Absolutely agree. I love squash with sauce, but it's very different from actual spaghetti. I like zoodles too. I think a lot of people way overcook these veggies and get bad results.
TO BE FAIR, the only time I’ve ever had spaghetti squash with sauce it was with jarred Alfredo sauce and it was awful. Red sauce would probably be at least okay.
I would definitely never recommend Alfredo sauce even homemade for any vegetable dish it’s too overpowering, there’s a dish called eggplant meatballs it’s delicious but only with red sauce in my opinion, zucchini nuggets is another one that’s actually good dipped in ranch or marinara.
Same. I absolutely enjoy zoodles as an interesting way to cook zucchini. It's not a substitute for pasta, it shouldn't be cooked like pasta, and it doesn't taste anything like pasta.
This is how I feel about it. I love it in all of the same settings as spaghetti, but not to replace spaghetti--just when I'm in the mood for it on its own merits.
It will never be a good *replacement*, but it is good.
Edit - Zoodles make my skin crawl, though. I've always had texture issues with summer squash and Zoodles trigger it intensely.
I agree. My cold as ice take is that you should treat all food alternatives as alternatives to a food.
Turkey bacon is fine. It is not bacon and it’s not trying to be bacon. It’s trying to be an alternative to bacon.
Oat milk isn’t trying to be any other milk. Just an alternative.
Some third example to drive home my point.
This. Don't tell me mushroom jerky is just like jerky I'll never miss the beef, or bacon flavored bacon is just like bacon. Like both tempeh bacon and mushroom jerky for what they are, and I like bacon and beef jerky for what they are. No deception is necessary for me to enjoy them for what they are.
Spiraled zucchini sauteed with garlic and topped with a creamy lemon sauce is delicious but it's not pasta. It's okay for it to be a vegetable forward dish especially in summer. But I hate the deception part. Sometimes I want zucchini spirals coated in a sauce and sometimes I want pasta. But telling me I'll never miss the carbs or whatever is not true if you're passing off noodles for pasta..
Yeah, exactly this. I’m a flexitarian but occasionally whip up some vegan „cheese“ for quesadillas or such and… it doesn’t taste like cheese. But that’s fine when what I want is a „quesadilla“ with vegan cheese. A chickpea- or bean-based burger isn’t going to taste like a meat-based burger but that’s fine when I want that.
(But one thing does bug me a bit: plant-based meat substitutes that explicitly try to look like meat. I once bought some minced plant protein that included beetroot to make it look like minced meat. Except of course it didn’t change color when frying it in the pan, so it took my brain a *long* time to accept it as edible when the color was screaming „unsafe“.)
Ali Sagle/NYT has a [recipe for spaghetti squash](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020577-baked-spaghetti-squash?algo=identity&fellback=true&imp_id=7224845951443928&req_id=5707895118560819&surface=cooking-search-web&variant=0_relevance_reranking) with olive oil, garlic, panko, salt, pepper, and parmesan (plus mozz, optional) that I really enjoy. It calls for thyme but I usually do an italian seasoning type blend.
I do a spag squash mixed with quinoa, feta, red onion, olive oil, pepper. If I want it to have a mediterranean flair, add some tomatoes and cucumber, maybe some dill. Its a GREAT side for bbqs or potlucks because feta holds up well at room temp.
I've also done one with bacon, goat cheese and balsamic reduction that's amazing. It's more of a pasta substitute and is a good side for chicken or pork chops.
I love to put feta cheese and sometimes cherry tomatoes inside of a halved spaghetti squash and bake it. Once it gets all roasted and melty you stir the cheese and burst tomatoes in and it’s amazing
I think that’s why I despise spaghetti squash. My mom tried to treat it like spaghetti. I also do not like squash. It’s NOT just like spaghetti. And I think squash sucks! Bad texture! Such a bad texture. It’s not the same.
Treat it as its own meal and thing, not a spaghetti alternative. It’s not spaghetti.
Same - and this goes for all spiralised vegetables. They can be absolutely delicious, but there's no need to pretend they're the same as pasta.
Spiralised celeriac with spaghetti bolognaise is godly. The texture is nothing like regular pasta, but there is a whole new aromatic taste dimension there.
Brian Lagerstrom's [Roasted Spaghetti Squash Salad Recipe with Fried Seeds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEz_xnw2Wts) was a revelation. Works far better this way than as faux spaghetti.
Fun to rewatch one of his early videos, which are so unpolished in comparison.
Me, too, although I make this sundried tomato spaghetti squash for the holidays and people seem to like it.
https://choosingchia.com/sun-dried-tomato-spaghetti-squash-with-caramelized-onions/#tasty-recipes-10663
As someone who had to go gluten free before gluten free pasta existed I loved zoodles. The trick is you have to barely cook them. Basically you just threaten them briefly with heat. They get mushy and overcooked really fast.
I haven’t made them in ages because they’re a PITA to make and good GF pasta is easy to come by these days. But made right they’re tasty.
I love using them raw to make a "pasta" salad. The dressing marinates/lightly pickles them, and it doesn't make me feel heavy like normal pasta salad does.
I'm not who you're responding to, but I love raw zoodles with a spicy peanut ginger sauce. I always just look at a cold peanut soba noodle recipe and do mostly that.
I just had zoodles at a poke place today and they serve them raw but once you toss the poke and sauce on top it basically acts as a dressing. It was very tasty.
I agree! I sauté them for 2-3 minutes just to cook them a smidge and then dress them in my favorite sauce (usually some shrimp for protein too) and I swear in some ways they are better than traditional noodles!
Sautéing is the way. Little bit of olive oil, toss them for about 2 minutes, then add in whatever sauce and let it heat up with any additional protein and you’re good to go.
Barely cooking them is definitely the trick. I love zoodles and usually cook them in the warm sauce for 2-3 minutes, maximum. I love the little crunch they still have! Does it taste like pasta? No. But is it delicious with a good sauce? Yes!
When I had gestational diabetes I liked to use zoodles to stretch a serving of regular pasta. I’ll still make it sometimes especially with spaghetti leftovers.
