Comfort Noodles
Back in the day, before I cared so much about the food I put into my body – in those dark days when being skinny was the primary goal and high-carb, low-fat was the way to go – one of my favorite “I don’t feel like cooking” meals was a bowl of spaghetti with a little olive oil and parmesan cheese with a few (fat free) breadcrumbs sprinkled on top. It could be throw together in about 20 minutes, and it was comforting and unchallenging in its simple familiarity.
I suspect it would taste like paste in my mouth if I tried it now, but I miss that feeling – the experience of a warm, comforting bowl of food that can be slurped or twirled with a fork to make big, soft, round bites… the kind of food you make while wearing pajamas, unplugged from the rest of the world, potentially about to be joined by a snuggly cat in losing yourself in an excellent book.
Tonight, I figured out how to recreate that experience – pajamas, cat, and all – without sacrificing my health. Zucchini noodles stand in for the pasta and gently-cooked eggs add just the right texture to take the place of the parmesan, while adding a healthy dose of essential protein. I even satisfied the indulgent part and made a slight sprinkling of almond meal “bread crumbs” for the top. And lest you worry that all this paleo food business takes longer to prepare than the conventional stuff, the prep and cook time clocked in at 25 minutes – and only about 5 of that was actual work.
Trust me: this does not taste like a big bowl of zucchini. The garlic and olive oil trump transform this dish so it tastes like neither vegetables nor eggs, but some miraculous, noodle-y merging of the two. It’s warm and tender and scrumptious. A hug in a bowl.
Comfort Noodles
Makes enough for one slightly tired, fairly hungry dino-chow girl; adjust amounts accordingly.
Ingredients:
2 small zucchini, julienned (about 2 cups) [Julienne peeler is essential.]
generous 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon almond flour or almond meal
1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 eggs, scrambled
a handful of fresh parsley, minced for garnish (optional)
salt & pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Place the julienned zucchini in a colander or wire strainer and toss with the salt until coated. Allow to sit for 20 minutes to drain excess water, then rinse and pat dry with paper towels. (You may be tempted to skip this step; I strongly advise against it. This step insures tender, rather than watery, noodles.)
2. While the zucchini is sweating in the colander, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Mix the almond flour with the coconut oil, sprinkle it with a smidgen of salt, then sauté in the pan, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until it’s toasty brown, about 1 minute. Remove from pan and save for garnish.
3. Return the pan to the heat and add the zucchini noodles. Sauté until just tender, about 1-2 minutes. Push the noodles to the side of the pan, and reduce heat to medium-low. Wait a minute; it’s essential that the pan cools down before adding the eggs. Add the olive oil and garlic. When the garlic is fragrant, about 20 seconds, pour in the eggs and allow them to cook until just beginning to set a tiny bit. Mix the zucchini noodles into the egg and continue to stir gently and continuously until the egg is set and clinging to the noodles. Taste, then add salt and pepper to your liking.
4. Serve noodles in a deep bowl and sprinkle with the almond flour crumbs and minced parsley. Slurping and ridiculously big bites heartily encouraged.
Don't skip the almond flour "breadcrumbs" – they make it luscious.
Tags: dino-chow, eggs, paleo, zucchini
79 Responses to “Comfort Noodles”
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I’d enjoy this zucchini noodles with my freshly made flaxseed almond butter. Great recipe. My comfort food of today was BoarBaconlicious Meat Loaf
That meatloaf sounds amazing!
This dish looks absolutely delicious. I have a zucchini noodle post prepared later for this week as well. I am continually amazed at how well zucchini stands up. I’m excited to try this out and so loved your writing on this post. Super comforting, just like the dish.
You just made my day — thanks for the tasty words about my writing. I was slurping the noodles while I typed, so I guess I have to give credit to the zucchini.
I cannot wait to try this. As a fellow ‘foodie’ I so get the whole comfort thing. In fact, I used to tuck into smoked gouda mac n cheese when I needed a hug in a bowl! Also I luuuurrrrvveee the way you write…quirky and you have your own language sometimes. Adore!
