Serves: 4
Prep Time: 1 hr|| Cook Time: 2 mins
Cooking Type: Baking
Course: Main dish
Almond butter sesame zucchini noodles are a delicious healthy makeover of classic sesame peanut noodles! The creamy almond butter sauce is sweetened just the right amount with dates and loaded with chopped almonds and scallions.
Ingredients
- 4 med zucchini spiralized, salted and allowed to “sweat” for an hour*, then squeezed with paper towel PLUS 1/2 tsp cooking fat to sauté
- 3 Medjool dates pitted and softened if necessary by soaking in very hot water for 5 minutes
- 3½ Tbsp unsweetened almond butter creamy
- 3 Tbsp coconut aminos
- 3 Tbsp pure sesame oil
- 3/4 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 1-2 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
- to top the zucchini noodles:
- 3 scallions light green and white parts, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped raw almonds toasted in a skillet with 1/2 tsp sesame oil and sea salt to taste
Instructions To Make Almond Butter Sesame Zucchini Noodles
- Prepare your zucchini noodles and allow them to “sweat”* while you make the sauce.
- To make the sauce, add the softened dates to a food processor or high-speed blender along with the almond butter and coconut aminos and puree until smooth. Once mostly smooth (you’ll see date pieces still) add the ginger, garlic, vinegar, sesame oil, and garlic and pulse until smooth.
- To cook the zucchini noodles, make sure they’re thoroughly drained of excess water, then lightly sauté for just a minute or two in 1/2 tsp cooking fat until heated and slightly softened. Avoid overcooking or you’ll have mushy noodles. For a cold dish, you don’t have to cook the zucchini noodles at all**
- Toss the zucchini noodles with the prepared sauce plus the scallions and toasted almonds (see ingredients for toasting instructions) Serve warm, room temperature or even cold.
Calories: 330kcalFat: 23gSaturated fat: 2gSodium: 273mgPotassium: 829mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 5gSugar: 18gProtein: 7gVitamin A: 510%Vitamin C: 37%Calcium: 122%Iron: 1.8%
Recipe Notes
To sweat the zucchini noodles, place them in a colander over a large bowl and sprinkle with about 1/2 tsp salt.
Allow them to sit this way for at least 40 minutes or up to an hour, then squeeze all the excess water out using paper towels. I usually eliminate about 1/2 cup of water using this method! This greatly helps the watery zoodle problem.
It’s fine to simply sweat the noodles and avoid cooking them if you prefer.