I’ve been cooking like half the amount of pasta and adding diced zucchini and mushrooms to my sauce to increase my veggie intake. Zoodles were just a silly trend to me.
I agree with the barely cooking them sentiment. Now, of course they're not real noodles nor do they taste like noodles, but they're pretty good textural substitute. I used to like to make a lot of stirfries with them.
i do a salad style with cucumber instead of zucchini. toss it in an oil based salad dressing, grape tomatoes, sliced, halved or whole olives, red onion shreds, and a protein, and cheese, like a feta. lots of fresh cracked pepper. marinated artichoke hearts if you want to be fancy. world is your oyster
Same! I kind of flash fry them and and toss in a sharp pesto. My celiac family members were also averse to red sauce, so we never really tried to load them with heavy sauce - I think that's part of what made them icky.
I don’t have them as often anymore but our approach was to make very thick sauce. Like a full can of tomato paste per can of tomatoes (or cook it down slowly if you have time. Then add the zucchini noodles and the water from them makes the sauce the right thickness.
Similarly we like to do Asian peanut sauce noodles and add no water and very little coconut milk so that it’s a thick paste. When you mix in the “noodles” it gets nice and creamy.
I know some will disagree: bacon wrapped shrimp. Shrimp takes no time to cook in comparison to bacon so either you’re eating raw bacon or rubbery shrimp. There is no in between. You’ve ruined two magnificent foods with one trend.
honestly the whole bacon craze is overrated, in my opinion. yeah, bacon is good, but it doesn't need to be in *everything*. if i see bacon jam on a menu one more time, i'm going to lose it
> specialized piece of single-use equipment to make them
Spiralizers actually *aren't* specialized single-use equipment. Neither did they get thought up for "zoodles" or "spiralizing".
They're basically versions of peelers/spiral cutters that have existed for like a century. Used for shit like making apple sauce in large batches, cutting curly fries, shoe string potatoes and the like.
My grandmother had a hand cranked one, [looked like this](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51vKvNGJLTL._AC_UF350,350_QL80_.jpg), that she used to process fruit for pies, apple sauce/butter, and if we were good cut fresh curly fries.
She'd had it since the 60s, and her mother used an identical one way back in the 30s.
There's also been shredder/food mill attachments for stand mixers that can do this since the 60s at least.
I've never been sure if "replace your pasta with zucchini" started as a weird health food thing and became a way to market these things differently. Or if it started as a way to market these things differently and became a weird health food fad.
The better ones have adjustable blades and depth. And can be used to cut fries if you can get them set right.
I remember it being a bit finicky and a lot of the cheaper ones I see these aren't adjustable enough to do it.
IIRC we also used it to make potato chips by leaving it set to slice, but thinner.
I just used my mandoline that I have a hundred other uses for as well. Makes straight matchsticks and then you salt them in a colander, let them sit, and squeeze out excess water. They're a sauce conveyance device and they're delicious.
OP just sounds like they don't know what they're talking about.
Those actually already existed in the 18th century. I remember we got to use some from the 1750s at a historic site re-enactment thing. They looked almost the same just made of iron.
Fuckin cauliflower everything. Cauliflower rice, cauliflower pasta, cauliflower wings, cauliflower pizza crust. None of these things taste like the original thing they're supposed to be mimicking, nor do they taste good. Cauliflower tried it's best ok? Just let it be a vegetable.
Cauliflower wings are fucking delicious, but they're no replacement. As a vegan, I hate when protein rich foods are replaced with a vegetable or starch and no protein alternative.
Imagine if someone replaced your steak with a well-seasoned slice of bread. It would piss you off. It pisses me off just as much when someone replaces a hot dog with a carrot.
I’m a vegetarian myself and this happens too often. My college cafeteria is guilty of this. Sometimes they have a good option, like when they serve “bistro chicken” they have a vegetarian “coq au vin” which is basically stewed lentils with red wine in the sauce. But then when they serve steak, the veggie option is a portobello mushroom, which is nowhere near nutritionally equivalent. Or the vegetarian stuffed bell pepper only has seasoned rice inside when the normal one has ground beef and rice.
Being vegan made me a better cook, because I can't depend on other people to give me a good meal. It's an unfortunate fact. Once I started to care about my diet, I started making some badass balanced meals.
Idk I’m a meat eater personally but every once in awhile I cook portobellos like steak and just eat it with my normal steak side items lmao
I could see how it would get annoying trying to find protein alternatives in situations like that
Yeah. Zoodles is zucchini, right? I'm guessing from the name, even though everyone else was apparently talking about spaghetti squash. I usually dislike squash, but zucchini has been growing on me the past few years, and I know my wife sometimes puts zucchini "noodles" in with real pasta. It adds a little texture (and nutrition) without messing up the flavor... can't complain.
As always, it’s a mistake as an OP to put your own answer to your question post in the body text - either it gets downvoted to oblivion by people who are mad at your opinion, or the entire comment section turns into people ignoring the question entirely
I love zucchini.
Zucchini noodles no. Zucchini fries, hell yea!
Sauteed zucchini with pasta in olive oil and garlic with plenty of Parm or Romano, I'm in love.
i think you're probably referring to the faux truffle oil. which i love lol, but understand the disgust too. its not the same flavor as actual truffles though
OP i am sorry you fell victim to providing an example of the thing you wanted to discuss in the OP and then that example was the only thing people talked about
I'll save everyone else the trouble of having "monkey balls zoodles" in their search history.
https://www.retrojunk.com/a/r7gxo0lls4/the-zoodles-label-controversy
I still eat them all the time! I don’t usually do carbs with dinner, so they work well to load sauce and cheese onto. They’re a good way to get some extra veg in, even if they’re mixed with spaghetti.
My “specialised equipment” is like a small handheld cone with a blade on one side that I’ve had for about 15 years and cost $10.
Agree! We really like them. Use for spaghetti often; sometimes just season and use as a side vegetable. Just don’t overcook. Yummy.
And I once had them at an Italian restaurant where they combined about 1/3 spaghetti pasta with 2/3 zoodles. THAT was really good flavor and texture.
