Veggie noodles provide a colorful, easy pasta alternative for the times when you want to enjoy the hearty, sweet and acidic flavors of a marinara pasta sauce, or the velvety, rich taste of a creamy white pasta sauce but you don't want the grains from regular dried or fresh pasta. Veggie noodles also offer a generally less expensive pasta alternative to many gluten-free, nut flour, or bean- or legume-based dried pastas.

Zoodles, or zucchini noodles, debuted a few years back as a pasta alternative, and have become the stalwart veggie noodle in most pasta-free recipes, but you can spiralize, thinly slice, or use a vegetable peeler (for thicker noodles) vegetables such as beets, carrots, yellow squash, and more, to serve as the bed for savory sauces. Consider slices of eggplant or celery root in place of lasagna pasta noodles—our no dairy, Whole30-friendly lasagna shows you how.

You can use fresh vegetables to DIY your own spiralized veggie noodles, use pre-spiralized or shaved veggie noodles, or use frozen veggie noodles, which is what we did in the video below. Cooking with frozen veggie noodles simply requires a bit longer cooking time to defrost the noodles and allow the water to evaporate so your sauce doesn't become water logged. When you stock your freezer with frozen veggie noodles, buy a few jars of your favorite pasta sauce to store in the pantry, and keep a few other staples stocked (such as frozen chicken and meatballs), you can have a veggie noodle lunch or dinner ready in 30 minutes or less.

5 Ingredient Veggie Noodle Recipes Video

Veggie noodle recipes are great for meal planning and meal prep not only because they're so quick and easy to make, but also because you can easily make a few extra portions to store in airtight containers and reheat. These one-pot pasta alternative recipes keep well—they actually get tastier the longer the veggie noodles sit in the pasta sauce. Store any leftovers in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to seven days.

Note: You can substitute fresh produce and unfrozen meat in these recipes; you'll need to adjust your cooking time to accommodate. Another side note: IMO, Avocado Oil Spray doesn't "count" in the ingredient count for these recipes; however, if you'd prefer to think of some of the following recipes as six-ingredient recipes, no big deal! You can also substitute a bit of olive oil for the avocado oil if that's what you have in your pantry. The amount and type of oil you use may alter the nutrition info for each recipe.

Chicken Teriyaki Sesame Noodles

carrot noodles with chicken and Primal Kitchen No Soy Teriyaki Sauce on a white plate

A hybrid of sesame noodles and chicken chow mein, these slightly sweet and savory carrot noodles provide the twirly fun of regular wheat noodles without the gluten. 

Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a large skillet over medium-high heat, spray skillet with Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Spray. Add frozen chicken pieces. Cook for 12–15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked completely. Set the chicken aside.
  • Add package of frozen carrot noodles to the same skillet. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until no longer frozen and all of the water has evaporated. Add the cooked chicken back to the skillet.
  • Add Teriyaki Sauce and sesame oil to the skillet. Stir to combine. Sprinkle on toasted sesame seeds.
  • Remove the skillet from the heat, and either eat right away, or place in resealable containers and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to eat. 

Nutrition info (per serving):

Calories: 291

Carbs: 22 grams

Fat: 13 grams

Protein: 20 grams

All nutrition info calculated using Cronometer.

Zoodles with Marinara and Meatballs

Zoodles with Primal Kitchen Roasted Garlic Marinara and grass-fed meatballs on a white plate

Who doesn't like spaghetti with meatballs? We replaced the pasta with zoodles, warmed up grass-fed meatballs, and used jarred marinara sauce to keep it super simple.

Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Spray a large skillet with Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Spray, and heat to medium. Add package of frozen zoodles to the skillet, and cook for about 10–15 minutes, stirring frequently, until all water has evaporated. Add salt to the zoodles, and stir. 
  • When the water has cooked off, remove the zoodles from the skillet and set aside.
  • Place the skillet back on the heat and dump in meatballs. Pour the marinara sauce on top of the meatballs. Bring the sauce to a boil, then let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for about 15 minutes.
  • If you're eating this meal now, place half of the zoodles on a plate. Top with half the meatballs and sauce. Otherwise, store in airtight containers in the refrigerator.

Nutrition info (per serving):

Calories: 328

Carbs: 24 grams

Fat: 17 grams

Protein: 19 grams

Fall Veggie "Pasta" with Alfredo Sauce

Butternut squash noodles with Brussels sprouts, bacon, and Primal Kitchen No Dairy Alfredo Sauce on a white plate with a silver fork

A little sweet from the butternut squash noodles, a touch bitter from the Brussels sprouts, a bit smoky and salty from the bacon, with creamy flavor from the Alfredo Sauce, this fall veggie pasta recipe combines the tastes and colors of fall onto one plate. 

Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

Instructions

  • If you don't have pre-cooked, chopped bacon on hand, cook 4 slices of bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat. Turn the bacon slices over a few times while cooking to ensure even browning on both sides. When the bacon is cooked to your liking, remove from the skillet and place on a plate lined with paper towels. 
  • Remove the bacon grease from the skillet and return to the heat (if you'd like; if you would like to cook the vegetables in the leftover bacon grease, you can skip the step of adding Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Spray to the skillet). 
  • Spray a skillet with Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Spray, and place on medium-high heat. Add Brussels sprouts and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until sprouts are lightly browned on the outside and warmed on the inside. 
  • Add a package of frozen butternut squash noodles to the skillet. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. 
  • Meanwhile, cut or crumble the bacon by hand. Sprinkle the bacon pieces on top of the vegetables. Add the Alfredo Sauce to the skillet, and stir to combine. 
  • Serve immediately, or store in airtight containers in the refrigerator. 

Nutrition info (per serving):

Calories: 310

Carbs: 41 grams

Fat: 13 grams

Protein: 12 grams

Beet Noodles with Mushrooms and No-Dairy Vodka Sauce (Vegan)

Beet noodles with mushrooms and Primal Kitchen No Dairy Vodka Sauce on a white plate

Blood-red in hue and earthy in taste, these beet noodles provide a vegan pasta alternative option that comes together in just 20 minutes. 

Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Spray a large skillet with Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Spray, and heat to medium. Add package of frozen beet noodles to the skillet, and cook for about 10–15 minutes, stirring frequently, until all water has evaporated. 
  • Drain any liquid from the canned mushrooms. Add garlic and drained mushrooms to the skillet, stirring to combine. Add No-Dairy Vodka Sauce, and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add dried basil or any seasoning you might like.
  • Remove from the heat and enjoy right away, or place in an airtight container in the refrigerator to eat later.

Nutrition info (per serving):

Calories: 235

Carbs: 33 grams

Fat: 9 grams

Protein: 6 grams

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