff to these pesto zoodles? Go for it! Other ingredients that’d be delicious are: bacon, pancetta, grape tomatoes, parmesan cheese (if not doing Whole30), and/or asparagus.
MORE GLUTEN FREE RECIPES
If you make these pesto zoodles, I’d love it if you could leave a review below. Thanks!!
Kale Pesto Zoodles
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini
- 1/2 cup mushrooms
- 1/2 lb. shrimp, tails removed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp oregano
for the pesto:
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 cup kale, stems removed
Instructions
- Spiralize the zucchini then set it aside.
- In a large skillet, add olive oil, mushrooms, shrimp, garlic, and oregano and cook until mushrooms are soft and shrimp is cooked, about 5 minutes.
- While the shrimp is cooking, make the pesto: combine all pesto ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until everything is combined. If you have trouble getting the pesto to mix, add 1-2 tbsp more water.
- Remove the shrimp mushroom mix with a slotted spoon, then add the zoodles to the skillet and use kitchen tongs to stir so that the zoodles are warm, about 1-2 minutes. Add the shrimp and mushrooms back into the skillet and mix everything together. Transfer the warm pasta to a bowl then add the pasta and toss to combine.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
I love my spiralizer! I thought it would be a waste of money but it is fab! I have also spirals carrots, parsnips and sweet potato – all tasty.
Oh hello perfect meal! I am totally going to try this without the pine nuts. What a friggin’ amazing way to get the kale into the diet!
good on you for making your own pesto sauce! i get so lazy and just buy my own from the store haha… so much quicker! but this looks amazing, add shrimp to any ‘pasta’ recipe and its a winner!