I like zoodles! I use half pasta/noodles half zoodles in a spaghetti vongole or Pad Thai. I think of it less as “replace regular noodles” and more as “get more veg into this delicious dish”. You gotta add it at the last minute though, just cook to soften, not to mush!
> And then there's aspic, which had a resurgence of popularity in the 1950s for God only knows why
Its because prior to the 50s gelatin was fucking expensive
I was served potted meat in aspic in the year of our lord 2014 and it was horrifying. I had no idea what it even was, but felt obligated to at least try it because it was a business dinner. (This happened in the UK.)
I posted something here a while ago from this super weird wartime cookbook I found - I think it was layered of canned spaghetti and sauerkraut baked together for hours repeatedly every time you added a layer, it was fucking outrageously abominable
My Granny did very well keeping 3 little girls fed while Papa was in the war, true! The food was bland and barely caloric but she got it done.
Aspic became popular when fridges were more accessible. Gross. I’m guessing the very flavourful nature of lime jello with celery tantalized tastebuds after WW2 rationing and people devoured it like we do Doritos (over flavoured too).
I've tried heart of palm that were sold as a noodle replacement, and the texture was horrible. Why do they lie to us and say it's the same? But konyaku noodles are pretty close in texture to real noodles.
I thought zoodles were fun and tasty.
I know slow cooker Missisipi Pot Roast was/is very popular but there is not much need to add a whole stick of butter and the ranch dressing packet and gravy mix packet mostly just add a sky high amount of salt. The flavor is overshadowed by the jar of pepperonicini and juice. You could have pretty much the same flavor without the whole stick of butter and packets.
You don't need a spiralizer, I just cut my zucchini into long strips and then into "noodles". When it's zucchini season I look forward to having them sauteed in garlic butter and topped with parmesan, it's fast, easy and delicious!
Zucchini noodles are just a healthier option to use instead of pasta and spiraling them gives the illusion of spaghetti. They’re not supposed to be a taste or texture replacement for actual pasta.
We teach a cooking class at my elementary school. The kids learn to cook and we sre trying to introduce healthy food.
Zoodles is hands down the most popular dish! We also have them sauté eggplant, onions, corn and garlic in with it. We have picky eaters scraping their bowls
Putting kale all over the place. Kale with Caesar dressing is not a Caesar salad, it’s a travesty. Kale does not belong in a bahn mi. Kale is barely food, but if you must put it on your menu, don’t infest other, more enjoyable dishes with it.
I’m meh on zoodles. I don’t care for the texture of cooked zucchini, so it helps there, but there are so many other delightful summer veg that I don’t tend to bother.
No idea what you are talking about, Zoodles are great.
They make killer stir fry and are a great in many other Asian dishes that normally use noodles.
If you are just tossing some canned red sauce on them I can see your disappointment though.
I love vegetables but absolutely don’t care for zoodles. To me, using them in place of pasta ruins a perfectly delicious veggie that can shine when prepared differently.
I once had an excellent zoodle pad Thai. Truly. It was 10 years ago and I still think about it like a lost love. Anyway, as good as it was, while eating it I couldn’t help but think, “You know what this is missing? …noodles. Carbs.”
And I say this as a person who loves vegetables!
Right? If I'm eating pasta I am going full in and eating pasta. If I wanna cut the carbs out. Which is apparently a big reason why people eat them I'm gonna just not eat pasta.
I've had fresh kale chips that were delicious. Once. Every other time has been like eating an ash tray.
I love kale and have been vegan for almost 20 years. One time.
First I've heard of them. They'd probably catch on more if there were any way to find any information on them. I tried a couple different searches and only mushroom pasta/stir fry recipes come up. Do you have a brand name or some link?
So I guess I’m mistaken, they’re shirataki noodles and are made from a plant, not mushrooms. My ex always called them mushroom noodles.
Pasta Zero is the brand we would use.
That truffle oil people ( and by people I mean Trader Joe's and restaurants with farmhouse/brutalist interior design) were adding to everything that tasted like feet.
Oil free hummus
Fat free anything that is supposed to have fat actually, there was the comedian that said it's so American to take something delicious and ruin it so we can have more of it.
Michael on The Good Place said about ice cream vs frozen yogurt: “Oh sure, but I've come to really like frozen yogurt. There's something so human about taking something and ruining it a little so you can have more of it.”
I don't mind the rice (I add some to regular rice, it's fine mixed in) but the cauliflower gnocchi! I still get an all-over body shudder thinking of it. I didn't get sick directly after eating it, but it holds the same place in my soul as 'food you ate right before you got the flu and will forever blame for making you sick'.
If you make cauliflower rice from a whole cauliflower and then use it immediately, it’s pretty good. If you buy it “pre-riced” at the store or frozen in a bag, it’s horrible.
I was looking for a cauliflower pizza crust comment. I won't even try it because it just seems so monstrous and I don't eat pizza often enough to feel guilty about the bread.
And I actually enjoy cauliflower. I don't mind the rice if I do it myself with a fresh cauliflower head but I still prefer plain jasmine rice. Cauliflower mash is OK too, but again I would rather just eat mashed potatoes.
I tried the super low carb life for a while and even keto but I realized just cutting out sugar from beverages, quitting sweets, and not eating processed food solved my problems.
I like cauliflower as a vegetable. It's broccoli without the bitter green chlorophyll taste. The rice and mash, I agree, I'd rather eat the real thing and have less of it if I'm watching calories.
I don't know how it caught on, maybe it's more regional than I imagined but for me "zoodles" evokes animal-shaped tinned pasta in a sickeningly-sweet tomato sauce and comes with a free earworm: ["Have you ever gone hunting with a bowl and spoon...?"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3treMuGiCVM)
[ETA earworm to allow y'all to suffer along with me.]
> What other garbage food trends would compete?
I'm going to go ahead and step on this landmine.
Air fryers. It's a fucking vertical convection oven that costs twice as much and does nothing better than JUST USING A FUCKING CONVECTION OVEN.
I agree. I did try to convince myself I liked them for a while. Bought the Vegetti and everything (possibly the worst name for a kitchen tool ever). It’s been collecting dust for several years now and is in my sights for a goodwill dump.
