Courgetti (zoodles) with avocado pesto dressing & baby plum tomatoes

Fresh crisp courgette noodles – aka “zoodles”  – are tossed with olives, ripe juicy tomatoes, and a creamy avocado dressing, for a delicious summer lunch or side dish.

Do you ever start cooking with a clear idea in mind, only to change pretty much everything before you’re finished? That’s what happened with this zoodle salad. The plan was to keep it simple with a fresh herb dressing, but I kept finding other things I wanted to include!

In the end though, I was pretty happy with how this zoodle salad turned out. I ate the lot, so that should tell you something about how yummy it was! (If you’re serving this as a side dish it makes approximately 4 servings!)

What are ‘zoodles’?

Zoodles are noodles made from courgettes, which are called zucchini in the USA (and other places). Zucchini + noodles = zoodles!

Here in the UK you might also find them called ‘courgetti’ – from courgette + spaghetti.

Either way, they are long, thin ribbons or noodles made from raw courgette/zucchini, usually by using a spiralizer. They are perfect in a fresh summer salad or as a simple side dish. They can also be used as a low carb alternative to pasta – simply toss with your favourite sauce and serve. 

Salad days

You may have noticed that I’ve been sharing lots of salads and cold dishes recently.  Thanks to the hot weather, the oven has barely been used in the last 6 weeks. Apart from the occasional toasted sandwich or quick stir-fry, salads have become a mainstay of our family meals. I’m really enjoying the different flavours and textures that are highlighted when we eat our vegetables raw, rather than cooked.

For instance, these spiralised courgette (zucchini) noodles have a slight crunch and a bitter-sweet flavour, both of which are quite different to the experience of eating cooked courgettes. Plus, of course you get the extra nutritional benefits from the vitamins and essential phytonutrients that are usually destroyed during cooking.

Making zoodles

Spiralisng the courgettes (zucchini) into ‘zoodles’ or ‘courgetti’ works really well in this salad, as it looks beautiful and provides plenty of surface area for the yummy avocado dressing to cling to. If you don’t have a spiraliser, and don’t want to spend a lot of money on one, I would recommend getting something like this. It’s small and inexpensive and does a perfectly good job on courgettes, carrots, etc. If you expect to spiralise a lot, and also want to be able to tackle potatoes, beets, various fruits etc. then you probably ought to go for a larger and more elaborate one.

The spiraliser I have is very similar to this one and I love it! It’s sturdy, quick to use, and surprisingly simple to clean. I made a spiral vegetable salad for 60 people for Rosh Hashanah a couple of years ago, and it took only a few minutes to make an enormous mountain of carrot and beetroot noodles!

No spiraliser required!

Back to the courgettes. If you want to make this salad without spiralising anything, you can just grate the courgettes, or slice very thinly with a vegetable peeler or julienne cutter. It will still taste just as delicious.

The avocado pesto dressing for this courgetti salad whizzes up in a few seconds using a mini-chopper or hand blender. Although of course, you could just mash the avocado and whisk it together with the other ingredients. The olives and tomatoes make the salad extra summery, as well as more colourful.

On balance, I’m pretty glad I changed my plans! We all loved this yummy and vibrant summer salad.

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📖 Recipe

Zoodle salad with avocado pesto & baby tomatoes

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A fresh and delicious summer salad of courgette (zucchini) noodles with a creamy avocado dressing, olives and tomatoes.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Lunch, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American, European

Servings 4

Calories 137 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 2 medium courgettes (zucchini)
• ½ an avocado
• 2 tablespoon basil pesto
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon honey (optional)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 100 g baby plum tomatoes
• 25 g green olives
• Fresh basil leaves (optional)

Instructions

 

• 2 medium courgettes (zucchini)
  Cut the ends off the courgettes (zucchini) and spiralise into medium thickness ‘zoodles’. (Alternatively, grate the courgettes or slice thinly with a vegetable peeler or julienne cutter.) Set aside.
• ½ an avocado, 2 tablespoon basil pesto, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon honey (optional), Salt & pepper
  In a small blender or mini-chopper, combine the avocado flesh, pesto, olive oil, lemon juice and honey (if using) until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
• 100 g (⅔ cup) baby plum tomatoes, 25 g (3 tbsp) green olives
  Halve the tomatoes, and slice the olives.
• Pour the dressing over the zoodles, then add the tomatoes and olives and gently toss everything together until well combined. The zoodles should be coated with the dressing.
• Fresh basil leaves (optional)
  Arrange on a platter, garnish with basil leaves (if using) and serve!

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Zoodle salad with avocado pesto & baby tomatoes

Amount per Serving

Calories

137

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

11

g

17

%

Saturated Fat

 

2

g

13

%

Cholesterol

 

1

mg

0

%

Sodium

 

178

mg

8

%

Potassium

 

444

mg

13

%

Carbohydrates

 

9

g

3

%

Fiber

 

3

g

13

%

Sugar

 

5

g

6

%

Protein

 

2

g

4

%

Vitamin A

 

617

IU

12

%

Vitamin C

 

25

mg

30

%

Calcium

 

37

mg

4

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword avocado, courgette, olive, pesto, tomato, zucchini

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