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.
Tahini Zucchini Noodles
- 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)
- 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
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- Pinches red chili flakes
- ¼ cup micro arugula sprouts (optional)
- 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.
adapted from this recipe by Earthsprout
This was excellent. I don’t use nutritional yeast(although I like it) so that was left out. I know I don’t like any sweetners in my tahini sauces so thatwas left out as well. Very, very nice flavor combination in this sauce. Everyone has their own taste however I’m wondering if those who didn’t like it aren’t experienced cooks. Even if I used nutritional yeast I would have started out with half the amount and added more if I thought it was needed. This does not have some kind of weird taste or texture. My sauce came out velvety smooth
Hi David, thanks for your comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Any suggestions for substitution for the nutritional yeast? Or just leave it out? I have the other ingredients and would love to make this tonight!
you could leave it out!
Hi, I don’t think this is a good recipe. I tried it and there was an over balance of nutritional yeast. I just feel a bit duped because I spent so much time making it. I ended up making a white wine vinaigrette with vegan cheese shredded over the noodles.
I’m really sorry you didn’t enjoy this one.
hazelnut tahini pasta recipe – Love and Lemons
This recipe was gorgeous, thank you! I made it the other night with almost no modifications except the addition of roasted mushrooms, which I roasted with the tofu to add more texture (just chopped and dry, no oil added). Plus lots of red pepper flakes on top. Thanks for sharing this.
Took a shot of it here: https://instagram.com/p/5xT4E1DaaK/?taken-by=dearmisskate
I made this salad and then used the dressing on several Buddha bowls. Simply amazing!
thanks Sarah! I’m glad you liked it!
Do you know if the noodles can be parboiled before adding the sauce – or will it make them too smushy?
It makes them smushy… definitely use them raw, when they’re so thin they really have a nice al dente bite (without tasting to raw).
Wondering about the julienne peeler or vegetable spiraler? Never heard of these and I would like to not to have to use regular pasta just because I can’t figure it out, as husband is in his ‘more veggies, less carbs’ mode these days.
Hi Diane, here are links to each, I highly recommend either or both for pasta-like zucchini noodles… the julienne peeler won’t spiral them (as in my photos above) but will still slice them into thin uniform strips.
http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Julienne-Peeler/dp/B0000CCY1S/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1362533047&sr=1-1&keywords=julienne+peeler
http://www.amazon.com/World-Cuisine-A4982799-Tri-Blade-Vegetable/dp/B0007Y9WHQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1362533069&sr=1-1&keywords=vegetable+spiralizer
Made this tonight. It was delicious. We devoured it all – hopefully I remember to double the recipe next time.
I just love all your blog and this recipe.
You are THE SWEETEST <3
I got so incredibly happy when I saw this! Could almost not believe my eyes <3
Love your Love and Lemons so much, honeypie!
Have a gorgeous day and thanks for spreading the zucchini pasta magic!
Hi, could I use dry yeast instead of nutritional yeast? I’m having trouble finding it. Thanks.
Hi Cass,
no, they’re entirely different… nutritional yeast is something you can sprinkle on foods (vegans use it in place of parmesan cheese sometimes), and dry yeast is for leavening. Here’s an article that better explains the difference: http://www.livestrong.com/article/537679-nutritional-yeast-vs-active-dry/
I find it in the bulk section at my Whole Foods, but it should be in the bulk bin section of any health food store. It’s yellow and flaky.
Hope that helps!
Made it tonight with rice noodles and it’s delicious! My picky husbsnd and kid refused but more for me 🙂 Thanks again.
-Dana
hello there!
i was wondering if you think using hummus would be an okay tahini substitute?
I think that might actually be kind of strange… the tahini is a really distinct element in this, and it’s so rich which really makes the sauce. Or at least, it wouldn’t be an equal swap because the textures and amount of fat in each are so different.
I love seasonal transitional dishes! And now I’m seriously craving a zucchini-tahini combo.
I just love this. I have made zucchini pasta many a time, but I think that I’ve just been stuck on olive oil and tomatoes. Tahini is genius. Yum!
I haven’t tried zucchini pasta yet, I’ve read about it on raw food diets but wasn’t too sure. Looks beautiful on your pics though!
I love this recipe, so healthy and a bit hearty, perfect for the onset of fall. I will probably sub in rice noodles but maybe some day I’ll try zucchini when I have a fast way to julienne them. Thanks for the versatile recipe!
-Dana
You have an abundance of baby arugula in your photos! Do you grow it? I have a wee tray of it growing by the window – look forward to garnishing with it like you have. The tahini sauce sounds wonderful and creamy, very umami I imagine.
no, I wish I could say I did, but I’m really horrible at growing things. I just love the micro sprouts because they make everything look pretty 🙂
Looks delicious. Love the analogy of chunky sweater and shorts!