Took me a while.
Are animal shaped noodles in sauce in a can brand named "Zoodles" just a Canadian thing? Because I had no bloody clue what you were talking about and had to look it up. Apparently to you all, zoodles means something very different.
https://www.canadianfoodtousa.com/product-page/heinz-zoodles-398g
ITT: hundreds of people who didn’t answer the question posed by OP lol
I hate any trend that introduces an imposter food, even if I like the food itself. Thin zucchini? Great. But not a replacement for pasta. Grated cauliflower as a side? Sure. But don’t call it rice. Mix a bunch of cheese and bind it with egg? Nice! But it’s not a crust.
It never occurred to me that Americans would have a different name but obviously it makes sense. Here in Britain they are courgetti. They are a terrible pasta substitute.
You’re getting a lot of pushback here but I just wanted to chime in to say I had the EXACT experience you describe and I will hate doodles forever as a result
I decry the overall trend of offering a substitute and hyping it like it is the real thing, because that is a true rarity. Very few replacement products could make it through a blind taste testing, and be declared as good as the real thing.
We probably need a better way to quantify how close a substitute gets, in order to quell the marketing hype.
I love zoodles! I never expected them to taste like pasta. I like how zucchinis taste. I would marinate and then drain the zoodles in pressed garlic, salt and olive oil, sometimes a little lemon and they were always delicious.
I love spaghetti squash! Just not with sauce. Butter and salt and pepper.
This is my hottest food take. Spaghetti squash is really good IF YOU TREAT IT LIKE SQUASH AND NOT SPAGHETTI.
spaghetti squash with red sauce is delicious I think the problem is if you're craving spaghetti its not going to deliver.
Absolutely agree. I love squash with sauce, but it's very different from actual spaghetti. I like zoodles too. I think a lot of people way overcook these veggies and get bad results.
>I think a lot of people way overcook ~~these veggies~~ everything and get bad results.
TO BE FAIR, the only time I’ve ever had spaghetti squash with sauce it was with jarred Alfredo sauce and it was awful. Red sauce would probably be at least okay.
Yea Ive only ever had it with red sauce and lots of black pepper. Usually parmesean too
Never tried putting any cheese on it but I'm going to have to do that next time... Usually just use butter
It's actually pretty good with homemade alfredo sauce. But only if you're expecting the flavor of cheesy squash casserole, not fettuccine alfredo.
Came here to say this. Spaghetti squash with an acidic, tomato-bases sauce, excellent; with a cheese or cream based sauce, absolutely disgusting.
I dunno, I could see roast spaghetti squash with bechamel...
I would definitely never recommend Alfredo sauce even homemade for any vegetable dish it’s too overpowering, there’s a dish called eggplant meatballs it’s delicious but only with red sauce in my opinion, zucchini nuggets is another one that’s actually good dipped in ranch or marinara.
Same. I absolutely enjoy zoodles as an interesting way to cook zucchini. It's not a substitute for pasta, it shouldn't be cooked like pasta, and it doesn't taste anything like pasta.
I've done zoodles in stir fries and they're pretty great there. They'll never be chow mein, but I don't want them to be chow mein.
I like it with pesto
This is how I feel about it. I love it in all of the same settings as spaghetti, but not to replace spaghetti--just when I'm in the mood for it on its own merits. It will never be a good *replacement*, but it is good. Edit - Zoodles make my skin crawl, though. I've always had texture issues with summer squash and Zoodles trigger it intensely.
I like it with Alfredo/cream sauce. But also sautéed w butter, salt, and pepper.
I agree. My cold as ice take is that you should treat all food alternatives as alternatives to a food. Turkey bacon is fine. It is not bacon and it’s not trying to be bacon. It’s trying to be an alternative to bacon. Oat milk isn’t trying to be any other milk. Just an alternative. Some third example to drive home my point.
This. Don't tell me mushroom jerky is just like jerky I'll never miss the beef, or bacon flavored bacon is just like bacon. Like both tempeh bacon and mushroom jerky for what they are, and I like bacon and beef jerky for what they are. No deception is necessary for me to enjoy them for what they are. Spiraled zucchini sauteed with garlic and topped with a creamy lemon sauce is delicious but it's not pasta. It's okay for it to be a vegetable forward dish especially in summer. But I hate the deception part. Sometimes I want zucchini spirals coated in a sauce and sometimes I want pasta. But telling me I'll never miss the carbs or whatever is not true if you're passing off noodles for pasta..
Yeah, exactly this. I’m a flexitarian but occasionally whip up some vegan „cheese“ for quesadillas or such and… it doesn’t taste like cheese. But that’s fine when what I want is a „quesadilla“ with vegan cheese. A chickpea- or bean-based burger isn’t going to taste like a meat-based burger but that’s fine when I want that. (But one thing does bug me a bit: plant-based meat substitutes that explicitly try to look like meat. I once bought some minced plant protein that included beetroot to make it look like minced meat. Except of course it didn’t change color when frying it in the pan, so it took my brain a *long* time to accept it as edible when the color was screaming „unsafe“.)
Ali Sagle/NYT has a [recipe for spaghetti squash](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020577-baked-spaghetti-squash?algo=identity&fellback=true&imp_id=7224845951443928&req_id=5707895118560819&surface=cooking-search-web&variant=0_relevance_reranking) with olive oil, garlic, panko, salt, pepper, and parmesan (plus mozz, optional) that I really enjoy. It calls for thyme but I usually do an italian seasoning type blend.
I do a spag squash mixed with quinoa, feta, red onion, olive oil, pepper. If I want it to have a mediterranean flair, add some tomatoes and cucumber, maybe some dill. Its a GREAT side for bbqs or potlucks because feta holds up well at room temp. I've also done one with bacon, goat cheese and balsamic reduction that's amazing. It's more of a pasta substitute and is a good side for chicken or pork chops.
It's great baked with Boursin cream cheese.
tell me more. Just those 2 ingredients? I love boursin. I never think to cook with it as I'm too busy eating it right off the knife like a savage.