Thanks, Kelly! I love to make up words… and talk to Smudge while I do it, so I’m pretty sure that makes me, be definition, the crazy cat lady.
Hey,
Love your blog. We love zucchini noodles. We make them with the Spirooli. Essentially it works like an apple peeling machine and creates spaghetti type noodles from zucchini. You for sure will never want pasta again. Great way to get veggies into the kids.
Pattee
I loooove zucchini and I have no idea why I never payed attention to it before going paleo.. I never bought it before, now it is a stable part of my shopping list! Going to my first farmers market ever tomorrow, hoping I will buy a few there and make this!
Thanks for sharing Mel!
I once had an hour-long argument with a friend that insisted zucchini had no flavor. I kept saying it was delicious, and he refused to concede the point.
Have fun at the farmer’s market!
I just tried making zucchini noodles for the first time this week after reading about it on nomnompaleo. I was so impressed by how easy it was to do with the julienne peeler, and how great the texture and taste was. I would definitely recommend it!
The julienne peeler is such a nifty trick! And the salting/sweating makes a HUGE difference in the texture and taste. Totally worth the extra 20 minutes.
Zucchini noodles are the best thing *ever*! Thank you for the fab comfort food recommendation.
I discovered a new Penzey’s blend: Singapore Seasoning. Have you tried it?
http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyssingapore.html
I used it this week to make a really easy creamy curry dish using only:
~ 6 c Zucchini noodles
2lb shrimp
1/2 can coconut milk
3 t Singapore Seasoning
Doesn’t get much easier than that. It wasn’t terribly spicy-hot, either. If you want extra oomph, add some Sriracha (or similar).
Thanks for the tip on Singapore Seasoning. I haven’t tried it yet — but now I will!
And yeah, this is pretty much amazingly awesome comfort food. Perfect for PMS or recovering from a cold or flu.
My mom is from Germany and every year we have a dish called rouladen for Christmas (it’s thin steaks wrapped around bacon, onions & pickles- paleo-friendly other than the accompanying gravy), but it’s served with noodles topped with fried breadcrumbs- now I can have this instead, yay!
Um, rouladen sounds AWESOME! And yes, these would be so great alongside!
You might try making gravy for yourself with a little arrowroot — according to M&D of the Whole9, it’s OK to use arrowroot because it doesn’t include anti-nutrients and it’s used in such small quantities. Shoot me an email or post here if you want more details on how to use it.
Yeah good idea! I’ve played with arrowroot a little bit but never know how much to use; a little bit seems to go a long way. I’ll need to write up a rouladen recipe soon- it’s such a great fall/winter dish!
YUM. that sounds awesome. bookmarking this recipe!!!
Hi, Terri! How’s your “special project” going?!
Newbie to your site and absolutely adore it. Love your recipes as well…did I read somewhere you were writing a cookbook? I sincerely hope so. I picked up the ingredients for a couple of recipes from my foray to your site last week – my way of hunting/gathering I guess. Going to have to add this to my list of things to try. For all the very same reasons. Thank you!
Welcome, Amy! I’m glad you found me that you’re enjoying my blog. And YES! I’m working on a cookbook right now. It will be released in early December, and I’m super excited about it. There are a bunch of new recipes, and some favorites from my site, completely re-tested, re-written, and tasting even better. I’ll be sharing my news about the cookbook in September. Til then, happy cooking and keep us posted on how you’re doing!
awesome recipe! i’m eating it as i type. this came at the perfect time as i am a gluten-free eater currently on a low-iodine diet for an upcoming thyroid scan. i followed the recipe minus the salt and egg yolks then added some basil and tomato from my garden. delish! thank you!
Your mods sound delicious, Shannon. Good luck with the thyroid. I have thyroid stuff, too, and it’s less than fun. Thanks for commenting!
I caved and ate Chicken and Stars from a can (gasp) last night because my belly was aching and I just felt terrible. Could have totally used a Hug in a Bowl! Bookmarking
THANK YOU!
Oh, poor you! Hope you’re feeling better.
