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Guys. Big news.
No, I’m not pregnant.
No, I didn’t win the lottery.
My Mom got me a spiralizer in my Easter basket this year! (Yes, I’m 27 going on 28 and I still get an Easter basket from my parents.)
Ok, so not really that big of news, but I was pretty excited about it. I’ve wanted to try this whole spiralizer craze for quite sometime, but didn’t want to actually buy a spiralizer, I mean, how often would I really use it? BUT if someone else is getting for me, I’ll take it . Of course I got it out immediately, but only actually starting playing around with it after 25 minutes of trying to figure the darn thing out – note to self, don’t make everything so complicated.
These zucchini “noodles” were my inaugural attempt and I have to say, it was quite the success. So successful in fact, that I don’t need to ever eat pasta again.
Psych. You know very well I could never give up eating pasta. But seriously, I really really liked them, and was surprisingly, completely satisfied and full after I scarfed the whole thing down.
I thought it best to start out with something relatively simple, and I had bacon, eggs and parmesan cheese on hand so carbonara was my first inclination.
I cooked up a little bit of bacon in a non-stick skillet, took it out and drained off all of the fat except for about a tablespoon, added in my spiralized noodles along with a little bit of salt and garlic, and let them cook down.
Here’s a little preliminary warning, they cook down pretty significantly, I thought that two zucchinis would be plenty for two people, but it shrunk down so much that it only fed myself – as you can imagine Kevin was so disappointed that he ended up getting real pasta carbonara.
While the zucchini is cooking down I whisked an egg yolk, Cajun seasoning (optional) just a touch of milk and a big handful of parmesan cheese in a small bowl. When the zucchini was tender, I turned the heat on low and slowly poured in the egg mixture while tossing the “pasta.” The residual heat will start to cook the eggs, and create a super silky cream sauce, but make sure to keep tossing, if you stop, you risk curdling the eggs and many, many tears.
At the last minute the bacon is tossed back in along with a good amount of black pepper, and any additional salt or parmesan cheese to taste.
If you’re feeling fancy, you can fry up an egg to top it off with…
Have a great weekend my friends!
Ingredients
- 2 small to medium zucchinis
- 3 pieces reduced fat bacon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons Cajun seasoning
Instructions
- Spiralize the zucchinis on the smallest setting resembling spaghetti.
- In a large non-stick pan, crisp up bacon. Remove and drain all but ½ to 1 tablespoon of bacon grease. With the head on medium, add in noodles and salt.
- Cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes.
- While the zucchini is cooking, whisk together yolk, ¼ cup parmesan, milk and Cajun seasoning.
- When the zucchini is softened, turn the heat off and slowly pour in egg mixture tossing constantly. Turn the heat back on low and keep tossing the noodles until sauce is thickened slightly.
- Add remaining parmesan cheese, toss. Season with plenty of freshly cracked black peper, salt and more parmesan or Cajun seasoning to taste.
marcie says
This looks amazing! I love subbing out regular pasta for veggie “noodles” from time to time, and I really don’t miss the the pasta at all when I do. That spiralizer is something else, and I know I would put it to good use if I got one…I just don’t know where I’d put it. haha
Nicole says
I totally didn’t miss the pasta here, I so full and satisfied!
Julie @ This Gal Cooks says
I made cucumber noodles for the first time a few weeks ago. I used a julienne peeler and it was a little difficult to use becuase cucumber kept getting stuck in it. I totally want one of these spiralizers. They look so easy to use!
Great recipe, Nicole!
Nicole says
It was REALLY easy to use Julie, and I’m pretty they are inexpensive, you’ll love it, I promise!
Christine @ Cooking with Cakes says
I love that you wrote about this Nicole because I’ve been thinking of getting a spiralizer for the longest time myself!! (and, as luck would have it, am also 28 and still get an Easter basket lol) – Would you mind letting me know the brand you purchased? This recipe will have to be my first experiment with it 🙂
Nicole says
Ohhhh you definitely have to!! It’s so easy Christine!!! Let me check when I get home this weekend and see what kind it is, I can’t remember, but I think it either came from C&B or BBB, I’ll double check though and let you know!