Sesame almond butter zucchini noodles are a hearty and healthy main dish recipe, making use of a spiralizer. This vegetarian main dish recipe is thick, creamy, and coats the 'zoodles' beautifully. It's a 20-minute meal that's adaptable to what you have on hand!
I’m sorry (okay, not sorry) for all of the spiralizing I foresee gracing the blog in the coming months. Truth is, I got a spiralizer! Pretty sure the fruits and veggies hanging out in my fridge are shaking in their proverbial boots right now. And when it came to this sesame almond butter zucchini noodles, the zucchini hogging up my produce drawer took the fall.
Each time I spiralize something I’m kind of amazed at how good it is. Generally I’m not picky when it comes to vegetables buuuuut I will say I don’t exactly lose sleep over missing out on the traditional zucchini side dishes when presented with them out at dinner. This spiralizing business though…never have I ever downed multiple zucchini in a day and wished I had more. Until now! That. Blows. My. Mind.
One of the first meals I broke out my spiralizer for were these sesame almond butter zucchini noodles. An easy-to-make sesame almond butter sauce is poured over stir-fried zucchini noodles and mixed until the “zoodles” are evenly coated. This healthy meal takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, which totally makes it weeknight-friendly. Yessss!
This sauce (in loose form) is one of my favorite things to whip up when I’m feeling like an Asian-inspired dinner, or to be honest if I have NO idea what to make. Most of the time I have all of the ingredients on hand, but I’ve done plenty of substitutions. I’ve used peanut butter in place of almond butter, chili garlic sauce for the sriracha, subbed in some rice vinegar if I didn't have enough soy sauce, etc. You can really adapt this sauce recipe and make it yours.
Besides the magic of getting me to down a bushel of zucchini, these sesame almond butter zucchini noodles have a knack for filling me up for hours afterwards. That may sound silly because this meal is comprised of zucchini, a food that’s super low in calories and not exactly thought of as 'filling'. This sesame almond butter sauce adds a heartiness and a good deal of heft by coating these zucchini noodles to make it more substantial. Plus serve these zucchini noodles hot or serve them cold straight from the fridge - they’re great either way!
I have a small apartment kitchen so I resisted getting a spiralizer for a while because cabinet space is at a premium around here. I have a KitchenAid stand mixer, so this (affiliate link -->) KitchenAid spiralizer attachment
Come geek out with me over spiralizer recipes and follow along with my Spiralizer Recipes board over on Pinterest.
Sesame Almond Butter Zucchini Noodles
Ingredients
- 5-6 zucchini
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, more as needed
For the Sauce:
- ¼ cup creamy almond butter
- ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 ½ tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoon sriracha, to taste
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon five-spice powder, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- Sesame seeds for serving
- Sliced scallions for serving
Instructions
- Spiralize zucchini and set aside. I peeled them first, but you don't have to.
- In a bowl, whisk together all all sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Add olive oil to a large non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Add zucchini noodles and let cook for about 4-6 minutes, stirring frequently to allow all of the zucchini noodles to become tender. Add additional olive oil as needed.
- Once noodles have softened and are tender (like cooked spaghetti), remove skillet from heat and pour in sauce. You may wish to pour out any excess water released from the zucchini as it cooked from the skillet before continuing so the sauce doesn't thin too much. Stir to evenly coat the noodles with the sauce. Serve with a garnish of sesame seeds and/or sliced scallions.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
Food Safety and Nutrition Disclaimer
Steph says
Hi! Any idea on nutritional side of things... cal, carbs, sodium? Looks amazing! Appreciate any shared knowledge!
Alyssa says
Hi Steph! Sorry for the delay in my reply. Hopefully in the very near term I'll have nutritional info for all of my recipes, but in the meantime I did a rough calculation of the nutrition. With this recipe yielding three servings, I got about 350 calories, 24g carbs, and 950mg sodium per serving. Of course that can vary depending on the brand of ingredients used. I hope that is helpful! 🙂
Ashley says
Hi! This was amazing! Thank you for sharing. I customized it a little. Instead of siracha, I used red chili paste. Also, I made a second batch of the sauce without the almond butter and I sautéed water chestnuts and stir fry beef in it. I strained it and then I put this on top of your recipe. It was incredible!