I am totally trying this this weekend! Last week I needed a hug in a bowl and did make zucchini noodles and threw in some leftover pesto (no cheese, still yummy)with a few walnuts and that, too, was really comforting. Can’t wait for your cookbook!!
You are so sweet — thanks! I can’t wait for my cookbook, too!
Zucchini noodles with pesto are the BOMB! Especially now that I learned that “sweating” trick. Last time I made zuch+pesto, it got all watery, and I was so sad. But now: happy!
JUST MADE. YUMMMMM. (I don’t always use all caps, but….YUMMMMMMM!!!!!)
YAY! I made you shout-type in all caps.
UUUUUMMMMMM-UUUUMMMMMM!!!! I’ve got a belly full of delicious comfort noodles! They were really good. My only change for next time is to make double so I can eat two bowls full!!! (Which I think you could do without increasing the eggs, no?). I added some red pepper flakes for the second half of the bowl but GREAT either way!
New to your blog and love it! Keep up the great work!
Glad you liked it! And yeah, you can totally increase the zucchini without upping the amount of eggs. For a girl around my size, 3 eggs is a good serving of protein, so adjust accordingly if you’re taller or more muscular. And you really can’t overeat zucchini, so go for it!
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Yum. You are wonderful. I made this tonight, albeit with zucchini ribbons ‘stead of noodles (I gotta get that julienne peeler!) and toasted coconut flour, not almond flour, although almond would have been better – I was out. Thanks for a comforting recipe – perfect for a rainy fall-ish day when all I wanted was popcorn or hot cocoa.
Yay for rainy-day comfort food. I bet the ribbons were great — like linguine!
This was phenomenal! I made it this morning for breakfast with some leftover coffee/spiced steak. The zucchini had a perfect tender/firmness ratio. Come on, people! With zucchini and spaghetti squash, who needs the old crap?
Fantastic. Glad to know you liked it — and your steak sounds great!
My DH will not eat spaghetti squash in place of pasta because he doesn’t like that it’s watery. Will the sweating thing work on spaghetti squash as well?
[...] keeping it going, and hopefully I will try to keep up with this blog as well. Day 31 Grub: B: Comfort Noodles | theclothesmakethegirl Absolutely amazing! I threw in some leftover coffee/spiced steak, and I chowed threw my bowl with [...]
I was just thinking to myself, jeez, it would be so nice to eat pasta tonight because it’s so easy…but I so don’t want to eat junk pasta. This is perfect! I’m cooking it immediately!
Hope this satisfied your craving, Krista!
This sounds wonderful all on its own, but it could also easily be turned into a Paleo friendly Carbonara by cooking some bacon first, then using some of the bacon grease to cook the zucchini and eggs and adding crumbled bacon to it in the end as well. I’m more LCHF than strict Paleo, so I would also add some grated parmesan cheese, but that’s not really necessary. In any case, this looks wonderful and I have some zucchini in the fridge that needs to be used, so…
That’s an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing.
Wow! This looks so great! (will large, older zukes work?) I just found your site today and I’ve been glued to it for a couple hours. Your recipes sound so great and yet so simple and basic. Finding recipes that will satisfy our comfort needs is helping us commit more to primal/paleo type eating. We’re gearing up for W30 after Thanksgiving to help us stay clean and healthy through the holidays. And maybe a GAPS Intro for good measure when we get through. Thanks for the help!
I think this would be an excellent way to use up large and /or old zucchini. TOTALLY!
Glad you found me — and best wishes for an awesome Whole30 experience. Keep us posted on how you’re doing.
I’m new to paleo, and had saved this recipe. It was absolutely fantastic! I added red pepper flakes and curry to the second half of the recipe, added half a chicken breast and a handful of shrimp (tailless) to the final sauté for a spicy curried Singapore mei fun I had been missing beyond belief! I also toasted grated dried coconut because I didn’t have almond flour, and it was great with the Asian variation. This recipe can have so many variations, though the original recipe needs no improvement. Thank you so much, and I look forward to trying more of your unbelievably delicious creations!!!
