Zucchini Spaghetti (aka zoodles) mixed with a quick and easy tomato sauce! A healthy low-carb Summer Dinner that can be made in under 30 minutes. Serve this Zucchini spaghetti with a crispy baguette and side salad to make it a meal!
Lightened-up pasta dishes make eating healthy SO easy! Try my Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo which has under 500 calories per portion, and my Healthy Shrimp Scampi is super light and tasty!
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Zucchini Spaghetti Recipe
If you haven’t made zucchini noodles you are missing out! They are full of flavor, healthy, and not to mention are gluten-free, low carb and vegetarian! What’s not to love! During the summer we have zucchini noodles about once a week! My zucchini is always in surplus this time of year and when I get sick of making zucchini muffins and cookies I turn to noodles!
Instead of regular pasta zucchini is cut into the shape of noodles with the help of a Vegetable Slicer. 
They are a great way to sneak some extra vegetables into your diet. The noodles are then tossed in a simple easy homemade tomato sauce.
You can enjoy these zucchini noodles raw or cooked. You can add the raw noodles directly to the sauce or saute them in a bit of oil before adding them in. I’ve done both methods and they both work great!
I love making this zucchini pasta with tomato sauce on busy weeknights. This recipe only takes 30 minutes to make, it can be made in one pan, plus it’s a healthy dinner you don’t have to feel guilty about eating!
For a twist try my Zucchini Noodles with Pesto or my Zucchini Shrimp Scampi!
ingredients
- Zucchini: I used a vegetable spiralizer to cut 4 zucchinis into noodles. This technique works with other vegetables too like carrots and sweet potatoes. It’s so handy to have in your kitchen!
- Onion & garlic: Plenty of authentic Italian flavor lies in these two ingredients. Add some Italian herbs and it tastes just like the real deal.
- Tomatoes: Canned crushed tomatoes are added to make the tomato sauce robust and super flavorful. Canned diced tomatoes would be great as well. I like that these two options add a little chunkiness to the tomato sauce.
- Seasoning: Dried oregano brings a delicious aroma and red pepper flakes add just a hint of heat. If you like spice add a little more of the red pepper flakes into this Zucchini Pasta dish!
- Basil: You can’t beat the taste of fresh herbs in just about any savory dish. Fresh basil complements Italian cooking perfectly.
- Parmesan: Completely optional, I like to grate a little parmesan cheese over my pasta to finish it off. Skip it or add a plant based-alternative to keep this zucchini pasta vegan.
How to make Zucchini Noodles
- Spiralize zucchini: Making zucchini noodles at home does not take much effort at all! I love using this handheld zoodler, this countertop one or you could also use the attachment on your food processor if you have it as well. I like to leave the skin on the zucchini for the color and added fiber.
- Prepare the sauce for zucchini noodles: Add oil to a large saucepan. Add in onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until tender. Next, add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add in crushed tomatoes, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a light simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add zucchini noodles to the sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes or until tender.
- Serve: Stir in basil and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately.
kelley’s tips
- Add protein: While I do enjoy zucchini pasta as is you can add your favorite choice of protein to them! Chicken, beef, shrimp, ground turkey, or sausage are all great choices. I also love adding homemade meatballs to this!
- More veggies! Add even more veggies to the sauce by sautéing finely chopped carrot or celery!
- Make it vegan by grating a plant-based parmesan over the zucchini pasta at the end.
how to store spaghetti with zucchini
- Store: Leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- Reheat: In a large skillet and simmer until heated through and the sauce has thickened.
what to serve with zucchini spaghetti
1 hour- 20 minutes
- 30 minutes
- 30 minutes
- 4 hours 20 minutes
- 1 hour
frequently asked questions
Is zucchini pasta healthy?
Yes! It is made 100% of zucchini which is so good for you. Zucchini, which is technically a fruit, is rich in many nutrients such as Vitamin A, Manganese, Vitamin C, Potassium, Magneseum, Vitamin K, folate, Copper, Phosphorous, Vitamin B6, and Thiamine.
Is zucchini spaghetti high in carbs?
Spaghetti zucchini is very low carb! This recipe comes to 12g net carbs per serving compared to dry spaghetti pasta which comes to 35.7g net carbs per 100g, and let’s be honest, it’s hard to only have 100g of pasta!
How do you make zoodles not soggy?
My best tip for making zucchini noodles not soggy or watery is to not overcook the zucchini, and also use salt sparingly. Salt and heat both draw the moisture out of the zucchini. I only cook mine for 2-3 minutes in the pasta sauce so they are “al dente” and not soggy at all.
If you like this recipe then you’ll love my Zucchini Noodle Stir Fry!
Love this recipe? Here are more Italian Favorites to try!
- Easy Lasagna Roll Ups
- Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells
- Baked Turkey Pesto Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce
- Italian Ham and White Bean Orzo Soup
products used
Zucchini “Pasta” with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 zucchinis, about 4 cups, cut into thin noodles with a vegetable spiralizer
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon basil, chopped
- Parmesan cheese, for garnish if desired
Instructions
- Add oil to a large saucepan. Add is onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until tender. Add in garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add in crushed tomatoes, oregano and red pepper flakes. Bring to a light simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add zucchini noodles to the sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes or until tender.
- Stir in basil and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Did you make this?
I’d love to hear your feedback! Leave a review and make sure to share your pictures on social media! Don’t forget to follow @thechefsavvy.
Kari
Great, healthy, simple recipe! Since I’m on low fodmap, I subbed garlic infused oil. Sometime I use onion or leek greens too. Thanks for sharing! 😊❤✌
Kelley Simmons
Of course so glad you enjoyed this recipe Kari!
Marie
Do you salt the zucchini and rinse it to get the water out of it? Looking forward to trying your recipe
Kelley Simmons
Hi Marie!
No I did not salt my zucchini I find that when you cook the zucchini for too long it does get mushy and watery so I only try to just toss it in the sauce and cook for about 1 minute or so. Hope that helps and you enjoy!
Kelley
Ned Eastwood
Made it for the first time, added a few extra fresh vegetables. It was amazing
Linda
Terrible terrible website!
Too many other sites that work great.
Pat
How much Parmesan cheese did you add to the sauce
Kelley Simmons
Hi Pat,
I didn’t add any parmesan to the sauce I just sprinkled it on to the bowls before serving.
Thank you and enjoy!
Kelley
Stephanie L
This was delicious! I accidentally used 1 can of tomato sauce (I thought I had grabbed 2 cans of crushed tomatoes) and it was so good! I don’t think I will ever buy premade pasta sauce ever again. I love how easy it was to make and all natural ingredients.
steve
I had sauce and meatballs and thought this would be easy and tasty. Indeed it was