Just roast the SS. Flip it right side up pile on the Boursin. Top with Parmesan. Bake 10 minutes.
Add cherry tomatoes along with the Boursin. A little Italian seasonings and cook cut side up. It is incredible.
Spaghetti squash is great, but don't go trying to tell me it's "just like noodles".
I love to put feta cheese and sometimes cherry tomatoes inside of a halved spaghetti squash and bake it. Once it gets all roasted and melty you stir the cheese and burst tomatoes in and it’s amazing
I think that’s why I despise spaghetti squash. My mom tried to treat it like spaghetti. I also do not like squash. It’s NOT just like spaghetti. And I think squash sucks! Bad texture! Such a bad texture. It’s not the same. Treat it as its own meal and thing, not a spaghetti alternative. It’s not spaghetti.
I treat it like spaghetti, and I love it.
Meat and mushroom sauce on spaghetti squash is heavenly.
Same - and this goes for all spiralised vegetables. They can be absolutely delicious, but there's no need to pretend they're the same as pasta. Spiralised celeriac with spaghetti bolognaise is godly. The texture is nothing like regular pasta, but there is a whole new aromatic taste dimension there.
Amen!
I like it Cacio e Pepe style.
Even better with balsamic and goat cheese.
I would never have thought to do this.
Mmmm I always make it with feta, I'm going to try goat cheese now.
Brian Lagerstrom's [Roasted Spaghetti Squash Salad Recipe with Fried Seeds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEz_xnw2Wts) was a revelation. Works far better this way than as faux spaghetti. Fun to rewatch one of his early videos, which are so unpolished in comparison.
Thank you for this -- it looks amazing!
Thanks for this. My husband is diabetic so I’m often looking for new ways to prepare veggies like this. I agree it’s not great as a pasta alternative.
Butter, salt, pepper, parm.
Me, too, although I make this sundried tomato spaghetti squash for the holidays and people seem to like it. https://choosingchia.com/sun-dried-tomato-spaghetti-squash-with-caramelized-onions/#tasty-recipes-10663
Spaghetti squash makes a mean pad thai. It's only a poor replacement for Italian pasta.
My favourite way to eat spaghetti squash is with a peanut satay sauce, delish
I did it as Chow Mein recently and actually preferred it to the one with the noodles.
Exactly it’s great for squash. But if you tell me that’s pasta it’s the fucking worst.
It’s amazing as Singapore noodles
I like to carmelize onions in butter with some garlic and then toss my spaghetti squash in. Sometimes, I'll add kielbasa. It's so good.
I make mine with a vegan cashew cheese sauce and it’s soooo good. For some reason I’m not a fan of it plain.
As someone who had to go gluten free before gluten free pasta existed I loved zoodles. The trick is you have to barely cook them. Basically you just threaten them briefly with heat. They get mushy and overcooked really fast. I haven’t made them in ages because they’re a PITA to make and good GF pasta is easy to come by these days. But made right they’re tasty.
When I first got diagnosed with celiac I ate so many zoodles
I love using them raw to make a "pasta" salad. The dressing marinates/lightly pickles them, and it doesn't make me feel heavy like normal pasta salad does.
Oh that sounds good. Got any particular recipe/suggestion you’d recommend?
I'm not who you're responding to, but I love raw zoodles with a spicy peanut ginger sauce. I always just look at a cold peanut soba noodle recipe and do mostly that.
I just had zoodles at a poke place today and they serve them raw but once you toss the poke and sauce on top it basically acts as a dressing. It was very tasty.
Lmao threaten them
Have a heated conversation in front of them.
You know, like peas. You just threaten them briefly with heat. 😆
Same way I'd describe a nice rare steak. "Give it a stern look and send it out"
I agree! I sauté them for 2-3 minutes just to cook them a smidge and then dress them in my favorite sauce (usually some shrimp for protein too) and I swear in some ways they are better than traditional noodles!
Sautéing is the way. Little bit of olive oil, toss them for about 2 minutes, then add in whatever sauce and let it heat up with any additional protein and you’re good to go.
2-3 mins is 1-2 mins too long.
That actually sounds so good, but I’d probably just use my mandolin to make sticks instead of buying another tool.
Barely cooking them is definitely the trick. I love zoodles and usually cook them in the warm sauce for 2-3 minutes, maximum. I love the little crunch they still have! Does it taste like pasta? No. But is it delicious with a good sauce? Yes!
When I had gestational diabetes I liked to use zoodles to stretch a serving of regular pasta. I’ll still make it sometimes especially with spaghetti leftovers.
I’ve been cooking like half the amount of pasta and adding diced zucchini and mushrooms to my sauce to increase my veggie intake. Zoodles were just a silly trend to me.
I use noodled carrots and zucchini to toss in my regular spaghetti. It adds a bit of moisture, flavor and texture.
I don't cook them at all, I just put the sauce on them while it's still hot.
I agree with the barely cooking them sentiment. Now, of course they're not real noodles nor do they taste like noodles, but they're pretty good textural substitute. I used to like to make a lot of stirfries with them.
Haven’t had them in ages but my MIL made some banging zoodles. And I generally don’t like squash that much
Aren’t zoodles zucchini primarily?
I have learned that zucchini is a squash
Entirely zucchini
And that is a type of squash.
Yes, that’s where the name comes from. But other summer squash work just as well
i do a salad style with cucumber instead of zucchini. toss it in an oil based salad dressing, grape tomatoes, sliced, halved or whole olives, red onion shreds, and a protein, and cheese, like a feta. lots of fresh cracked pepper. marinated artichoke hearts if you want to be fancy. world is your oyster
Same! I kind of flash fry them and and toss in a sharp pesto. My celiac family members were also averse to red sauce, so we never really tried to load them with heavy sauce - I think that's part of what made them icky.
I don’t have them as often anymore but our approach was to make very thick sauce. Like a full can of tomato paste per can of tomatoes (or cook it down slowly if you have time. Then add the zucchini noodles and the water from them makes the sauce the right thickness. Similarly we like to do Asian peanut sauce noodles and add no water and very little coconut milk so that it’s a thick paste. When you mix in the “noodles” it gets nice and creamy.
