Zucchini noodles tossed together in a delicious lemony garlic sauce for the perfect healthy weeknight dinner that can easily be made in under 20 minutes! 

Lemon-Garlic Zucchini Noodles | Eat Yourself Skinny

You guys I have a new obsession.

Two words – zucchini noodles.  Seriously they might be the greatest thing next to sliced bread and realizing that I could make rice out of cauliflower.  I mean what a genius way to eat your veggies – you THINK you’re eating delicious carb-loaded pasta, when in reality you can go back for seconds or even thirds because, wait, they’re vegetables.  Ever since I spiralized my first zucchini using my amazing Inspiralizer,  I have been spiralizing sweet potatoes, squash, fruit, cucumbers….um you name it, I’ve probably made noodles out of it.  If you don’t have an Inspiralizer yet then you need to get one ASAP….like right this minute.  Seriously you are completely missing out, this thing is the epitome of life changing and I can’t wait to share even MORE recipes with it.

Can we say curly sweet potato fries anyone??

Lemon-Garlic Zucchini Noodles | Eat Yourself Skinny

See how incredibly easy it is?!

All you do is cut both ends of the zucchini, attach each end to the Inspiralizer and start turning.  Boom – zucchini noodles in seconds.  Now one thing you want to make sure you do is soak up any excess water from the zucchini before you cook them.  I like to use paper towels, but you can also let the noodles drain in a colander and sprinkle them with a little salt.  This will draw out any excess water and then just pat them dry with a paper towel.  Either way just make sure to get that water out!  I found that one large zucchini yields about one serving cooked.  If you don’t have a spiralizer you can simply just julienne the zucchini into thin strips, but c’mon – that would take forever and are they going to look like pretty perfect noodles?  No probably not.

So yep, put this on your Christmas list.

Lemon-Garlic Zucchini Noodles | Eat Yourself Skinny

Now I have had zucchini noodles with marinara before (which taste delicious mind you!), but I wanted to make something a little different.  Something that was light and fresh that complimented the zucchini and what better way to do that than with lemons?!  This literally might be one of my new favorite sauces and next time I may even throw some chicken in for a complete meal.  Using chicken broth and a little half and half to thicken things up, I found that this sauce is creamy, flavorful and reminds me of a delicious Alfredo dish without all the added butter and flour!  One thing I want to mention is that I allowed the sauce to simmer on the stove a bit before adding the zucchini noodles in order for everything to thicken up and the sauce to cook down.  Zucchini doesn’t need to cook for very long before the noodles start to soften and since I personally like mine “al dente,” I only cooked them for about 3 minutes after adding them into the sauce, but feel free to taste test yours and see what you prefer!

This recipe has definitely been added into our weekly rotation since I pretty much can’t get enough of it plus if the hubs actually requests veggies for dinner then I know I’ve found a winner!  For even more spiralized recipes, you should check out Ali Maffucci’s awesome cookbook Inspiralized that is perfect for any diet whether you are gluten-free, paleo or low-carb.

Have fun spiralizing!

5 from 2 votes

Lemon Garlic Zucchini Noodles

Zucchini noodles tossed together in a delicious lemony garlic sauce for the perfect healthy weeknight dinner that can easily be made in under 20 minutes! 
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

  • 4 large zucchinis, ends removed
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 shallots, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup half and half
  • 4 Tbsp lemon juice
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Instructions 

  • To spiralize your zucchini, first cut each end off your zucchini and attach to your spiralizer so that it is secure. Start turning and watch the magic happen!
  • Set your zucchini noodles aside on paper towels so that the water is soaked up.
  • In a large skillet on medium-high heat, drizzle a little olive oil and saute the shallots and garlic until fragrant. Add chicken broth, half and half, lemon juice and zest, red pepper flakes and salt/pepper.
  • Bring to a boil then cover and turn down heat to low allowing the sauce to simmer until it has reduced by almost half, about 15 minutes.
  • Toss your zucchini noodles in with your sauce and cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how you like your noodles cooked (al dente is about 3 minutes cooked).
  • Remove from heat, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (1 tablespoon per serving) and enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 11/2 cups | Calories: 141kcal | Carbohydrates: 24.6g | Protein: 6.3g | Fat: 8.1g | Saturated Fat: 3.5g | Fiber: 2.1g | Sugar: 6.5g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

As a self-proclaimed foodie and fitness enthusiast, I have a passion for cooking and a huge desire to show that living a healthy lifestyle can actually be easy and fun!  Feel free to use the meal guide above to find your new favorite meal ideas or the dietary guides to the right to narrow things down even more!

Related Recipes

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

21 Comments

  1. L says:

    Just prepared. So flavorful. I’m completely obsessed. Prepared with your lemon thyme chicken recipe. In heaven. Thank you!

  2. R says:

    Made this vegetarian with veggie broth and used about a third of a cup of whole milk (I halved the whole recipe) instead of half and half because that’s all i had and added jalapeños for extra spice. it was definitely more of a noodle soup than sauce it was still insanely delicious!!

  3. G. says:

    Could you store leftovers in the fridge? What do you recommend? Thanks!

    1. Kelly says:

      You definitely could eat these the next day, just unfortunately the zucchini might release more liquid overnight making everything a bit watery. I haven’t tried leftovers yet, but if you do let me know how they are!

  4. DD says:

    Could I substitute unsweet almond milk for the half & half?

    1. Kelly says:

      You absolutely could, but the sauce won’t be as thick 🙂

  5. Gloria L. says:

    Truly 21 g of carbs per serving? I don’t see what ingredient there is so high in carbs.

    1. Kelly says:

      The carbs from the zucchini and the half and half, but it’s still a much better option than pasta! 😉