ZUCCHINI NOODLES + AVOCADO-CUCUMBER SAUCE
Cool and refreshing Creamy Avocado-Cucumber Sauce tossed with spiralized zucchini noodles makes a light and healthy, raw vegan meal!
Raw vegan pasta dishes are always the ones that leave me feeling refreshed and at my best. And they are perfect for the warmer spring and summer months ahead!
You may already be familiar with this Creamy Zucchini Pesto with ‘Noodles’, Spicy Kale Pesto with Zucchini Noodles, and ‘Raw’sta Pasta. And now we have this simple vegan zucchini pasta recipe with a creamy avocado-cucumber sauce. I think you will enjoy fresh dish time and time again!
The recipe is adapted from Feasting at Home. I have added a few extras to the dish, like tomatoes and jalapenos. The puree is a bit different too, as I’ve added cucumber along with the avocado. The cucumber adds a wonderful refreshing twist that I think you’ll just love and is inspired by my Avocado and Cucumber Soup recipe.
Is Zucchini Pasta Healthy?
Yes! Zucchini noodles are strands of zucchini that are cut to resemble the shape of noodles and are a healthy addition to just about any diet. They’re extremely low in calories, low in carbohydrates, gluten-free, quick to make and super easy to use in recipes, replacing regular noodles. The healthy benefits of zucchini pasta includes providing vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, potassium and antioxidants.
Do You Eat Zucchini Noodles Raw?
Absolutely! Eating zucchini noodles raw is the quickest and easiest way to eat them, but lightly cooked zucchini noodles are delicious too. Zucchini pasta can be eaten cold or warm. When warming zucchini pasta, don’t overcook the noodles. To keep them from becoming soggy, it’s important to cook them al dente. Pairing your zucchini pasta with pesto or avocado sauce is delicious, wether noodles are raw or lightly cooked!
How Do You Make Zucchini Noodles?
You can either julienne the zucchini by using a julienne tool or you can spiralize using a spiralizer (<affiliate links). Both ways are great. The julienne tool is much smaller and will fit nicely in your utensil drawer. The spiralizer on the other hand is a bit larger and cumbersome, but well worth the space as I do use mine fairly often.
How To Make Creamy Avocado-Cucumber Sauce
- Peel the cucumber and slice it into 1 inch chunks.
- Slice the avocado in half, remove the seed and cut into slices.
- Add the avocado, cucumber, garlic, basil, lemon, salt and pepper to a blender or food processor (shown above), and blend until creamy (shown below), stopping every so often to scrape down the sides as needed.
That’s it, this creamy avocado-cucumber sauce is so easy to make!
Avocado cucumber sauce is ultra light, refreshing, and goes perfect with zucchini noodles!
You could also put this sauce on any pasta of choice. But my all time favorite way to eat this is with the zucchini pasta. It’s hands down the best!
If you try this avocado-cucumber recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintZUCCHINI NOODLES + AVOCADO-CUCUMBER SAUCE
When the warmer months are in season this is a perfect dish to keep you refreshed and feeling naturally high on life. Simple, versatile and of course…delicious!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2 - 3 1x
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchini (1 per person)
- grape, cherry or mini heirloom tomatoes, halved
- jalapeno, thinly sliced and seeds removed (optional)
- arugula (optional)
- pea shoots or micro sprouts (optional)
- zest of one lemon (meyer or regular)
Avocado-Cucumber Puree
- 1 medium avocado
- 1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced thick
- a few large leaves of basil (optional)
- 1 lemon (meyer or regular), juice of
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper or black pepper to taste
- salt to taste
Instructions
Prepare your zucchini noodles julienne style or spiralized. Or alternately, cook your pasta of choice, about 8 ounces.
For the puree, place all ingredients into a food processor/blender and process until creamy, stopping every so often to scrape the sides as needed.. Taste for flavor adding anything extra you might like.
Toss zucchini pasta with avocado-cucumber puree and a handful of arugula or sprouts. Serve with tomatoes, peas shoots, jalapenos, lemon zest, lemon wedges and fresh cracked pepper.
Serves 2
Notes
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: For making zucchini noodles I recommend using a julienne tool to make straight noodles or you can spiralize using a spiralizer (affiliate links).
Hi Julie. I just ran across your site and made this for dinner tonight on a very hot day when I needed something fixed ASAP. It was a huge hit and refreshingly delicious! Thanks, Wendy
Hi Wendy! I'm happy this worked for you on the fly…it is a great raw pasta dish indeed! :)
Hi, I found your blog last night and I've read all the posts!! I love it and congratulations for such amazing recipes and beautiful photography..
I just bought a spiralizer and I was wondering, if not on a raw diet, do you steam the zucchini pasta or do you put the already cooked zucchini through the spiralizer?
Hi Luiza! Thank you so much for the nice words about the recipes and photos. It makes my day!
If your wanting a steamed spiralized zucchini, you would first want to spiralize and then steam. Honestly, I've never steamed my zucchini after spiralizing so I'm not sure how it will be, it may turn mushy as it will be thin so be sure to steam for a very short time. You should try it raw, you will be surprised at how good and refreshing it is raw. I highly recommend trying even if your not on a raw food diet…I really think you'll enjoy it. Hope it all turns out great for you!
Cheers :)
Luiza, maybe a quick stir-fry on the stovetop with some garlic and olive oil? I just got a spiralizer and plan on trying out some zucchini noodles tonight!
Just served this to my non-vegan/raw family served over cooked pasta with zucchini. Not a huge hit, but not a huge battle either. Getting my picky kids to eat three different veggies in one meal is pretty amazing! Thanks for the idea!
Well a happy medium for the non-vegan/raw family is not bad at all! Cheers :)
Thanks, Julie, for the raw influence. I made this dish for a veggie potluck. I tossed the dressing and zucchinis together before leaving the house. Once I arrived to to host's house the zucchini had collapsed and there was a puddle of water at the bottom. My plans for next time is to toss this RIGHT before serving. Regardless, it was a hit! The gluten free vegan in attendance was extremely excited, as well.
Thanks so much!
Jill
You are so welcome! I'm glad this called to you and you gave it shot. Even better, I'm glad it was still a hit after the mishap. Thank you for taking the time to share. I think we can all learn from it. Cheers to more raw dishes in the future! :)
put the cut zucchini in a colander, sprinkle with salt to pull the moisture out and let it drain for 30 minutes before tossing with sauce
woooow!!! This looks absloutely fantastic! amazing recipe :) Love it!!
Thank you Amy! :)
I am making this for a bunch of girlfriends this weekene, none are vegan but they're always surprised by how much they my vegan cooking (at least, I think they're being honest ;) …this will be the first raw recipe I send their way and can't wait for their feedback! Your site is one of my favorites :)
I know they will love this! You'll all be refreshed and energized. Thank you so much for stopping to share your thoughts. Cheers :)
I look forward to your recipes .:-)
Thank you so much! Can't wait to share more. :)
Just found your blog and I'm super excited about it! Your recipes look awesome! This pasta dish looks so delicious! Can't wait to give it a try!
Thank you! You will love it and be great. :)
I should try this for my lunch today with my sister. Love to cook and I promiss her I will cook the lunch.
Hi Elena, this is a perfect simple lunch to uncook. ;) I think you will both love it!
Yummm! Love raw pasta as well. So refreshing and nice – far better than regular pasta.. we have been living in Italy and we have to admit that Raw pasta is waaaay better! Thanks for the inspiration :) Have a lovely start of the new week.
Thank you so much and your very welcome! Have a great week. :)