Growing up I was obsessed with pasta salads in the summertime (and pretty much all pasta in general).

There’s just something so satisfying about eating a bowl of noodles, no matter what season. But eating a bowl of nutrient-dense veggies that tricks you into thinking you’re eating noodles? Even better.

Not that there’s anything wrong with eating noodles, especially when there are now plenty of fiber-rich and gluten-free options out there like quinoa, brown rice and lentil pasta. But I find when it comes to my clients (and the vasty majority of people) they struggle incorporating more veggies into their meals in ways that are inventive, fun and taste good.

However when you turn a vegetable into a noodle, it instantly elevates the creativity, taste and texture. It’s simply more fun to eat (especially for kids) and opens you up to a ton of new ways to enjoy an otherwise “just fine” vegetable.

Enter in these zucchini pasta noodles — aka zoodles. Now I’m down with zucchini, but I wouldn’t say I get really excited to eat it. But zucchini pasta noodles smothered in a fresh basil pesto sauce and topped with grilled chicken? Holy excitement! The MLH (meat-lovin’ hubby) shares in this sentiment and he can down a bowl of zoodles just like ZAT.

A ton of other sauces would work well with this dish (like marinara, green goddess, romesco, avocado sauce, etc) but this summer I’m loving these zucchini pasta noodles paired with a simple basil pesto sauce and topped with grilled chicken for some hearty protein. Basically the perfect summer meal in bowl.

Oh and if you’re nervous about making noodles out of vegetables — don’t be (I admittedly was at first). It’s super easy to do. You literally put the raw vegetable in a spiralizer and crank the handle until your veggie has magically turned into noodles.

Have you tried making zucchini noodles (or any other spiralized veggies yet)? If so — what’s your go-to veggie or which veggies would you like to see make a noodle appearance on my blog? LMK in the comments below.

Happy Zoodling Boo!

xx //

Lauren

Pesto Zucchini "Pasta" Bowls + Grilled Chicken

DF

GF

P

This grilled chicken + pesto zucchini “pasta” recipe is basically summer in a bowl. Bright, herby, light but still filling — and the sneakiest + tastiest way to incorporate nutrient-rich veggies into your next meal.

PREP TIME:	TOTAL TIME:
10 Mins	00:30 Mins

• Author: Lauren Chambers

• Servings: 2

• Recipe Type: Entree

• Cuisine: American, Italian,

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 2 small organic (pasture-raised if possible) chicken breasts
• sea salt + black pepper
• drizzle of avocado oil

Zucchini “Pasta”:

• 2 large (or 4 small) organic zucchini, rinsed and dried
• sea salt + black pepper
• drizzle of avocado oil

Pesto Sauce:

• 4 cups basil, chopped & stems discarded
• 6 tbsp sage, chopped & stems discarded
• 4 tbsp leeks, chopped
• 1 cup pine nuts
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ¾- 1 cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat your grill over medium heat.
2. Chop off the ends of whole zucchini evenly and place in your spiralizer. Crank that lever until fully spiralized. Repeat with all zucchini and then toss with drizzle of avocado oil, sea salt and pepper and spread in a grill pan. Place on the grill and cook until noodles are soft (about 10-15 minutes).
3. Drizzle oil on chicken breasts and top with seasoning of choice + sea salt and pepper. This is my FAVE rub recipe. Place chicken breasts on the hot grill and cook for about 10 minutes on each side, or until cooked through (no pink in the middle).
4. While chicken and zucchini noodles are cooking mix together pesto sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor  Set aside.
5. Once zucchini noodles are done cooking toss with fresh pesto sauce and serve evenly into bowls. Top with grilled chicken and a sprinkle of Kite Hill Almond Milk Ricotta Cheese.

Recipe Rated:

No ratings yet.

Your Rating:

Please rate this

Sample rating item

Email this recipe >