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I made us the bestest lunch today.
Or maybe it’s your dinner and then lunch tomorrow. Oh yeah, that should be they way it goes. Like you can eat the pasta warm (or not, whatever you prefer) tonight for dinner and then have it cold tomorrow for lunch.
Two meals, made in 20 minutes or less?!? I know it’s cheesy and all, but I have to say, that is totally “killing two birds with one stone”. Kind of perfect for these busy summer days, huh??
YUP.
SO, let’s talk about this zucchini pasta thing. How do you guys feel about it? Personally, I love the idea of making zucchini and other veggies in pasta form, like that is so fun, but with that said, it’s not really a meal to me without some carbs. You know?
Especially with zucchini noodles, zucchini has a pretty high water content.
I feel like it’s just more of a side, and that’s totally cool if you can deal with that, but I just can’t. For me to make this zucchini pasta more like a meal you better believe I am adding real pasta into the mix…
But wait, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the whole zucchini pasta thing?? Maybe, but hey, I am definitely using less pasta, so I’d say it’s still a win.
So yes, while most of those pretty noodles you see are in fact zucchini noodles, I added some pasta in there as well.
More important than the noodles is the sauce that goes on this pasta/noodle bowl (not sure whether I like calling these pasta or noodles…hmm).
Back when I first started cooking I made Ina Garten’s schezwan noodles and impressed my dad so much that to this day, it is still one of my favorite meals to make. Since then I have changed the recipe quite a bit, since that’s just kind of what I do. I usually leave out the chicken since no one really cares much for it in this recipe. I feel like it just gets lost in the mix of noodles and sauce, and let’s be honest, the noodles and sauce are really where its at.
*Sidenote, is anyone else semi in awe of Ina? Cause I totally am. If I had all the time in the world. I would be watching Barefoot Contessa 24/7. So much one can learn from that show…ok and I want her kitchen some day too!
*Sidenote over – So the secret to this recipe is the sauce. This sauce + veggies, talk about healthiness!
I like using a mix of peanut butter and tahini + some really good chili oil, some toasted sesame oil, oh and honey. The honey really balances the spicy flavors and makes the sauce extra special…trust me on this. If you are vegan, you can sub in brown sugar. Speaking of which, I just realized that I actually made a vegan AND gluten-free friendly meal. Like whoa!
The whole recipe comes together in twenty minutes or less, it’s completely no-bake and almost completely no-cook (you have to boil the pasta, but that’s it). You make the sauce in the same bowl you are going to toss the pasta in and then you are kind of done.
See, this dish is REALLY easy, and it makes leftovers for lunch at work tomorrow. Heck yes!!
AND it’s healthy, AND so good! No really, these firey schezwan peanut and chili zucchini noodles are so delicious, peanut noodles are maybe one of my favorites though. Peanut butter, peanuts, basil, noodles?
Yeah, so much to love right there!
Also, in case you were wondering, those flowers you see in my noodles are actually edible, I swear! They grew on my cilantro plants, which are growing like crazy! YES!
Firey Schezwan Peanut and Chili Zucchini Noodles.
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 1180 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound spaghetti/linguine or sub more zucchini for gluten free if needed
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup tahini sesame seed paste
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey use brown sugar if vegan
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon hot chili oil*
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil*
- 1/4 cup coconut milk lite or regular
- 3 medium size zucchinis spiralized using a veggie spiralizer
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 6 baby bell peppers sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 hot pepper sliced (red or green both work)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and keep pasta hot.
- Meanwhile, combine the peanut butter and tahini in a large serving bowl and whisk until combined. Whisk in the soy sauce, honey, lime juice, hot chili oil, toasted sesame oil and coconut milk.
- To the bowl, add the zucchini noodles, peanuts, sesame seeds, basil, cilantro, baby bell peppers and tomatoes. Now add the hot pasta. Toss well to combine. The hot pasta should warm the peanut sauce and make it easier to coat the noodles.