Glad you had fun customizing the recipe — your mods (esp. the coconut!) sound yummy!
I had a similar thought, added satay sauce left over from this recipe: http://www.paleoplan.com/2009/12-03/satay-chicken-skewers-with-peanut-sauce/
paleo pad thai.
Tried these tonight (slight mods) and can’t wait to go to bed, just so I can wake up and make them again for my breakfast!!
I have a question please and forgive me if I’m sounding a little clueless here… How come the zucchini noodles get rinsed after salting/resting step? Aren’t we trying to remove the water so why do we rinse?
I did skip this step and found my noodles to be darned near identical in all ways to pasta. Oh man, I don’t think I can wait until breakfast…
<3 ya!
Hi, Heidi! Glad you like the noodles!
I rinse mine because I salt them really generously, and I didn’t want them to be too salty. If you’re OK with not rinsing, that’s great — you can save a step!
Man i just made these and i think i used too much salt to “dewater” the zucchini… I even rinsed and dried them twice because they tasted too salty the first time…oh the lessons you learn cooking! Will definitely try them again though.
Oops! I haven’t oversalted yet… next time I make them, I’ll measure my salt and update the recipe.
Ahhhh, thank you! Just what this under-the-weather nursing mama needed. I used already-cooked spaghetti squash noodles because I had them in the fridge, and subbed shredded coconut for the almond. (I also had to skip the garlic because it turns my son into a vomit volcano. Booooo.)
Served it up in my ridiculously oversized Looney Tunes mug that my mom gave me when I was sick in college. Truly a hug in a mug.
Thank you for posting!!
Sending a virtual hug, too
Hope you’re feeling better soon!
I’ve had this three times now! Then I ran out of eggs. Oh no! I look too much like death to go get some. Now what?
You inspired me to put on my own “Whole30 hat” and make up my a noodle dish with ingredients that I had on hand – zucchini noodles with pumpkin meat sauce. Needs tweaking, but it was fun to create!
Reading your blog makes “kitchen creationism” much less daunting. Thank you!
Just made this for dinner. Cheated a bit and added a couple cubes of feta :-/ absolutely delish! Great winter warmer!
Um… O.M.G. This is SO good! It’s sitting in my lap right now and I had to type this before I ate another bite. Mel, you’re amazing! Btw, I added a little bit of coconut aminos to it too bc it reminded me a bit of the pad thai. Tastes yummy! Thanks for helping me continue to be a Well Fed, Paleo girl!
Hooray! Glad they made you feel cozy. And I bet the coconut aminos tasted great in there! That would be really good for breakfast. Mmmmm…
I have been eating this every day almost for over a week. It is silly how addicted you have made mot zucchini. But it’s Christmas, I forgive you
I omit the topping,truth be told. Lazy. Love the taste of the noodles and eggs so don’t feel likei am missing out. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner – I’ve had this recipe or all three meals and really,just typing this comment makes me want to add bedtime snack to that list.
Using a veg peeler to give wide ribbons…just bought an actual julienne peeler this afternoon. Read on Nom Bom Paleo’s blog she skips the sweating and instead nukes the noodles 2 min. Tried it today – ok and faster, yes, but your sweating technique made for a truly noodle-tasting nirvana.
Merci
As addictions go, zucchini and eggs is pretty stellar, no?!
The topping is an accessory, for pleasure only. Doesn’t add much nutritionally, so good for you for leaving it out.
Have fun with the julienne peeler — and yeah, I agree: the sweating step is worth it.
Making this on Thursday….can’t wait.
Loved this recipe, thank you!!! I’ve been quietly following you since I discovered your site and have quickly become a big fan. I posted on my blog how big of a hit these were
http://preppypaleo.blogspot.com/2012/01/comfort-noodles-chicken-sausage.html
AWESOME blog post. Thank you! So glad you liked them!
Wow! These noodles TOTALLY hit the spot. Thank you! I am looking forward to my Well Fed cookbook copy to get here!
