Tahini Zucchini Noodles Recipe

Light zucchini noodles are coated in creamy vegan tahini sauce & tossed with kale, baked tofu & crunchy pine nuts. A healthy, gluten-free weeknight dinner.

Let’s just call this a seasonal transitional dish. It’s like wearing shorts with a chunky sweater because you’re not quite sure if you are warm or cold, and most days you’re a little bit of both. This tahini sauce is rich and creamy… while the cold zucchini noodles are on the lighter side.

I got the idea from this pin that caught my eye… which led me to the blog Earthsprout, a beautiful raw food blog with some amazing recipes.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure Jack was going to be into this one. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a finicky eater, and he loves the food I cook… I just thought maybe I had gone over the top this time. This is a lot of veggies for one bowl, after all (there’s kale in here too)… but he really loved it.

If you don’t have a vegetable spiralizer or a julienne peeler (or zucchinis for that matter), feel free to sub in rice noodles or whatever kind of pasta you like.

I had a bit of leftover sauce which was especially delicious on the avocado sandwiches that I ate for lunch the rest of the week.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Tahini Zucchini Noodles

Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Serves: 2

Ingredients

2 cups kale, chopped
2 medium zucchinis, spiralized or julienned*
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Lemon, for squeezing
Sea salt and fresh black pepper
1 cup cubed tofu (optional)

For the tahini sauce: (this makes extra)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons tahini
1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ garlic clove, minced
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey
3 teaspoons soy sauce or gluten free tamari
½ teaspoon dried turmeric
¼ – ½ cup water, start with less, gradually add more
Sea salt and fresh black pepper

For garnish:

¼ cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
Pinches red chili flakes
¼ cup micro arugula sprouts (optional)

Instructions

If using the tofu, preheat the oven to 400. Spread the tofu on a lined baking sheet and toss with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and fresh black pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the kale, salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. Cook for a few minutes, until the kale is wilted. Set aside.
Make the sauce: In a blender, combine the olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, nutritional yeast, maple syrup, soy sauce, turmeric, and salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, stirring in water as needed to reach your desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings, keeping in mind that (especially if you’re using zucchini noodles) the flavors will dilute. I found the best way to taste accurately was to dip a few noodles in the sauce.
Toss the zucchini, kale, and baked tofu with the sauce, using more or less depending on how well-coated you like your veggies. Top with the basil, pine nuts, chili flakes, and microgreens, if using. Serve at room temperature.

Notes

*You could also use any kind of noodles you wish: rice noodles, regular pasta, etc. I served this at room temperature because the zucchini noodles are best raw. You could just as easily serve this warm if you use rice or pasta noodles.

adapted from this recipe by Earthsprout