Zucchini pasta salad with creamy cashew sauce
Bringing back wacky out-of-the-box salads with this zucchini pasta salad.
Even though, let’s be real, they’re around our house pretty much every day 😉
During the summer, I tend to get a little overzealous with the produce options and create some pretty interesting salad combos. Sometimes they’re home runs, and other times, they’re FGO (For Ginas Only). This one was particularly amazing, and I’m excited to share the recipe with ya.
The secret is the noodles….
or “zoodles.” 😉
There was a bit of the reunion with the spiralizer this weekend -lots of embracing and Bruno Mars songs were shared- and I couldn’t wait to spiralize some zucchini from the co-op. (PS. The co-op here is pretty incredible; you pay a $15 annual fee to receive member pricing and the produce selection is always abundant.)
How to Use the Spiralizer to Make Zoodles
The key with the spiralizer is to make sure you cut the zucchini into 3 chunks.
Place into the spiralizer prongs:
and whirl away to noodle glory.
(A few people have asked about the spiralizer I use. It’s the Joyce Chen model, which is $22, and I absolutely love it! Think it’s five years old now?)
I’ve also learned that it’s important to tell other people that they’re “zucchini noodles.” Don’t try to play it off like regular pasta… it doesn’t turn out well.
For this batch of zucchini noodles, I made a creamy vegan sauce
and added marinated artichokes, sundried tomatoes and fresh basil.
Here’s the recipe if you’d like to give it a try! This one is completely vegan, mostly raw, but would also be wonderful with grilled tempeh strips or diced chicken mixed in.
Hope you enjoy! <3
Zucchini pasta salad with creamy cashew sauce
A creamy, savory summer salad using zucchinis as the noodles. Feel free to customize with any mix-ins! Cashews provide the texture for the dressing, and this recipe is gluten-free and vegan
- Prep Time: 10
- Total Time: 70
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
- For the “noodles:”
- 2 large zucchini, spiralized or sliced with a veggie peeler
For the sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 1 hour and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Mix-ins
- 3 heaping tablespoons sundried tomatoes
- 6 ounces marinated artichoke hearts, drained
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade cut
Instructions
- Place the zucchini noodles in a large bowl.
- Next, make the dressing by combining the sauce ingredients in a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth and taste to adjust seasonings as necessary.
- Pour the sauce on top of the zucchini noodles and stir to coat. Mix in the sundried tomatoes, artichokes and top with the basil to serve.
Notes
- This recipe also tastes fantastic the next day! (I wouldn’t go two days though; it would get a little soggy)
- Nutritional yeast is found in the supplement section or bulk bins of many health food stores. It’s a great source of protein and B vitamins with a rich, cheesy flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2
Any interesting salad combos lately? Where do you usually get your produce? We shop at Trader Joe’s for almost everything, but I’m also a huge fan of organic meats and berries from Costco.
Hope you have a wonderful night!
xoxo
Gina
More of my favorite salads:
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Dang! Looks amazing.
Hi Gina! Long time reader of your blog. Have you ever shopped at Sprouts? They have a great and fresh organic produce/veggies section and meats section. I like to call it a more affordable Whole Foods. 😀 I believe there is one in Point Loma??
yep, i’ve been to that one! i like the selection at people’s even more though
(and thank you for reading for such a long time!) 🙂
My favorite place for organic produce is Frazier Farms in Oceanside and Vista. Another is EarthGrown in Oceanside. Organic cherries $1.99 lb last week.
Yum that looks incredible! I am obsessing over spiraled recipes right now.
I have a mandolin which I manage with but I really want a spiralizer as that is the only function I use my mandolin for!
FGOs makes me laugh. My husband makes fun of the weird combinations of veggies I throw on a pasta dish. I don’t care what kind of veggie, I’m pretty sure it will taste good on pasta with marinara sauce. Random creations are fun!
Holy faceplant. That looks divine. Maybe I need to ask for a spiralizer for my birthday… 😉
I usually get my produce at Sam’s Club, Winco, and TJ’s. A visit with mister Joe can get dicey for my pocketbook, though, when I get my hands on allthesnacks!
I feel like having a spiralizer would change everything for me. <Dramatic statement, but seriously, I need to make recipes like this!
I really need to get one of those spiralizers! I’ve been wanting to buy one for a long time.
thank you so much for the spiraler recommendation! Ive been searching for one forever!! 🙂 This looks incredible!!
Have you ever done a “What you buy” at Trader Joes post? I love to see what everyone’s favorite staples are there!
i have, but i think it was a few years ago? i can definitely do an updated one! 🙂
Oh my gosh, I really want to make this but am allergic to cashews. Any different nut(s) that you think would make a good substitute?
what about coconut meat?? or macadamia nuts?
Thanks! I’ll give them a try!
Can I use roasted cashews? Do I have to soak them in water?
I LOVE zoodles…I eat mine w/a red wine meat sauce and it’s delish! I bought a fancy mandolin but have only used it for zoodles…a spiralizer would def be better….but I’m pretty sure I don’t “need” another kitchen gadget…hahaha!
I love going to TJ’s, BJ’s, Costco & HMart (Korean/Asian grocery store) for fruits and veggies….it varies based on what and how much I need.
