We are living in the deep of winter.
Deep, dark, frozen winter. We’re talking multiples of ten below zero where your hands get frostbite within like two seconds of being exposed to the air. Why/how/why? This is exactly why I am channeling the warm vibes by bringing avocado, zucchini, and tomatoes into my life in the ultimate cozy form of PASTA. If there was ever a category of food to bring me back to life, it would most definitely be my old friend, my first love, the sustainer of my winter days – p-a-s-t-a.
This recipe is two things: we’re embracing that healthy trend of spiralized vegetables that makes it *FEEL LIKE* we’re eating pasta when we’re actually eating zucchini, while also, like, ACTUALLY eating real pasta. As in spaghetti. As in get in my belly now because it’s thirty degrees below zero.
Are you down?
How to make our Zucchini Spaghetti (1 min):
I mean, if you’re completely honest with yourself, straight up zucchini noodles can really be just HARD TO DEAL WITH sometimes. They’re delicious for as long as you don’t think about them too much, and then all of a sudden, halfway through what started as a really delicious meal, you remember you’re eating zucchini spaghetti instead of carbs and just, ugh, NO. You’ve betrayed your inner food self in the worst sort of way.
And if you’ve ever tried to re-visit them the next day as leftovers? Not so much, healthy self. Not. So. Much.
So with the open-mineded-to-spiralized-zucchini approach in half of your brain (we are so there, I know we are), and the loyalist-to-carbs in the other half of you brain (equally as powerful a force around here), you will now find yourself staring at a heaping bowl of this zucchini noodle + real spaghetti combo, and all is right in the zucchini noodle world.
We’ve got whole wheat spaghetti establishing the base, spiralized zucchini bulking up the whole thing and adding color + nutrition + just enough tender-crispy crunch, and creamy avocado sauce to bring them both together in sticky, saucy pasta harmony. And don’t even think for one second about skipping the sweet wrinkled roasty tomatoes on top of the whole thing because they’re adorable little bursts of vegetable candy, and who doesn’t need that sort of positivity in their life?
Also – I realize that this is yet another green food processor sauce and I’m not sorry one bit. You’re gonna love this one. SIMPLE CREAMY DELICIOUS.
THE SPIRALIZER SITUATION
There are a few things you’ll need to know.
- This is the magical thing they call a spiralizer.
- I’m currently using the Inspiralizer and loving it.
- Sad story: the cooked zucchini noodles are not delicious as leftovers. They’re just not. You could try to convince me otherwise in the comments but I probably wouldn’t believe you. So make this and eat it right away, or else store everything separately and prepare each serving just before you eat it.
- You could spiralize other vegetables and use them in place of zucchini. Sweet potatoes? With the avocado sauce? I am definitely feeling that.
Pasta Love in three, two…
Burst Tomato and Zucchini Spaghetti with Avocado Sauce
Prep Time: 10 mins- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Burst Tomato and Zucchini Spaghetti tossed with a simple, creamy, vegan avocado sauce. This healthy recipe is ready in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 3 cups yellow and red cherry tomatoes
- 2 zucchini, spiralized
- 4 ounces whole wheat spaghetti (optional – see notes)
- Parmesan for topping (but skip this if you’re vegan, obvs)
Avocado Sauce:
- 1 avocado
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley
- 3-4 green onions (green parts)
- 1 garlic clove
- juice of 1 lemon
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pulse all sauce ingredients together until smooth. Set aside.
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Heat the cherry tomatoes in a large skillet over medium high heat with a very quick drizzle of olive oil. Gently shake the pan to get them moving (you might want to grab a lid for this – they really start to spatter when the juices hit the hot oil). Continue cooking until tomatoes are roasty-looking and the skins are split or loosened. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add the zucchini to the same pan and toss for 1-2 minutes, until tender-crisp. Add the spaghetti and the avocado sauce. Toss until combined. Season with salt and pepper, top with reserved tomatoes and Parmesan if you like that sort of thing. Serve immediately.
Notes
Okay, so if you’re going SUPER HEALTHY on us, you could skip the pasta. We made this without pasta as a side for grilled chicken during an especially ambitious post-new-year’s-resolution meal, and even with JUST THE ZUCCHINI, it was still super delicious.
However, if you were making this without the chicken, I wouldn’t go for the zucchini-noodles-only approach. The pasta makes it more of a meal in and of itself.
Just last week I made zoodles with Magic Green Sauce and cherry tomatoes warmed up in a pan so they burst when you take a bite!! Can’t believe I opened the blog today to find something so similar! This looks delicious too!
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You must be an amazing cook! 😉
This looks all sort of healthy and delicious! Gorgeous!
Wow, so colorful and sounds super delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I like to mix my zucchini noodles with half real pasta noodles sometimes to help balance it out, but I think I could definitely eat this dish as is! It looks fantastic dear! Stay warm in MPLS. <3 I'll be in town Thursday-Sunday visiting from DSM so I'm bracing myself!
I love the idea of combining regular spaghetti with the zucchini noodles. I don’t mind the zoodles by themself, but my 4 year old daughter – not so much. She tried them and gagged on them. Soo yea, not her thing!