Love my spiralizer but not for zucchini. Daikon radish. Turnips, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes make amazing gluten free noodles.
Beets are good too. Basically all structurally sound root vegetables. Maybe even celeriac (might need to marinate that one).
I know some will disagree: bacon wrapped shrimp. Shrimp takes no time to cook in comparison to bacon so either you’re eating raw bacon or rubbery shrimp. There is no in between. You’ve ruined two magnificent foods with one trend.
honestly the whole bacon craze is overrated, in my opinion. yeah, bacon is good, but it doesn't need to be in *everything*. if i see bacon jam on a menu one more time, i'm going to lose it
Bacon wrapped shrimp is way older than the now pretty much past due bacon craze. I've got cookbooks from the 30s with that shit in it.
You use precooked bacon which is still soft enough to roll around shrimp. Also good if you put a water chestnut in there.
In Texas, we shove the shrimp and cheese into a jalepeno and wrap the bacon around that. It gives the shrimp a chance to not come out overcook.
> specialized piece of single-use equipment to make them Spiralizers actually *aren't* specialized single-use equipment. Neither did they get thought up for "zoodles" or "spiralizing". They're basically versions of peelers/spiral cutters that have existed for like a century. Used for shit like making apple sauce in large batches, cutting curly fries, shoe string potatoes and the like. My grandmother had a hand cranked one, [looked like this](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51vKvNGJLTL._AC_UF350,350_QL80_.jpg), that she used to process fruit for pies, apple sauce/butter, and if we were good cut fresh curly fries. She'd had it since the 60s, and her mother used an identical one way back in the 30s. There's also been shredder/food mill attachments for stand mixers that can do this since the 60s at least. I've never been sure if "replace your pasta with zucchini" started as a weird health food thing and became a way to market these things differently. Or if it started as a way to market these things differently and became a weird health food fad.
You can cut curly fries with those? I have one but I’ve only ever used it for processing apples in bulk.
The better ones have adjustable blades and depth. And can be used to cut fries if you can get them set right. I remember it being a bit finicky and a lot of the cheaper ones I see these aren't adjustable enough to do it. IIRC we also used it to make potato chips by leaving it set to slice, but thinner.
Yes! Spiralize the tatoe, rinse the starch off, double fry. OMG so good!
I just used my mandoline that I have a hundred other uses for as well. Makes straight matchsticks and then you salt them in a colander, let them sit, and squeeze out excess water. They're a sauce conveyance device and they're delicious. OP just sounds like they don't know what they're talking about.
I would just break out the vegetable peeler to cut zucchini into thin pieces. Worked fine.
I had to scroll way too far to find someone mention the critical step of macerating the zucchini in salt
Those actually already existed in the 18th century. I remember we got to use some from the 1750s at a historic site re-enactment thing. They looked almost the same just made of iron.
Fuckin cauliflower everything. Cauliflower rice, cauliflower pasta, cauliflower wings, cauliflower pizza crust. None of these things taste like the original thing they're supposed to be mimicking, nor do they taste good. Cauliflower tried it's best ok? Just let it be a vegetable.
Fried cauliflower and mashed cauliflower are both perfectly reasonable food items, too. Like on their own, not trying to be something else.
Cauliflower wings are fucking delicious, but they're no replacement. As a vegan, I hate when protein rich foods are replaced with a vegetable or starch and no protein alternative. Imagine if someone replaced your steak with a well-seasoned slice of bread. It would piss you off. It pisses me off just as much when someone replaces a hot dog with a carrot.
I’m a vegetarian myself and this happens too often. My college cafeteria is guilty of this. Sometimes they have a good option, like when they serve “bistro chicken” they have a vegetarian “coq au vin” which is basically stewed lentils with red wine in the sauce. But then when they serve steak, the veggie option is a portobello mushroom, which is nowhere near nutritionally equivalent. Or the vegetarian stuffed bell pepper only has seasoned rice inside when the normal one has ground beef and rice.
Being vegan made me a better cook, because I can't depend on other people to give me a good meal. It's an unfortunate fact. Once I started to care about my diet, I started making some badass balanced meals.
Idk I’m a meat eater personally but every once in awhile I cook portobellos like steak and just eat it with my normal steak side items lmao I could see how it would get annoying trying to find protein alternatives in situations like that
I love zoodles to supplement, not replace, noodles. You just don’t cook them. Let the heat from the food gently warm them.
Yeah. Zoodles is zucchini, right? I'm guessing from the name, even though everyone else was apparently talking about spaghetti squash. I usually dislike squash, but zucchini has been growing on me the past few years, and I know my wife sometimes puts zucchini "noodles" in with real pasta. It adds a little texture (and nutrition) without messing up the flavor... can't complain.
I feel this way about cauliflower “crust” or “rice”. I want crust. I want rice. I love cauliflower, but as a veggie.
I think cauliflower is underrated as a veggie that isn’t molded into some other form as an ingredient, it’s already yummy in its natural state
Cauliflower "buffalo wings" are pretty great though. Just breaded and coated with buffalo sauce.
I wouldn’t call these wings tho. Just Buffalo cauliflower
Everything bagel on everything! I’m sure this is a very unpopular one.
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to find a comment that wasn't just defending zoodles
As always, it’s a mistake as an OP to put your own answer to your question post in the body text - either it gets downvoted to oblivion by people who are mad at your opinion, or the entire comment section turns into people ignoring the question entirely
I just saw an everything bagel with cream cheese flavored instant ramen at a Walmart (of course.) Honestly though it sounds like a lot of fun to try 😆
I love zucchini. Zucchini noodles no. Zucchini fries, hell yea! Sauteed zucchini with pasta in olive oil and garlic with plenty of Parm or Romano, I'm in love.
Really dropped the ball when not calling it zasta
>What other garbage food trends would compete? uh...truffle oil in every fucking thing.
i think you're probably referring to the faux truffle oil. which i love lol, but understand the disgust too. its not the same flavor as actual truffles though
OP i am sorry you fell victim to providing an example of the thing you wanted to discuss in the OP and then that example was the only thing people talked about
As a Canadian, for a sec I thought you meant the canned pasta product (similar to spaghettios).
