Almond Butter Sesame Zucchini Noodles {Paleo, Vegan, Whole30}

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These 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.  Paleo, Whole30, and Vegan too! 

Creating this recipe was total nostalgia for me – somehow I hadn’t yet attempted to re-create one of the first go-to meals I ever cooked for myself – sesame peanut noodles!   I’m sure I mentioned my old obsession with peanut butter several times (AKA I ate a PB&J sandwich every day for 10 years) but it wasn’t just the sandwiches I went nuts for.

Nope, I needed to find ways to put peanut butter in everything, and seriously, is there anyone who doesn’t love sesame peanut noodles?  It was in my regular meal rotation from my early to late 20’s, but sadly I dropped the recipe over time, probably when my kids decided they wouldn’t touch it – has this happened to you guys too?

Anyway, my kids are older now and honestly I just don’t care as much if they tell me they don’t like something, I guess my skin has been thickened from years of mealtime crying.  So, I’d been meaning to make a paleo version of this old favorite for quite a while.

What stopped me?  Fear, of course.  Fear that it “just wouldn’t be the same”, fear that the zucchini noodles would make the whole thing watery and gross, and fear that I’d start really missing actual pasta.  Sort of the same fear that has stopped me from attempting to make paleo bagels – maybe some things are better left in the past, right?!

Um yes, the answer is that some things are heck-to-the-yes best left in the past.  But as it turns out this recipe doesn’t fit that category – YAY!  I tried it, I was skeptical, I squeezed the bejeezles out of my zucchini noodles to make sure they weren’t watery and – SCORE – they turned out flipping delicious.  Like, addictingly delicious.

I barely changed my old recipe – you know, almond for peanut, coconut aminos for soy sauce – with the exception of the big elephant that’s not in the kitchen anymore – real noodles.

Veggie noodles are my thing now and so they really didn’t disappoint.  As a side note, this sauce would be great with pretty much any spiralized veggie – sweet potato noodles, butternut squash noodles, anything.  And of course now I’m craving sweet potato noodles but really don’t have the strength to spiralize them anytime soon.

Oh, and the other elephant in the room – the dates.  I wanted to make this dish Whole30 friendly so instead of a little it of honey, I pureed 3 medjool dates into the sauce and really loved it this way.  The dates make the sauce thicker which is much appreciated when we’re dealing with zoodles!  I also was not shy with all the sliced scallions and toasted almonds I added at the end – the more the merrier when it comes to flavor.  Are you ready to make this already!  Yes, you are!  Let’s do it!

Almond Butter Sesame Zucchini Noodles {Paleo, Vegan, Whole30}

Almond Butter Sesame Zucchini Noodles {Paleo, Vegan, Whole30}

These 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. Paleo, Whole30, and Vegan too!

Author: Michele Rosen

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 2 minutes

Course: Lunch/Dinner/Side Dish

Cuisine: Paleo, Vegan, Whole30

Servings: 4 servings

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4.75 from 8 votes

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
• 3 1/2 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

1. Prepare your zucchini noodles and allow the to "sweat"* while you make the sauce.
2. 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 pure until smooth. Once mostly smooth (you'll see date pieces still) add the ginger, garlic, vinegar, sesame oil and garlic and pulse until smooth.
3. 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**
4. 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. You can add any protein you want for a more complete meal - chicken would be delicious! Serves 4-6.

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 typically 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

Nutrition

Calories: 330kcal

Carbohydrates: 27g

Protein: 7g

Fat: 23g

Saturated Fat: 2g

Cholesterol: 0mg

Sodium: 273mg

Potassium: 829mg

Fiber: 5g

Sugar: 18g

Vitamin A: 510IU

Vitamin C: 37mg

Calcium: 122mg

Iron: 1.8mg

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What I Used to Make My Almond Butter Sesame Zucchini Noodles:

Want more Whole30 and paleo zucchini noodles ideas?  Try one of these!

Zucchini Pasta with Scallion Avocado Sauce

Zucchini Noodles with Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce and Chicken

Zucchini Pasta with Spicy Shrimp Marinara

Zucchini Noodle and Spicy Sausage Egg Bake

Tell Me!

What’s your current favorite way to eat zoodles?

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