What to do with all that zucchini
I don’t know about you, but over here zucchini grows like weeds. This is actually the first year we haven’t been pulling two or three a day. Last year we planted six, yes six zucchini plants. I don’t know what we were thinking.
This year we were more reasonable and planted two, so we’re just starting to pull one every few days which is much more manageable. But, still a lot of zucchini.
We usually make chocolate zucchini cake, my healthy vegan muffins, and lemon coconut zucchini loaf. So I wanted to try something a bit more savoury. Enter this asian inspired vegan zucchini noodle salad. It is vegan, gluten free if you’d like, healthy, delicious and something you will definitely be making this more than once.
Why zucchini noodles in a salad?
It’s a nice change up from a regular old pasta salad. Plus it’s much lighter and more refreshing.
They’re neutral and don’t add a ton of flavour on their own. But, they act like a sponge in a very good way, they soak up all that lovely dressing and add to the richness of the dish.
It’s low calorie if that’s your thing. And let me be clear – it is NOT mine. I love carbs, and contrary to popular belief, we all NEED carbs. But, that doesn’t make this salad any less awesome!
What you will need for this salad
Zucchini – big beautiful green zucchini is what we’re looking for here.
Red peppers – bell peppers or sweet peppers are what I use, but if you like a little spice don’t be afraid to add a spicy pepper of your choice.
Tomatoes – any kind of tomato will do here, I used romas which were lovely.
Carrots – I grated the carrots as I find I enjoy them more in this salad, but you can certianly cut them into thin slices too.
Mango – Altaufo mangoes are a fantastic addition if you can get them. You do need to make sure they are ripe, as they can be really sour if they’re not. Red mangoes work well too.
Red cabbage – it adds the perfect crunchy texture against the softer ingredients. Shred it like it’s going into a coleslaw for the best bite experience.
Scallions – if you can’t find scallions (green onions), chives are a great substitute.
Fresh herbs – my herbs of choice are basil and cilantro. However, thai basil is perfect in this salad (just a little harder to find). If you’re one of those people who don’t like cilantro, you can substitute mint leaves and it still be delicious.
What you will need for the dressing
Sesame oil – try and find a pure sesame oil. Many of them are blended oils and don’t have as strong a flavour.
Tamari/Soy sauce – I use tamari so it is gluten free, but regular soy sauce is totally fine.
Rice wine vinegar – I use unseasoned rice wine vinegar. If you use seasoned, just note that it already contains salt and sugar so you may want to adjust your soy sauce and brown sugar a bit.
Garlic – fresh garlic is always the best, but this dressing does well with the pre-minced store bought garlic.
Brown sugar – it really does HAVE to be brown sugar, not golden, not raw and definitely not granulated. The brown sugar gives a richness and rounds out the umami flavour of this dressing.
How to make this super simple salad
Make the dressing first – your just going to add all your ingredients together and shake until they are well mixed.
Put your salad together – chop and spirlzie your veggies and throw them altogether. It really is that simple.
Dress the salad– drizzle with your dressing and toss together real well. Sprinkle on your fresh herbs and enjoy!
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. It is bright, fruity, just perfectly sweet-ish, super refreshing, and absolutely delicious.
Don’t be afraid to switch things up a bit and add more or less of something you know you do or don’t like.
Vegan cold zucchini noodle salad
Equipment
Ingredients
Salad
- 3 cups spiralized zucchini noodles about 1 average sized zucchini
- 1/2 cup grated carrot about 1 average sized carrot
- 1 cup red cabbage roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup red pepper diced or sliced
- 1/4 cup scallions sliced
- 1/2 cup tomato diced
- 1 cup mango large dice
- 1 tbsp cilantro loosely chopped
- 1 tbsp basil loosely chopped
Dressing
- 3 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp of tamari regular soy sauce will do if you don't need it to be gluten-free
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 1-2 tsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Mix all the dressing ingredients together into a container with an airtight fitted lid and shake until well mixed together. I start with one tsp of brown sugar first. I don't make things that sweet here, but if you like your dressing a little sweeter, you can definitely add the second tsp. Set aside.3 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp of tamari, 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tsp garlic, 1-2 tsp brown sugar
- Once you have cut, chopped and spiralized your veggies, it's just a matter of throwing them all together. In a large mixing bowl, add your fruit and veggies (zucchini, carrots, cabbage, red pepper, scallions, tomato and mango). Then dump your dressing in and toss until coated. Next throw in your herbs and give it another good toss.3 cups spiralized zucchini noodles, 1/2 cup grated carrot, 1 cup red cabbage, 1/4 cup red pepper, 1/4 cup scallions, 1/2 cup tomato, 1 cup mango, 1 tbsp cilantro, 1 tbsp basil
- Plate your salad in a large serving dish or individual dishes and enjoy!
Nutrition
It is a great dish for a BBQ, a picnic in the park, to bring to a potluck or to bring camping. Our family loves camping and when we go, we always hav a few trusty salads and snacks that are made ahead, so we don’t have to spend a ton of time cooking every single meal out in the woods. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE cooking over an open fire and we do for dinner pretty much every night. Nonetheless, when we’re camping it’s nice to have things that we can just pull out and munch on right then and there.
Other recipes you might enjoy
ELDERFLOWER AND WHITE WINE SANGRIA
THE BEST MAPLE PEACH BOURBON BACK RIBS
PEACH CAPRESE SALAD WITH BALSAMIC REDUCTION
Till the next recipe,
Kristen xo
This salad is delicious, way better than I expected and simple to throw together.
So glad you like it!
Look at all the colours in this salad. I couldn’t resist. NOW is the time to be enjoying all those late summer flavours. I wish I could make this with zucchini, however I’m allergic so good old spaghetti it was. Love the sweetness of the mango and so glad I made a double batch!
Love that you were able to make it your own with ingredients that you can eat.
The colors in this made me happy before I even ate it! It’s such an easy way to use up zucchini from the garden too!
It’s such a beautiful array of the rainbow isn’t it.
This is such a delicious doodle
Recipe. Perfect when It’s too hot to cook!
I couldn’t agree more – it’s been so hot here, no one wants to turn the stove on right now.