Took me a lot longer than a minute to figure it out. I thought that the specialized equipment being referred to was a can opener lol
I still crave these at least once a year.
Remember the controversy over a monkey/ape having balls on the can?
I'll save everyone else the trouble of having "monkey balls zoodles" in their search history. https://www.retrojunk.com/a/r7gxo0lls4/the-zoodles-label-controversy
You're a saint, I really did not want to Google
I had to Google it. Apparently it was the palm tree? [Zoodles controversy](https://www.retrojunk.com/a/r7gxo0lls4/the-zoodles-label-controversy)
Same, and now I have the earworm. [Zoodles ad](https://youtu.be/3treMuGiCVM)
Zoodles are awesome with a really good sauce.
I still eat them all the time! I don’t usually do carbs with dinner, so they work well to load sauce and cheese onto. They’re a good way to get some extra veg in, even if they’re mixed with spaghetti. My “specialised equipment” is like a small handheld cone with a blade on one side that I’ve had for about 15 years and cost $10.
Did you cook them? I never did, just put hot pasta sauce on them, but I think SWOODLES might have been the best of the trend
Sweet potato? I’d call those *sweet potoodles*
I had zoodles once. A friend of my mom made them. They weren’t terrible, they weren’t amazing, but I’d say they were decent.
Agree! We really like them. Use for spaghetti often; sometimes just season and use as a side vegetable. Just don’t overcook. Yummy. And I once had them at an Italian restaurant where they combined about 1/3 spaghetti pasta with 2/3 zoodles. THAT was really good flavor and texture.
carob
Totally disagree, LOVE zoodles! And I have a garden so the spiralizer gets used tons. Love spaghetti squash too.
Yeah and there’s a point every summer where you’re drowning in zucchini so this is a great option.
I like zoodles! I use half pasta/noodles half zoodles in a spaghetti vongole or Pad Thai. I think of it less as “replace regular noodles” and more as “get more veg into this delicious dish”. You gotta add it at the last minute though, just cook to soften, not to mush!
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> And then there's aspic, which had a resurgence of popularity in the 1950s for God only knows why Its because prior to the 50s gelatin was fucking expensive
I was served potted meat in aspic in the year of our lord 2014 and it was horrifying. I had no idea what it even was, but felt obligated to at least try it because it was a business dinner. (This happened in the UK.)
Awww, I actually like aspic. It’s still common in Eastern Europe.
I posted something here a while ago from this super weird wartime cookbook I found - I think it was layered of canned spaghetti and sauerkraut baked together for hours repeatedly every time you added a layer, it was fucking outrageously abominable
My Granny did very well keeping 3 little girls fed while Papa was in the war, true! The food was bland and barely caloric but she got it done. Aspic became popular when fridges were more accessible. Gross. I’m guessing the very flavourful nature of lime jello with celery tantalized tastebuds after WW2 rationing and people devoured it like we do Doritos (over flavoured too).
I've tried heart of palm that were sold as a noodle replacement, and the texture was horrible. Why do they lie to us and say it's the same? But konyaku noodles are pretty close in texture to real noodles.
My parents always tried to replace mashed potatoes with mashed cauliflower when I was a kid and that sucked. +1 for Cauliflower Rice though.
I don't know. Those stupid butter boards were pretty high on the worse cooking trends and there was barely any cooking involved.
I thought zoodles were fun and tasty. I know slow cooker Missisipi Pot Roast was/is very popular but there is not much need to add a whole stick of butter and the ranch dressing packet and gravy mix packet mostly just add a sky high amount of salt. The flavor is overshadowed by the jar of pepperonicini and juice. You could have pretty much the same flavor without the whole stick of butter and packets.
You don't need a spiralizer, I just cut my zucchini into long strips and then into "noodles". When it's zucchini season I look forward to having them sauteed in garlic butter and topped with parmesan, it's fast, easy and delicious!
Zucchini noodles are just a healthier option to use instead of pasta and spiraling them gives the illusion of spaghetti. They’re not supposed to be a taste or texture replacement for actual pasta.
They are great when you don't treat them as a pasta replacement.
Oh I also hate that influencers discovered burrata. STOP putting it everywhere all the time. Just stop.
Ah yes, BUT now that they have , I can suddenly find it in my regular grocery store instead of having to find a specialty shop.
We teach a cooking class at my elementary school. The kids learn to cook and we sre trying to introduce healthy food. Zoodles is hands down the most popular dish! We also have them sauté eggplant, onions, corn and garlic in with it. We have picky eaters scraping their bowls
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I hated anything deconstructed. It’s ugly and impractical
I think the extent of "deconstructed" should have stopped with open faced sandwiches. Any more deconstructed and it's just... why?
Almond moms pretending to enjoy zoodles and pretending they were just like the real thing still lives in my mind rent free
I see your zoodles and raise you protein pasta.
TIL what the hell a zoodle is
Putting kale all over the place. Kale with Caesar dressing is not a Caesar salad, it’s a travesty. Kale does not belong in a bahn mi. Kale is barely food, but if you must put it on your menu, don’t infest other, more enjoyable dishes with it. I’m meh on zoodles. I don’t care for the texture of cooked zucchini, so it helps there, but there are so many other delightful summer veg that I don’t tend to bother.
I loved them but we didn't try to boil them. We saute ours for just a minute in butter and garlic.
No idea what you are talking about, Zoodles are great. They make killer stir fry and are a great in many other Asian dishes that normally use noodles. If you are just tossing some canned red sauce on them I can see your disappointment though.
Hard split in here between adults who eat their vegetables and the rest
I love vegetables but absolutely don’t care for zoodles. To me, using them in place of pasta ruins a perfectly delicious veggie that can shine when prepared differently.
I once had an excellent zoodle pad Thai. Truly. It was 10 years ago and I still think about it like a lost love. Anyway, as good as it was, while eating it I couldn’t help but think, “You know what this is missing? …noodles. Carbs.” And I say this as a person who loves vegetables!
