People on a Paleo diet often miss noodles. The gluten-free crowd has pasta products made from quinoa, rice and other “alternative” grains, but what about us grain-free folks? What can we do when we’re feeling like a bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce or a Thai green curry with noodles?
Ah, this is where spaghetti squash and zucchini noodles come in. Granted, they won’t match the texture of noodles made from wheat or other grains, but that’s easily made up for by the fact that you can eat them safely without making your gut leaky or setting fire to your immune system.
For the spaghetti squash, simply cut in half, put face down on a roasting pan, and roast at 400F for about 25-30 minutes. Let cook, and then scoop out the flesh with a fork. It will naturally take the shape of noodles.
For the zucchini noodles, just take an everyday vegetable peeler and peel of strips of zucchini into noodle lengths. Then saute in butter, ghee or coconut oil. Presto!
Once you’ve got your squash noodles, you can cover them with anything else you’d put on top of noodles. One of my favorite recipes, which I recently posted on my Facebook page, is a Thai green curry with chicken, red peppers, fresh spinach, cilantro and lime. I use the spaghetti squash for this.
But sometimes nothing beats a good ol’ bowl of spaghetti bolognese. Though either type of squash noodle works well here, I tend to use the zucchini noodles with the bolognese because they’re a little more neutral in flavor.
Another favorite is Health-Bent’s “Paleo Beef Lo Mein” recipe (pictured below).
Do you eat “paleo noodles”? Tell us your favorite combinations!
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Don’t forget kelp noodles! They make things super quick and easy. My daughters are finicky eaters and they made faces the first time they saw kelp noodles, but we’ve made an agreement that they will try everything I fix at least once. They were pleasantly surprised when they discovered that the kelp noodles take on the taste of whatever you put them in. It also doesn’t hurt that they’re the same texture as pasta (when cooked). They might look strange, but you still get the pasta experience from the texture. And now they beg me at least once a week to make spaghetti with kelp noodles. My next idea is to try chicken kelp noodle soup!
This sounds great! I love the idea of kelp noodles, but how on earth do you make them?? Or do you buy them!
Thanks!
jb
I made spaghetti squash a few weeks ago after a recommendation from a friend. It was really easy, and the best part was that it made about 5 large meals. The squash itself was only $4 and then I added grass-fed beef and tomato sauce for a cheap meal. Delish! I’m definitely looking forward to trying more recipes with spaghetti squash.
Do you source kelp noodles at an Asian market? I go to a great one in Schaumberg, IL (Mitsawa) for the best price on shirataki (konjac) noodles. This is a great soluble fiber (no Cal) product that really fills you up.
Deb, I actually order my kelp noodles online from Sea Tangle here: http://www.kelpnoodles.com/ I’d rather get them locally since I buy 90% of my food from the farmer’s market, but my town is still small enough not to even have an Asian market. Kelp noodles is one of my rare “treats” so I just buy them a case at a time.
I love, love, love konjac noodles! They are my staple for carb/noodle cravings!
Couldn’t find the Thai Curry recipe on the facebook page…???
Thanks!
I kind of made it up / adapted from this recipe.
Wow, some great advices and ideas can be found here! Big like for kelp noodles!
I’ve made noodles before simply using a vegetable peeler and peeling them off of a summer squash. They were fantastic and it was like eating fettucini!
Photo here: http://campl.us/cxqz
Diane @ Balanced Bites
I love using winter squash for noodles. I spiralize the neck of a small butternut squash: the resulting noodles hold up better than zucchini noodles to boiling/cooking, and taste great.
My two personal favorite paleo noodle substitutes are 1) cabbage, cut into long strips and then braised or steamed (reminiscent of cabbage rolls, yum!), and 2) chopped kale, steamed (just a great flavor combination). I highly recommend giving it a try!
I love baking spaghetti squash – I usually eat some the same night with a bolognese sauce, and then I have a half or two that I pop in the fridge, which I can shred into a bowl over the next couple of days to make a cold “pasta” salad, or warm with another entree. One of the best leftovers paleo foods, I’ve found!
Check out the various “spiralizer” gadgets available; they are used (mostly by the raw vegan crowd) to make noodles out of all sorts of vegetables.
Carrot noodles, if you can find nice long, big carrots. The same method as with the zucchini noodles.