Alyssa says
Glad you liked it, Ashley! Those customizations sound great, especially with the stir fry beef! 🙂
Lynda says
What is 5-spice powder and can I make it myself?
Alyssa says
Hi Lynda, 5-spice powder is an Asian spice blend that's usually a combination of pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and more. It adds a pretty unique flavor! I've seen it in major grocery stores and have come across recipes for making it yourself, like this one (though there are more out there): http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/10605-five-spice-powder . That said you can definitely omit it if you don't have some of those spices on hand. I hope that helps!
Lynda says
Thank you!!!!!!
Deb Nagel says
So delicious! I will be making this again and again!
Alyssa says
So glad to hear it, Deb! 🙂
Amanda says
What would you recommend in place of the soy sauce? I'm on a cleanse and soy sauce isn't approved.
Alyssa says
Hi Amanda! I went through a period where I cut out soy and really enjoyed coconut aminos (by the Coconut Secret brand). You can find it on Amazon, but I've also found it in some grocery stores. It has absolutely no soy, and I believe it's even Whole 30 compliant. Of course I'm not sure the specifics of your cleanse, but it's the "cleanest" soy alternative I've found. It doesn't taste exactly like soy sauce, but for recipes like this where it's in a sauce, I think it would work great. That said I even liked it by itself. Good luck!
Michelle says
This looks so good! I'd like to make this as a side dish. Any ideas of what it would go well with to make for the main entree?
Alyssa says
Thanks Michelle! My first choice would be salmon with an Asian-style marinade/sauce. Keeping it healthy with compatible flavors!
Michelle says
Thanks for the suggestion. I will have to try that. But tonight I am making it for some people who do not like fish so I went with pineapple chicken skewers with a peanut sauce. Very tasty!
Alyssa says
Yum! Pineapple chicken skewers sound delicious.
Shelly says
I added peanuts on top! Very yummy!
Alyssa says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed, Shelly!
Cassie says
I just HAD to pin this recipe because it looks WAY too irresistible! And I totally don't think it's a shame to spiralize everything, haha!
Alyssa says
Hey thanks Cassie! And I so agree - I definitely am putting my spiralizer to good use!!
Bridget says
This looks incredible, but I tend to have an issue with the zucchini giving off too much water. Do you find that with this recipe? If so, how do you keep it from thining out your sauce?
Thanks!!
Alyssa says
Thanks Bridget! That's definitely something I find with zucchini. To get around that with this recipe, once the zoodles are done cooking, I'll drain off any excess water from the skillet and make sure just the sauteed zoodles themselves are added to the bowl with the sauce. I'll add that note to the recipe. 🙂
Beth @ Hooked on Health says
Hi, found you from Paleo Parents. I recently sold my spiralizer but I do plan on buying another that is not so bulky. Anyway, I was a little surprised to see you stir frying with olive oil...I think that using olive oil to cook with is a no no. Have you tried coconut oil instead? I think it would lend a very interesting and complementary note to this dish.
Alyssa says
Hi Beth, thanks for stopping by! I have seen discussions on smoke point and cooking fats. I used medium heat to cook these 'zoodles' and made sure the olive oil was never smoking. That said, you can for sure substitute in whatever cooking fat you prefer. I've gotten more and more into baking and cooking with coconut oil recently and am turning into quite a fan. The flavor would definitely work here!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
You've inspired me to bust out my spiralizer! I really need to use it more. Keep the spiralizer recipes coming! This looks so dang gorgeous. And that sauce sounds DELISH!
marcie says
I love my spiralizer, and I prefer veggie noodles to real pasta! This meal looks delicious -- I love these Asian flavors, and almond butter is a favorite!
Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven says
Yay for spiralizers! I used mine seriously so much that it actually broke a few months ago! LOL. I need to get a new one asap because honestly, these zoodles look absolutely amazing!! That sauce is perfect!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Ah! I need this right now! I'm on an Asian food kick at the moment and this is so calling me 😉
Alyssa says
I could eat food like this every day! Thanks Rebecca!
Nostramomous says
Omg perfection!
Alyssa says
Thanks 🙂