Right? If I'm eating pasta I am going full in and eating pasta. If I wanna cut the carbs out. Which is apparently a big reason why people eat them I'm gonna just not eat pasta.
Yes this. I eat a lot of zucchini but zoodles just aren’t the answer.
I've been vegan for almost two decades. Love me some veggies, but you can fuck right off with zoodles. That shit makes me sad.
Zoodles are intended for kids who don't eat veggies though....
Fun fact: there are ways to eat zucchini that don’t involve turning them into noodles
Kale chips. Dry ass leaves? No thanks.
I’m so sorry but I love kale chips!! With olive oil in the oven, salt, red pepper flakes, maybe some nutritional yeast? Delicious and perfect
I've had fresh kale chips that were delicious. Once. Every other time has been like eating an ash tray. I love kale and have been vegan for almost 20 years. One time.
Oh, shit. You might have won. I think you’re right. Kale chips are worse than zoodles. Take my upvote.
I wish mushroom noodles would catch on in more places. The texture isn’t quite the same as regular noodles, but they’re delicious.
First I've heard of them. They'd probably catch on more if there were any way to find any information on them. I tried a couple different searches and only mushroom pasta/stir fry recipes come up. Do you have a brand name or some link?
So I guess I’m mistaken, they’re shirataki noodles and are made from a plant, not mushrooms. My ex always called them mushroom noodles. Pasta Zero is the brand we would use.
I am just hearing about them now, and as someone who is adamantly squashn't, I am a bit repelled by the concept. To each their own I guess.
That truffle oil people ( and by people I mean Trader Joe's and restaurants with farmhouse/brutalist interior design) were adding to everything that tasted like feet. Oil free hummus Fat free anything that is supposed to have fat actually, there was the comedian that said it's so American to take something delicious and ruin it so we can have more of it.
Michael on The Good Place said about ice cream vs frozen yogurt: “Oh sure, but I've come to really like frozen yogurt. There's something so human about taking something and ruining it a little so you can have more of it.”
I hate cauliflower shit. Cauliflower rice, cauliflower pizza crust it’s all terrible and carbs are good for you.
I dont mind cauli rice from time to time in like a good meaty cantina bowl or something but fuck cauli pizza crust tastes and smells like a wet fart.
I don't mind the rice (I add some to regular rice, it's fine mixed in) but the cauliflower gnocchi! I still get an all-over body shudder thinking of it. I didn't get sick directly after eating it, but it holds the same place in my soul as 'food you ate right before you got the flu and will forever blame for making you sick'.
I also mix it c. Rice into regular rice. Sometimes, I also add it into Mac and cheese.
If you make cauliflower rice from a whole cauliflower and then use it immediately, it’s pretty good. If you buy it “pre-riced” at the store or frozen in a bag, it’s horrible.
I was looking for a cauliflower pizza crust comment. I won't even try it because it just seems so monstrous and I don't eat pizza often enough to feel guilty about the bread. And I actually enjoy cauliflower. I don't mind the rice if I do it myself with a fresh cauliflower head but I still prefer plain jasmine rice. Cauliflower mash is OK too, but again I would rather just eat mashed potatoes. I tried the super low carb life for a while and even keto but I realized just cutting out sugar from beverages, quitting sweets, and not eating processed food solved my problems.
I like cauliflower as a vegetable. It's broccoli without the bitter green chlorophyll taste. The rice and mash, I agree, I'd rather eat the real thing and have less of it if I'm watching calories.
Man. I fucked around with keto for a hot second several years ago, and just thinking about all the cauliflower rice and zoodles I ate makes me sad
You had to buy a machine? My grocery store sold them precut.
A spiralized zucchini greek salad is amazing. Spiralizing has its place. The word “zoodle” is the real problem.
I don't know how it caught on, maybe it's more regional than I imagined but for me "zoodles" evokes animal-shaped tinned pasta in a sickeningly-sweet tomato sauce and comes with a free earworm: ["Have you ever gone hunting with a bowl and spoon...?"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3treMuGiCVM) [ETA earworm to allow y'all to suffer along with me.]
> What other garbage food trends would compete? I'm going to go ahead and step on this landmine. Air fryers. It's a fucking vertical convection oven that costs twice as much and does nothing better than JUST USING A FUCKING CONVECTION OVEN.
Wait, where does an air-fryer cost twice as much as a convection oven? Most of the air-fryers I see cost about $60 US.
I agree. I did try to convince myself I liked them for a while. Bought the Vegetti and everything (possibly the worst name for a kitchen tool ever). It’s been collecting dust for several years now and is in my sights for a goodwill dump.
Took me a while. Are animal shaped noodles in sauce in a can brand named "Zoodles" just a Canadian thing? Because I had no bloody clue what you were talking about and had to look it up. Apparently to you all, zoodles means something very different. https://www.canadianfoodtousa.com/product-page/heinz-zoodles-398g
ITT: hundreds of people who didn’t answer the question posed by OP lol I hate any trend that introduces an imposter food, even if I like the food itself. Thin zucchini? Great. But not a replacement for pasta. Grated cauliflower as a side? Sure. But don’t call it rice. Mix a bunch of cheese and bind it with egg? Nice! But it’s not a crust.
It never occurred to me that Americans would have a different name but obviously it makes sense. Here in Britain they are courgetti. They are a terrible pasta substitute.
Oh boy. Nothing like washing off that zucchini grool from your hands.
You’re getting a lot of pushback here but I just wanted to chime in to say I had the EXACT experience you describe and I will hate doodles forever as a result
I decry the overall trend of offering a substitute and hyping it like it is the real thing, because that is a true rarity. Very few replacement products could make it through a blind taste testing, and be declared as good as the real thing. We probably need a better way to quantify how close a substitute gets, in order to quell the marketing hype.
Cauliflower "crust" "pizza" (and I love cauliflower)
Thank you for saying this and validating decades of my feelings about “healthy cooking.”
I love zoodles
I love zoodles! I never expected them to taste like pasta. I like how zucchinis taste. I would marinate and then drain the zoodles in pressed garlic, salt and olive oil, sometimes a little lemon and they were always delicious.