Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Zoodles & Meat

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Let’s talk about why zoodles are so important for our family. When my oldest was diagnosed with type one diabetes, we quickly came to learn the days of carbs were coming to an end. There was no doubt that I needed to find a pasta replacement as soon as possible. Pasta was something that was always simple to throw together for dinner and didn’t cost much at all. A box of spaghetti runs you about $1.00 a box. So you can imagine my heartache when I realized something would have to change.

It didn’t take me long to come to love the zoodle. Actually, my husband was part of the praise band at our church and the worship pastor’s wife took up a collection to buy me a pampered chef spiralizer. It was one of the first kitchen tools I had that would help me with the transformation to healthy cooking.

After 6 years of healthy cooking and using the zoodle pretty often, I find myself very picky when it comes to the zucchinis I use to make them. It’s no secret if you have spiralized before that if your zucchini is to skinny or to soft, you will most likely end up with soggy, shredded pieces of zucchini. A clump of mush would be a good description.

One of the biggest questions I get asked, can you freeze zoodles and how long will they last in the fridge?

If you follow the zoodle tips in the recipe card below you can keep these zoodles in the fridge without them becoming soggy for 3-4 days. You can also freeze them. I recommend using them within a 3 month period and won’t want to keep longer than 6 months.

Zoodles also work great as a salad or side. If you have kiddos at home this can be a fun way to get them active in the kitchen.

Who doesn’t love making zoodles??

Enjoy!!

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Zoodles & Meat

Excellent taste in every bite!!

• Author: Tara| Dishing Up Grace
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 zucchinis (spiraled)
• (Check out the spiralizer recommended)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper (diced)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 small yellow onion (diced)
• 1 tsp of tomato paste (add as needed to thicken)
• 1 16 oz can tomato sauce or 1pd Roma tomatoes
• 1 tsp oregano (fresh)
• 1 tsp thyme (fresh)
• 1 lb organic beef
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place beef in a skillet and cook. Drain grease into separate bowl.
2. Heat olive oil in stock pot on medium heat. When oil is hot; add your onion and peppers to the pot. Sauté’ until the peppers start to soften and the onions start to turn translucent. Turn heat down to low medium and add your garlic. Make sure your heat is not to high when adding the garlic or it will burn. (Burnt garlic taste very bitter) .
3.  Next add your fresh or dried spices.  Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add your tomatoes and lightly press as they cook and start to formulate a liquid. Starting with 1 tsp of tomato paste, add to thicken until desired consistency
5. Place remaining beef back into the sauce. Taste to make sure nothing more needs to be added.
6. When your sauce is completed, spiralize your zucchinis into zoodles. Add to the pot and toss in sauce for about 1 minutes.
7. Serve while hot.

Notes

Zoodle Tip #1: Lay your zoodles on a paper towel and give a light coating of coarse sea salt. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes to help keep the noodle crunchy once it becomes cooked Pat dry with a dry paper towel.  The salt will pull the water out of the zucchini.

 

Zoodle Tip #2: Make sure to drop the zoodle in the skillet just long enough to coat with sauce and to them warm them up. If you keep them in for more than a minute or two you will start to see them soften and end up with soggy  noodles.

Frozen Zoodle tip: Place frozen zoodles in a colander and allow to thaw and drain. When they are completely thawed, sprinkle lightly with course sea salt and allow to sit on a paper towel for 15 minutes. Pat dry before cooking