Agree w/Dakota C…a “what you buy from TJ’s” post would be awesome!
I’m going through SSU withdrawal. Particularly because I have a huge question I wish I could ask the group – I’ve never done a half marathon before and can’t really run a straight mile at a time, but I can run/walk. On Monday I did intervals of running 3 minutes walking 2 minutes (12 times), which was 5 miles. I’m wondering if I could be ready to do a half as soon as October 19 or if that would be ridiculous. I’m also curious if anyone has ever done the Nike Women’s Half and what they thought of it. I should make a decision by tomorrow but I get so nervous when I think about it.
I’ve been wanting a spiralizer for awhile now! I loved your comment about giving people a heads up that it wasn’t pasta because I’ve been wanting to surprise my husband with zucchini noodles (we make pasta a lot because he is Italian) and was hoping he wouldn’t notice the difference. okay, I know he would but I was just hoping that maybe he wouldn’t.
oh, he totally will. haha
Yum, that looks DELICIOUS!! 🙂
By the way, thank you so much for your San Diego recommendations you gave me a few weeks ago. My husband and I just got back from vacation last weekend. We both LOVED San Diego and can’t wait to go back one day!! 🙂
so glad you had an awesome time!! 🙂
At first I was skeptical of this but after reading the recipe it sounds delicious! Might have to give this a shot soon 🙂
I literally just bought a spiralizer yesterday afternoon! I purchased a smaller handheld one, so hopefully I can actually figure out how to use it 🙂
This sounds awesome. I’ve always wanted to try a cashew cheese sauce. It sounds easy enough and pretty delish!
Seriously looks like a winner!! Need me some zucchini noodles back in my life!
It’s funny, I see the spiralizer stashed under the banquette sometimes, probably used 3 times in 5 years, and think, “Well, Gina never uses hers anymore, either!” LOL
hahah! seriously. i think i was a little overzealous at first and burned out. the zucchini noodles were awesome, so let’s see if i decide to bust it out again next week 🙂
This looks delicious! I have been wanting a spiralizer and this may just push me to order on amazon 🙂 I hope to make this asap
let me know if you give it a try!
OK, I just ordered a spiralizer…I should have a mountain of zoodles by friday evening 🙂 Looking forward to this recipe…the frozen breakfast burrito one was great!
That looks SO good! Thank you for taking and sharing pictures of how to make the zoodles. I had always wondered how people did that!
For the life of me I don’t know why I have a Vitamix but I don’t have a spiralizer. And I have more zucchini than anyone needs in my fridge waiting to be turned into pasta. Checking Amazon now…
LOL @ zoodles!
I MUST buy the spiral slicer! Any time I’ve made zucchini noodles, I’ve painstakingly sliced them with a knife >_<
Oooh this sounds delicious! I love the artichoke hearts/sundried tomato combo! I’m thinking some kalamata olives would be a nice addition, too. The lazy me usually makes a sauce out of thinned hummus which works great in a hurry…this sauce sounds like it’s worth the extra effort though.
Thanks!
Oh and salad combos… Have you tried TJs cruciferous blend (shredded kale, cabbage & brussels sprouts)? It’s great mixed with salad greens!
Yummmm that sauce sounds right up my ally!
This looks sooo delicious! Your photos truly capture this meal! I’ve been on the verge of purchasing a spiralizer for awhile, and I think I might just to be able to make this!
Excited to try this one!
Speaking of FGO salads, whenever I make a not so appealing salad combo, my default is to just cover it in Sriracha and go with it 🙂
This looks amazing! Beautiful photos as well! I’ve noticed a change in your photos in your last few recipes. Care to share what you are doing different? Love it!
Looks sooo yummy!
as a huge lover of zucchini and cashews, this looks absolutely delicious to me!
I made this today and it was delicious–the basil and marinated artichokes really made it the dish! As a side note: I wasn’t a huge fan of the dressing on its own–it was bland and really chunky in my vitamix so I had to add about a 2/3 cup of water and some olive oil to get it to a consistency I liked. Just a head’s up in case someone else tries it and runs into dryness problems!
Hey! I wanted to stop back by and say that I liked the dressing MUCH better on the second day! The flavors were much more vibrant and creamy after sitting in the fridge. I’ll definitely make this again.
i liked it even better the next day, too! so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
yes cashew cream sauce needs liquid. I did like the lemon zing to it though.
Did you forget to add water to the cashews? 1/2 lemon wasn’t enough at all to make it creamy for me. Or are you relying on the water for the zucchini noodles?
i think i would have noted it. what type of blender did you use? you could definitely add a little water if you need it!
Vitamix.
This is a winner! I’ve tried other Alfredo recipes but they tasted too much like nutritional yeast. I didn’t have any of the mix-ins, but it tastes fantastic without them. I used it on “zoodles”, then the next day I had it on a side dish of corn, cauliflower, and broccoli. Thanks for this keeper recipe!
so happy to hear you liked it!
What is the nutrition content on this….mostly the carbs, protein, fat and fiber that I am interested in.
I loooooove this, it’s so tasty! Setting aside the sauce means it can last longer and I can make it for multiple days or even freeze it by just making fresh zoodles anytime and adding sauce to single servings. I had to add a lot of water to get mine to blend up in my Vitamix.