On busy weeknights, it helps to have a quick, easy, and healthy dish packed with flavor and nutrients that you can make time and time again. With a little bit of veggie prep beforehand, you can turn this tasty 30-minute vegan zoodle stir-fry into a less than 15 minute dinner.
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Zoodles are long noodles made from zucchini, that you can easily make yourself. If you don't own a spiralizer (like me) for the zoodles, you could borrow one for this recipe or buy them pre-cut.
Why this Recipe Works
Zucchini noodles or zoodles are a great alternative to pasta or rice noodles. If you want a lower carbohydrate dinner, zoodles are perfect as they mimic the texture of pasta noodles and absorb fantastic flavor from the stir-fry sauce.
You can choose your own adventure with this stir-fry and mix in any leftovers or veggies you need to use up. You can create a new version of this recipe every time to please all.
The stir-fry sauce is easy to make and uplifts the flavors of the veggies. The aromatic ginger, sweet brown sugar, and deep, delicious flavor from the bouillon make this sauce a sheer winner!
Ingredients & Substitutions
zoodles – you could also use your favorite veggie noodles like carrot noodles, squash noodles, or sweet potato noodles. This recipe even works with noodles like ramen or soba.
broccoli – you can mix in other cruciferous veggies you love, like cauliflower or kale.
bell pepper – any color bell pepper will taste great in this recipe.
soy sauce – you can try coconut aminos, liquid aminos for gluten-free options.
oil - you can use any flavorless oil. I usually use sunflower seed oil, canola, or avocado seed oil.
bouillon - keeping bouillon in the pantry is a great way to bring a ton of flavor to a simple dish. This recipe uses bouillon to take the flavor of the sauce up a notch. I use vegetable, but have also made this recipe with chicken.
How to Make this Recipe
To get started, cut the dark green parts off of the scallions. Thinly slice the whites and light greens then set them aside.
Add the larger dark green scallions, ½ cup mirin, ½ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup sake, 1 bouillon (or equivalent), and 1-2 teaspoons of brown sugar to a saucepan.
Bring the sauce mixture to boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until it reduces by half and it thickens.
Remove the sauce from the heat, retrieve and discard the scallion greens, and set the stir-fry sauce aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of flavorless oil in a large pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add in the white parts of the scallions, 3 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger, and 1-2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes. Cook the ingredients together for 1-2 minutes until aromatic.
The next step is to add in the bell peppers, the blanched and rough chopped broccoli rabe (or chopped broccoli or broccolini), and the snow peas. Cook these all together for 2-3 minutes until tender.
Now turn the heat up to high and add the sauce. Let all the stir-fry ingredients and sauce come to a simmer. Finally, add in your zoodles and mix well with the veggies and sauce. Cook for around 2-3 minutes and then you're ready to serve.
Zoodle Stir Fry FAQs
Zoodles are long spirals of zucchini that are made to mimic popular pasta noodles, like spaghetti. They are a great veggie substitution or low-carb substitution for pasta noodles. You can buy zoodles at the grocery store or make them yourself with a spiralizer.
You can freeze noodles for a long time, up to a year even, but they will lose the vibrancy of their flavor over time.
This stir-fry is best served fresh, as keeping it in the fridge or freezer in the sauce can make the veggies go soggy. You can freeze the veggies and zoodles together then when you're ready to eat, mix your sauce fresh to enjoy in the stir-fry.
Absolutely you can! If you have a go-to sauce recipe or have a pre-made sauce that you love, feel free to add it in and enjoy.
Related Recipes
Now that you're a pro at making this easy stir-fry, give one of these recipes a try!
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Veggie Zoodle Stir Fry
Ingredients
- ½ cup mirin
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup sake
- 1-2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube or similar
- 1 bunch scallions
- 2 tablespoon flavorless oil avocado, sunflower seed, grapeseed, canola
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon ginger fresh, grated
- 1-2 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 1 bunch broccoli rabe blanched, or broccoli/broccolini
- 5 zucchini sliced with a spiralizer OR cut into thin strips
- 2 bell peppers I use orange and red, cut into thin strips
- 1 cup snow peas
Instructions
- Cut the scallions to separate the dark greens and whites. Thinly slice the whites and light greens. Set aside.
- Add the scallion greens, mirin, soy sauce, sake, bouillon, and brown sugar to a saucepan. Bring to boil. Lower to simmer. Simmer until reduced by ½. Remove from heat, discard the scallion greens, and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large pan or wok over medium-high heat.
- Add the white parts of the scallions, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Cook 1-2 minutes until aromatic.
- Add the bell peppers, blanched and rough chopped broccoli rabe (or chopped broccoli or broccolini), and snow peas. Cook 2-3 minutes until tender.
- Turn up the heat to high. Add the contents of the saucepan. Let it come to a simmer. Add the zoodles. Mix well. Cook 2-3 minutes. Enjoy!
Nutrition
This post was originally published in December of 2017 but was republished with step by step instructions, FAQs, and tips in January of 2022.
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