Now I can DEFINITELY get on board with the halfsies pasta/zucchini noodles combo. I tell ya, I am not one to be fooled easily by low carb anything, even though I try my best to eat meals everyday without starch. Last night I made some delicious thai beef lettuce wraps, then I realized that I was still hungry, so I chowed down on what seemed like a half a bag of tortilla chips. So much for a low carb dinner!
So funny! 🙂
Lindsay, have you tried sweating your zucchini noodles before you cook them? I put them in a colander and toss with salt and leave them be for 30 mins, then rinse and pat dry. It’s a bit of effort, but the noodles cook much better because they’re rid of the excess water, and they stay good for leftovers! Regardless, I really like the idea of combining zucchini noodles with regular pasta. Healthier, but still with some bite!
Great tip, Elizabeth! We’ll have to try that.
Lindsay, my dear Lindsay, you’ve done it again – this looks so good! Funny enough I make my zucchini swirls the same way. I make traditional pasta pasta And the zucchini pasta on our pasta nights now – the kids have gradually tried and come to like the veggie version but we can’t seem to do away with the inner core, comfort foodness of real pasta – gotta have both and might as well! Wow, weirdly enough I have everything in the fridge right now to make this little avo sauce. I went on a little fresh herb binge and need an excuse to use up my parsely. Thank ya thank ya!! I Know I will like that green stuff, avo sauce, let’s see about the rest of the fam ;)✨Bita
The spiralizer has become such a kitchen phenomenon this past year. I have yet to buy one, but this recipe might be the final reason to buy! YUM.
YUM! Are those green onions that you added?
★★★★★
Yep! We are working on updating the ingredient list. Good eye!
yes yes, I love the idea of going halfsies on the real noodles and zucchini! I bet that sauce is amazing too, definitely going to try it out!
idreamtech
What do you think of the hand held (think SMALL) spiralizers? From: a former 4th grade teacher…
We do prefer the bigger ones (Paderno or Inspiralizer) because they spiralize so easily. That being said – a small spiralizer is better than no spiralizer! 🙂
pasta and avocado? My two favourites in one dish…need to go make this asap hahaha. Looks amazing Lindsay!
if you don’t have access to sherry tomatoes, but regular ones, do you have a suggestion about how to make them similarly for this recipe?
Good question. My suggestion would be to cube regular tomatoes and then roast them as you would roast cherry tomatoes. You should get a similar outcome.
Love this recipe. Tomato and spaghetti being my favorite this combo is a sure winner. It’s simple and easy to make for dinner. I am gonna try this for the weekend.
Thanks for sharing!
OK! I’m going to try it. Zucchini noodles. But if they taste like cauliflower mashed potatoes, I’m giving up.
My mouth is watering. Your dish is so fresh and vibrant. In our Italian household we have pasta almost every day often with pesto or tomato sauce. I really like your avocado sauce and your photos are great!
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Thanks, Alida!
Instead of the spiralizer, do you think my cuisinart holey attachment would work??
Hi, Sarah! I’m not familiar with that attachment, but if it makes veggies into long, noodle-like strips, then yes! 🙂
I’ve just gotten a spiralizer but have yet to use it. This might be the recipe I use to break it in. And I love how you decided to mix in some real pasta with the zucchini pasta. Because let’s face it, it’s fun to be healthy and all, but not that fun. I love me some gluten and some carbs! This recipe is still healthy enough, even with the spaghetti.
Love it!
This recipe is so absolutely incredible and the leftovers were delicious too! I can’t WAIT to remake it and I’m going to use this sauce in most of my recipes moving forward. It’s unbelievably flavorful!!! I’m gluten-free and subbed in g-free spaghetti with the zoodles. delicious!!!
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Love hearing that, Eleni!
This looks FAB. I recently purchased an Inspiralizer and love it. Why is this recepie so high in saturated fat and carbs? Is it because you used real pasta? Also, I see your in MN. I grew up there in a small town west of MSP. Love in Cincinnati now, but love MN.
Hi, Virginia. The carbs in this recipe come mostly from the spaghetti. You could certainly try this will all zucchini noodles to cut out those carbs. The saturated fats come from the avocado, olive oil, and cheese.
This recipe sounds delicious! However, I don’t know how to spiralize the zucchini,. Please e plain that to me. I guess I’m new to your site.
Thank you,
Katherine
Hi, Katherine! In order to truly spiralize veggies, you need a spiralizer. Check out this post: https://pinchofyum.com/8-life-changing-ways-to-use-a-spiralizer. If you do not have a spiralizer, you could try cutting the zucchini into strips or using a vegetable peeler to achieve a similar effect.
My husband & I love this recipe. I combined it with Rachael Ray’s “Spicy Fennel Shrimp”. I added the lemon zest to the sauce. Because I’m a diabetic I didn’t use the pasta. Also because I was using this with fish I didn’t use the Parmesan. Italians think it is a sin to use cheese with fish.
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Love the idea of combining this with shrimp! Yum!
Does the avocado sauce store well? Or is it something that should be served immediately?
Hi, Katie. It’s best (as with most things) right away, but you could store it for a couple days if you don’t use it all.