“For me, it’s the unexpected and surprising combinations of produce that are the most exciting and lure me into the kitchen for a little bit of experimenting.”
~ Marlo Thomas
Zoodle Love
I was paleo for a couple of years before finally buying myself a spiralizer, and I don’t know why I waited so long! It simply makes meals fun. It’s a great way to get kids to eat their veggies, and adults are always impressed with a spiralized presentation – like the meal just went “gourmet.” Above all, vegetable noodles are more nutritious and delicious than their bland store-bought counterparts. I don’t miss traditional pasta at all!
Spiralizer Basics
- My favorite spiralizer is made by Paderno. I have their 3-Blade Basic, which is their most popular model. You can see it in the center of the collage photo at the top of this post. It’s very easy to use and reasonably priced. The blade I use most often is the one with the smallest triangles. It makes spaghetti-size noodles. The blade with the larger triangles makes thicker noodles and curly fries. And the flat blade makes fettuccine-style ribbon noodles.
- Kitchenaid also sells a spiralizer attachment, and some of my readers have told me they love it! However, I bought it and didn’t like it as much as the Paderno. It’s too short to fit an entire zucchini, so you have to cut your zucchini in half and spiralize the halves. This is more time consuming and also doubles the amount of zucchini that doesn’t get spiralized (the end piece). Also, the Kitchenaid motor is strong and when I tried to spiralize harder vegetables like beets and sweet potatoes, it simply stripped a core inside the vegetable instead of spiralizing it. Lastly, it doesn’t do well with any vegetable that isn’t perfectly uniform in shape. I ended up giving mine away. Maybe there’s a learning curve with this attachment, but I found the Paderno to be user-friendly from the first day of use.
- Julienne Peelers & Vegetable Peelers. If you don’t have a spiralizer yet, you can use your vegetable peelers to make your noodles. It’s a little more time consuming and not quite as fancy, but equally tasty. I did this myself when I first went paleo. Julienne peelers make spaghetti-style noodles, whereas regular vegetable peelers make fettuccine-style ribbons.
Spiralized Side Dishes
Butternut Squash Latkes from Heal Me Delicious
Rainbow Salad with Teriyaki Dressing by Cook 2 Nourish
Sweet Potato “Noodles” from Thriving Autoimmune
Chilled Zucchini Pasta Salad from It’s All About AIP
Paleo Alfredo with Caramelized Leeks & Bacon from Meatified
Asian Veggie Noodle Bowl from Unbound Wellness
Zucchini Noodles with Nut and Seed Free Pesto from Kaiku Lifestyle (omit pepper)
Ginger Garlic Parsnip Noodles from Meatified
Hot Beet Noodle Salad from Paleo in Comparison (omit pepper)
Seafood Recipes with Spiralized Veggies
Salmon Primavera from Phoenix Helix
Salmon with Rutabaga Noodles and Shallot Herb Sauce from Heartbeet Kitchen
Salmon and Slaw Zoodle Bowl from A Clean Plate
Smoked Salmon Salad with Zucchini Noodles from A Squirrel in the Kitchen
Tuna “Noodle” Casserole from It’s All About AIP
Smoked Clam Linguini from Autoimmune Wellness
Zucchini Noodles with Scallops and Bacon from Meatified
Seafood Pasta from Little Bites of Beauty
Garlic Shrimp Zoodles from 50 Shades of Avocado
Shrimp Pad Thai Noodle Bowl from Beyond the Bite
Spiralized Cucumber Shrimp Salad with Honey Lime Dressing from Lichen Paleo Loving AIP
Poultry Recipes with Spiralized Veggies
Pot Noodle from Healing Family Eats
Udon Zoodle Soup from A Clean Plate
Chicken Alfredo from A Squirrel in the Kitchen
Ginger Scallion Chicken with Cold Zucchini Noodles from Fresh Tart
“Cheesy” Chicken and Green Zoodles from The Castaway Kitchen
Bolognese Sauce with Chicken Livers and Zoodles from Healing Family Eats
Mediterranean Chicken Zoodles from Wendi’s AIP Kitchen
Meat Recipes with Spiralized Veggies
Instant Pot Beef Pho from Unbound Wellness
Slow Cooker Korean Beef Zoodles from Wendi’s AIP Kitchen
Spaghetti and Meatballs from The Paleo Mom
Hamburger Stroganoff from Wendi’s AIP Kitchen
Citrus Bison Meatballs with Crispy Sweet Potato Noodles from Autoimmune Wellness
Butternut Spaghetti from It’s All About AIP
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This recipe roundup was first published in 2016 but is updated annually. Last update 1/9/24.
Finally got my Paderno from Amazon, connecting through your web site. I was just getting bored with eating. I am not able to introduce any new foods as I had a flare up and my dose of Hashimoto med is off so I don’t have a steady base line right now. Staying on the diet is a must, but what to do? Wow, the spiralizer round table was the answer. It’s great. My favorites? Surprisingly, rutabaga (Swede) and daikon. I use the big triangle for the rutabaga and the small triangle for the daikon. Rutabaga tastes totally different than the old simmer or roast then mash veggie-much milder and with a great texture if not overcooked. And the daikon is terrific cooked quickly and also wonderful raw in salads. In their noodle shape, they have given me two new food flavors! Yipee!
Barbara, I’m so glad you’re loving the spiralizer! And thank you for sharing your favorites. You’ve inspired me to try the rutabaga this week. 🙂
OMG!! I just got my own spiralizer, and this is an amazing treasure trove for me, thank you Eileen!
Yay! I’m so glad. Enjoy, Tessa.
Great roundup! Thanks for including me.
My pleasure! I’m totally cooking my way through this roundup. Spiralizer love!