Thai Peanut Zucchini Noodles [Zoodles Recipe]

Thai Peanut Zucchini Noodles are zoodles sauteed with fresh, everyday vegetables and tossed in a delectable Thai peanut sauce. Zucchini pasta is an easy dinner recipe that can be served warm or chilled as a pasta salad for lunch.

Thai Peanut Zucchini Noodles

This Thai zucchini pasta packs SO much personality into one meal! It's sweet, spicy, and tastes like summer in a bowl, yet can be made any season of the year. Serve zucchini pasta warm as an easy dinner recipe, or chill it for your weekday lunch.

Thai zucchini noodles answer all the demands of healthy, delicious, minimalist cooking all year, just like my Zoodle Quinoa Buddha Bowl. Also, if you love vegetable pasta, check out my Baked Spaghetti Squash recipe. It's quite versatile and healthy, just like zoodles!

What’s the best spiralizer for zucchini noodles?

I have owned and LOVED this OXO spiralizer for a few years. [not sponsored btw, just an OXO fangirl]. It does everything I need, and at $40, it has more than paid for itself many times over.

Handheld Spiralizer:

If you don’t have a countertop spiralizer, you can use this handheld Titan Vegetable Julienne Peeler and Slicer. I owned this before I got the OXO tabletop version.

Can you cut zucchini noodles ahead?

Yes! In fact, we spiralize our zucchini noodles as part of our weekly meal prep routine. Then we refrigerate them in an airtight container and use them through the week for pretty much everything we eat, like salads, wraps, stir fry, eggs, and of course, this Thai zucchini pasta recipe.

Can you freeze zucchini noodles?

No. I would not freeze raw zucchini noodles just as I would not freeze most raw vegetables.

However, once cooked, I would consider freezing them, but only in a pinch because their texture may still be weird and potentially unappealing.

How to avoid watery zucchini noodles

1. Don't overcook - If you like zucchini noodles springy and not soggy, cook them al dente, leaving them slightly firm.

2. Go easy on the sauce - Zucchini noodles aren’t starchy like wheat pasta, so there's nowhere for excess moisture to go, except to the bottom of the bowl. So for this Thai zoodle recipe, the trick is to use just enough peanut sauce to barely coat the zoodles.

3. Salt - Salt draws moisture away from zucchini noodles. To do this, sprinkle a little salt over the noodles and let them sit for 20 minutes. Then dab the noodles dry with a paper towel.

To be honest, I'm too impatient for the salt method, so I skip it and rely on the first two methods.

Thai Peanut Zucchini Noodles Recipe Steps

Step 1: Prep the vegetables

Spiralize the zucchini, shred the carrots, slice the bell peppers and cabbage, and chop the green onions (separate white and green parts).

Step 2: Make the 5-minute peanut sauce

Whisk the peanut sauce ingredients together. If it needs thinning, add water in small amounts to reach desired consistency. You want it to be somewhat pourable so you can coat the zoodles easily.

Step 3: Saute the vegetables

Sauté the onions, bell pepper, and carrots in a large skillet on medium-high heat.

Add the zucchini noodles and sauté for a few minutes until they’re al dente. Do not overcook them.

Remove skillet from the heat until you’re ready to add peanut sauce. This helps prevent overcooking the zoodles.

Step 4: Add the peanut sauce

Gently fold in the peanut sauce in small amounts until you reach the noodle-to-sauce ratio of your dreams.

Serve the peanut sauced noodles heated, at room temp, or chilled...your choice. Garnish with any of the following:

• green onion tops
• chopped peanuts
• chopped cilantro
• fresh lime wedges

Pro tip: Bring the peanut sauce to room temperature (or briefly microwave) to soften it, making it easier to coat the noodles.

Thai Zucchini Noodles Meal Prep Steps

Meal prepping saves time and lets me hop right into a beautiful, healthy dinner instead of reaching for the frozen heat-and-serve. Here's how I meal prep this recipe on Sunday to eat later in the week:

1. Prep all produce (slice and spiralize) and store in one large airtight container. I prefer to store the zoodles separate from the other vegetables.

2. Make the peanut sauce and store separate from the vegetables.

3. On serving day, resume the saute instructions in the recipe and serve warm.

Recommended Tools

• chef knife and cutting board
• spiralizer
• vegetable peeler (for the carrots)
• small mixing bowl
• Microplane zester (to grate garlic and ginger)
• silicone tongs
• 12" nonstick skillet
• airtight container

Vegan Asian easy dinner recipes

• Kale Sesame Noodles
• Turmeric Chickpea Buddha Bowl
• Zoodle [Zucchini Noodle] Quinoa Bowl
• Vegetable Lo Mein Noodles
• Stir Fry Vegetables in Black Bean Sauce
• Banh Mi Buddha Bowl
• Vegan Thai Lentil Chickpea Curry
• Thai Coconut Soup