First time to be introduced to you Mel. Love the whole movement of the best food! Have been working on it for about 10 years and it has felt kinda lonely until recently when more people have found their way here. GO MEL!
LOVED YOUR ZUCCHINI NOODLE RECIPE! I used eggplant similarly. Sliced rounds 1/4″ thin, olive oiled & salted them. Laid them out on two baking sheets. Roasted for 20 minutes at 400. Turned halfway through and made lasagna. RAVES!!!
I will be YOUR devotee now.
This is a lovely comment. YAY! Thanks for the eggplant tip.
[...] Comfort Noodles. [...]
This is THE best paleo dish that I’ve had since I started 3 weeks ago. Every night for the past 2 weeks I have made something out of your book, and every time I’m like, “Holy crap, this is fantastic!” But this just hits the spot oh so well. I think I need to ALWAYS have zucchini at hand for this.
Cool! Glad you like it. It’s pretty nutso how well the zucchini works, isn’t it?! I always keep some in my fridge for when I have noodle emergencies!
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful idea! It hit the spot since one of my biggest problems is missing pasta. I can see this being very versatile, too.
YUM! just made them. I didn’t have any almond flour, so I ran some pine nuts through the food processor and toasted them! It was AWESOME! Thanks!
[...] with scrambled egg (cookable on the spot or prep the night before to bring for lunch) – 2x zucchini noodles with softly cooked eggs (this is my current favorite meal) – 4-5x Cottage pie (cauliflower, ground beef, carrots, [...]
Can’t wait to try this recipe!! Sounds delicious!
[...] loved being able to quickly create zucchini noodles to incorporate into pad thai. I stumbled upon this recipe for “comfort noodles” when doing a search for even more fun I could have with a sharp [...]
Found this recipe through Pinterest, and I really enjoyed it! I’d never thought of “sweating” the zucchini noodles before – it blows my former-pasta-loving mind! There was a bit too much egg for my taste, but I’ll adapt it for me-quantities next time. I’m doing the SCD, not strict paleo, so I added parmesan on top and scrambled the eggs with cream, and it was extra-decadent and so tasty. Love how versatile this recipe is!
The sweating is key, right?! Such good texture! Glad you like them. Thanks for letting me know!
This recipe is genius . . . buttery, comforting, creamy and nutty at the same time . . . delicious. My husband missed his noodles so much but liked these better than pasta!
This recipe is genius . . . buttery, comforting, creamy and nutty at the same time . . . delicious. My husband missed his noodles so much but liked these better than pasta!
Hey Melissa–
I’m a weight loss surgery patient, who was really looking to make my new pouch of a stomach feel better by not eating so many carbohydrates and saturated fat. I found your website and voila! I think I’ve found the answer. Of course, I’ll have to reduce the portion sizes, as I only eat about a 1/2 cup at a time, but I really think my surgeon would approve of this lifestyle! I’m excited to try these recipes..especially this one…I miss the pasta feeling I had before my surgery especially on cold winter nights…I’ll definately have to try this!
Good luck to you! These noodles, in particular, are super easy on the digestive system, so this should be a good recipe for you.
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This looks awesome! But, I’m allergic to eggs.
What’s a girl to do? My first thought was tofu, but that’s not paleo. Thoughts?
Shredded cooked chicken or diced cooked shrimp would work great instead of eggs.
This sounds so delish! But I can’t find almond flour. any suggestions?
The almond flour “breadcrumbs” are mostly for garnish — this is awesome without them, so if you can’t get your hands on almond flour, you an just skip that part.
Or… you can get blanched almonds and grind them into dust in a food processor… instant almond flour.
Just tried this recipe, and YUM! is all I can say!
[...] Comfort Noodles - I also made a sauce in the Vitamix with 1/2 zucchini, garlic clove, 2 tablespoons pesto, 1/4 olive oil (or add oil to desired thickness). [...]
At last!! the julienne peeler! Th secret to making the zucchini noodles. I dont know how I missed this before, or in your book, but I will say that I am crazy happy to find this, and I am buying it right now this minute!