Easy Veggie Noodle Sauté is born out of boredom. It’s true. In spite of our family’s food blog, it never fails we get stuck in a dinner rut of about 2-3 foods that we eat on the regular as a family. And, finally, one night I said, “Oops, we did it again,” and I made an impromptu trip to the store for fruits and vegetables, and I said, “Gee, I wonder what I can make with these?” One, some kind of no-sugar-added tropical smoothie that will make its way to the blog in the near future. And, two, this delicious grain-free, gluten-free, paleo, and vegan dinner.
Easy Veggie Noodle Sauté is exactly what it sounds like. Easy to prepare and full of delicious vegetables that have been spiralized into noodles. If you are new to veggie noodles, this is a wonderful recipe to begin with because, yes, we are adding ALL THE FLAVOR in this one dish.
“But, Morgan,” you ask, “do we really need five to six cloves of garlic in this dish?”
We do. I have one hashtag for you. #WorthIt
Furthermore, I added one clove of garlic per vegetable used, and K-Hubs even came back and said, “This recipe calls for a plus one.” So there you have it. One clove of garlic per vegetable spiralized, and then one extra clove added to the whole dish for flavorful measure. This is how we eat our vegetables, Spiriteds. Vampires ain’t got nothin’ on us. WE ARE READY. Also, Toodle somehow came across a study of vampires and how their legend came to be. She proceeded to enlighten while we dined on Easy Veggie Noodle Sauté, including all the details about sun allergies and drinking blood.
Welcome to life in our house. We make for interesting party guests. You can’t wait to invite us somewhere, can you?
Okay, but let’s go a little deeper with this recipe. We know we need ALL THE GARLIC. But what about prepping the veggie noodles? I made a batch using a julienne slicer. While it would work in a pinch, I don’t highly suggest it for this recipe. The noodles will be flimsy and even smaller once they are cooked. Getting your hands on a spiralizer is worth it if you plan to make this often.
Next, you have to decide how you want to remove the excess water in the veggie noodles. Since yellow squash and zucchini naturally contain water, they turn watery when they are cooked, leaving you with another mushy situation that even a spiralizer can’t automatically fix.
There are two ways to remove excess water, and I tried them both.
- Put your veggie noodles in a colander and sprinkle a little salt on them. The water will drip out of the noodles into the colander. (I actually had to Google this process when we first started eating veggie noodles. “How do I drain veggie noodles in a colander?” Bless that mess.)
- Place the noodles between napkins and pat them gently to release excess water.
I prefer the second method even though it involves napkins, which adds to our trash output. But, if you want the truth, there you have it. Napkins and paper towels are my preferred method for preparing a batch of delicious, slightly crunch Easy Veggie Noodle Sauté.
After patting the noodles to remove excess water, I throw them into a large skillet with coconut oil and go to town on the recipe. As a side note, I also had to Google how to cook with coconut oil when we first started eating paleo. IS IT A LIQUID OR IS IT A SOLID? DOES IT NEED TO BE REFRIGERATED? WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND? WHY AM I TYPING IN ALL CAPS?
K-Hubs and I needed all the help. Also, since we couldn’t decide between storing the coconut oil in the fridge versus the pantry, we compromised and stored it in our cool, dry, dark basement. We were coconut oil newbies and knew not what we did. Now we store it wherever we feel like because we are daring and edgy like that.
Okay, back to our recipe. Once the noodles and coconut oil are sautéing in the pan, everything is usually ready within about 10 minutes of cooking, depending on how quickly your stove warms up and how soft you want your noodles. I like mine still a little crunchy, but if you prefer softer noodles, sauté them a few minutes more.
One last note about this delightful veggie noodle recipe: it doesn’t make the best leftovers. Easy Veggie Noodle Sauté is definitely a meal to enjoy in real time. And given its robust flavor, that shouldn’t be a problem. And second last note about this recipe: can we get a slow clap for K-Hubs and his hand modeling prowess?
ME: “Please SLOWLY turn the noodles on the fork so I can get a good shot. But also make it look natural. But also go slow. And still be natural.”
K-HUBS: ……..
Now, about getting together with us for a lovely dinner of noodles and vampire talk. How about next Sunday? 😂
Easy Veggie Noodle Sauté
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 7 mins
- Total Time: 17 mins
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini, spiralized
- 2 yellow squash, spiralized
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 4–5 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1/2 cup white or yellow onion, diced
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced
Instructions
- In a large skillet, combine the spiralized noodles, coconut oil, sea salt, black pepper, garlic, and onion. Sauté on low to medium heat for about 5-6 minutes using a fork to separate the noodles and blend them with the other ingredients. Once the noodles are warmed through, use the fork to split the veggie noodles into smaller strands, if desired.
- Add in the diced tomatoes and sauté for another minute or so, until the tomatoes are warm but not fully cooked through.
Notes
I usually add more sea salt as desired. Start with 1/8 teaspoon and add more as your palate desires.
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