- Pasta can be served warm or cold. Top with hot pepper slices, basil and peanuts if desired. EAT!
Notes
*If you do not have hot chili oil, just add 1 tablespoon oil (peanut, sesame or olive) + 1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes). **If you do not have toasted sesame oil, just add peanut or sesame oil in it's place...but the toasted sesame oil adds SO much great flavor. ***If you do not have a spiralizer just thinly slice the zucchini into matchsticks.
Thursday noodles? Yes, but with a fork…chopsticks just don’t give me a big enough bite.
I made this for dinner party tonite and it was outstanding! Everyone thought it was the best and went for second and third helpings and then cleaned me out of all my leftovers (the little that were actually left!). The favors combination was superb! This is the first thing I have made from your website, but will definitely have to try more since you seem to have some neat and unusual flavor combos. My only change to this was to substitute rice noodles for the pasta. It was amazing – a total make again!
What spiralizer do you have? I am looking to get one but there are so many out there!
Hi! I use the Paderno spiralizer and I like it a lot. You can buy it here.
Thanks!
I made this for my family this weekend. We were craving a light dinner and it was perfect. Rather than use linguine, I added Udon noodles. I used less hot chili oil to acommodate our palates. I was able to get farm fresh zucchini from the farm down the street from my parents’ house as well as picked tomatoes, basil and cilantrol from our garden. And I used fresh ground peanut butter from whole foods. It was their first time with “zoodles” and my parents and brother absolutely loved it. Leftovers were consumed for lunch the next day. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
This dish looks so insane – love that sauce and the zoodles! And heck yes to Ina, she is like the new Martha, watching her is just as good as a yoga session (haha) so calming <3
right?!? I could not agree more! Thanks Jessie! Have a fun weekend! 🙂
It looks incredibly tasty! I have seen these zucchini noodles everywhere recently, really should give it a go sometime.
You should, they are so good and fun! Thanks!
I love the pasta and zucchini noodle combo!! Anything that’s spicy and contains a peanut sauce is a winner in my book.
Plus, your photos = amazing!
Awe, thank you so much! I hope you have a fun weekend, Brittany! 🙂
Anything that has the word “firey” in it immediately makes me want to dive right in, even if I suffer later! I completely agree about zucchini noodles, they are fun and cute but just not substantial enough to keep me full for long. I love the combination of both, what a brilliant idea!
Yay to noodles in every form and in every meal! Well maybe most meals. And I love the fiery-ness of this dish!
Thanks Jessie!! 🙂
Such a fun recipe Tieghan… I love any sort of peanut sauce! I think I may have to invest in a spiralizer 🙂
Thank you!! Have a great weekend!
Best lunch ever! Love the mix of noodles and zucchini, so good!
Thank you so much, Laura! Hope you are having a great week!
This is PERFECT! I’ve been looking for a peanut zoodle recipe for the longest time!
Thank you so much, Cassie!!
This looks amazing! Cannot wait to pull out my spiralizer and get going on some zucchinis!
♥ Heather
Thank you so very much! Hope you had a great day!
O my goodness, gracious. I am so glad I found your website. Its such a breath of fresh air. You are a genius in the kitchen. Your recipes are amazingly delicious. I love the fact that you have veggie and meat dishes. I would definitely stand in line for your cookbook.?
And you’re an Ina Garten fan, grow and raise veggies, some animals?!!!! ?
Awe!! THANK YOU!!
Honestly, you are the sweetest and totally made my night. Let me know if you ever have any questions!! 🙂
This sounds and looks so heavenly! I love making spiralized zucchini noodles (though I just peel them), but I agree, you need something else to make it a real meal! This is so on my To-Make list!
xx Sydney
Thanks so much, Sydney!! 🙂
This is a wonderful recipe Tieghan and the combination of flavors are superb. I just love those little peppers and use them all the time.
Thanks so much! And I know, I love those peppers too! 🙂