Zucchini Noodles with Prawns & Creamy Avocado Basil Sauce

I have to admit, when I first saw the whole ‘zucchini pasta’ thing, I was skeptical… very skeptical. Could that really taste good?? As good as actual pasta tastes??

Well my friends, why yes, yes it does.

I was soooo super impressed with how amazingly delicious and surprisingly filling this dish ended up being! Not only that, but like seriously, look how pretty that dish is! Just a beaut!

The great thing about zucchini pasta, is it’s lower calorie and lower carb, yet still holds up like a good old pasta would! It’s great for those who need a gluten free pasta option, and for those watching their waistline! Not that real pasta is ‘bad’ for you (unless it’s white refined pasta, then yes it’s bad!!), but sometimes you just need something a little lower cal but still full of flavor!

The hubby and I took a trip to our local HomeSense store this past weekend and I picked up this handy dandy mandoline! It was only $25 and I swear it’s my new favorite kitchen tool! I used it to make sweet potato chips, beet chips, and of course, this zucchini ‘pasta’! … If you don’t have a mandoline at home, don’t stress, you can still make this dish, it will just require some careful knife skills, but it can be done!

The sauce came together in a jiffy! I had seen the idea of using avocado to make a ‘creamy’ like sauce on pinterest, and thought I would give it a whirl! I used basil, garlic, fresh lemon juice, and salt and pepper to make the avocado sauce and it turned out wonderfully! It was ‘creamy’ tasting yet still light and fresh from the lemon and basil! I didn’t add any oil because the avocado has enough healthy fats in it – but you could easily add oil to make the sauce a little smoother!

I decided to blanch the zucchini pasta to soften it, as I had originally seen zucchini pasta done as a raw dish, and I wasn’t into that idea. I tossed some cooked prawns with the lightly cooked zucchini pasta and avocado sauce, added in some fresh cherry tomatoes and served the dish warm.

Wow. Just ..wow.

Healthy bliss.

The zucchini really seemed like real pasta, the way it twirled around the fork and soaked up all the sauce. It felt like such a rich, hearty dish, it was shocking to think I was pretty much eating just prawns, zucchini, and avocado!

Even the hubby fell in love! He decided to forgo the avocado sauce and went with a simple tomato basil marinara sauce!

This dish took me less than 20 minutes to make, start to finish. Exactly what I like in a meal; quick, simple, healthy, and out-of-this-world tasty!

So, if you too, are a skeptic of the zucchini pasta idea, I hope I have convinced you to give it a try!

Zucchini 'Pasta' with Prawns & 'Creamy' Avocado Basil Sauce (GF!)

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 3 small green zucchinis
• 5 oz tiger prawns, cooked
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• water
• for the avocado & basil sauce:
• ½ cup of basil
• ¼ of a ripe avocado
• 1 cloves of garlic, minced
• the juice of ¼ a lemon
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Start by making the zucchini 'pasta'. Slice off the two ends of each zucchini.
2. Use a mandoline with the "julienne" attachment to make pasta like strips. OR if you do not have a mandoline, cut the zucchini into thin wide strips, lengthwise, then finely slice the strips, lengthwise again. You should have long, thin strips of zucchini that look like linguini.
3. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Blanch the zucchini for 30 seconds, then rinse under cold water. You only want to just soften the zucchini slightly. Set aside.
4. Cook your prawns, or defrost pre cooked prawns. Set aside.
5. For the sauce, place the basil, avocado, garlic, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a food processor/blender. Blend until you have the consistency you like.
6. Once the sauce is done, toss it in the bowl with the zucchini, prawns, and cherry tomatoes.
7. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
8. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled - it's up to you!
9. Enjoy!

Nutritional Information

Serving size: 1 Calories: 224kcal Fat: 5.9g Carbohydrates: 20.6g Sugar: 5.5g Fiber: 8.5g Protein: 26.3g

3.2.1215

*Recipe adapted from What’s Cooking Good Looking 

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Enjoy!

Christal

Nurtitionist in the Kitch