Thai Zoodle Salad

Oodles of Zoodles

When zucchini is plentiful, zoodles are in order! Zucchini is inescapable this time of year, and we’d like to invite you to just lean right on into that delicious green squash with this zoodle recipe. It’s a gluten-free, paleo, keto zoodle recipe and despite (or because?) of all that it’s incredibly satisfying, too. Get to it, friends—all that zucchini isn’t going to eat itself!

What Are Zoodles?

Although it sounds like a Seussian term for pasta noodles—and surely the word “zoodles” does indeed appear somewhere in a Dr. Seuss book—”zoodles” are simply another way of saying spiralized zucchini. Zucchini “noodles” are a healthier, low-carb, Whole30-approved, keto-friendly pasta replacement. They’re cheap, easy, and super satisfying. The key is to look for zoodle recipes that feature some kind of really scrumptious sauce or dressing, because zoodles are pretty neutral on their own—you want to give them a good zoodle dressing—like our Thai peanut dressing—to soak up.

How to Make Zucchini Noodles

Our Thai zucchini noodles recipe is easy for anyone to make, whether you’ve got a zucchini spiralizer or not. Here’s how to make zoodles using a few different tools:

1. Use a hand-held zoodle maker (aka a hand-held spiralizer). If you already know that zucchini noodles are something you want to make often, or maybe are wanting to work lots of keto zoodle recipes into your diet, investing in a little hand-held spiralizer is so totally worth it. We love this one.
2. Use a julienne peeler. Also called a “Y” peeler, this special peeler will make zucchini noodles a breeze, and will take up almost no space in your kitchen.
3. Use a sharp kitchen knife! This is the key to our easy zucchini noodle salad—truly anyone can make this because all you really need to make zoodles is a knife and a little patience. Just cut the zucchini into superfine strips and then into “noodles” as best you can. They won’t be quite as uniform and perfect as a spiralizer or julienne peeler would make, but that won’t make this cold Asian zoodle salad any less delicious.

Zucchini Noodles + Thai Peanut Dressing = Zoodle Salad Magic.

Of course, we cannot live on zucchini noodles alone—they’re good, but they taste a lot better when tossed with a creamy, zingy homemade Thai peanut dressing. Think of our cold zoodle salad as a little bit like a cold zoodle pad thai and you’ll be on the right track. Loaded with shredded chicken and made bright, cheery and crunchy with the addition of shredded carrots and bean sprouts, it’s a hot-weather dinner you’ll crave well into autumn.

Tools You’ll Need:

Our cold Thai zoodle salad might sound fancy, but it’s actually an incredible simple recipe. To make both the zucchini noodles and the Thai peanut dressing, you’ll just need:

• Zucchini spiralizer (or a julienne peeler, or just a good knife).
• Large bowl for mixing.

The Best Zucchini Recipes

This easy, Asian-inspired healthy zoodle recipe is one of our favorite ways to use up summer’s most prolific squash. Here are three other zucchini recipes we always make during zucchini season:

• Mediterranean-Style Zucchini Fritters with Tzatziki Dipping Sauce
• Mom's Zucchini Bread Muffins
• Lasagna Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Did You Serve Your Oodles of Zoodles in a Caboodle?

Because that would be sort of amazing. However you serve it, we want to hear about it! Snap a photo of your Thai zoodle salad, and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!