Zucchini Noodle Chicken Pesto Bowl Recipe

Name: Zucchini Noodle Chicken Pesto Bowl
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast(s); Salt; 1/4 teaspoon paprika; 2 medium large zucchini (a little more than a pound); 2 garlic cloves, sliced; 1/4 cup prepared basil pesto; Handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half; Several fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced, for garnish

How to Choose, Store, and Prep Zucchini and Summer Squash

FEATURED IN:

Have zucchini? If you haven't tried spiralizing zucchini yet, you're missing out!

Seriously. Zucchini "noodles" are great. They trick your mind into thinking you're eating carb-heavy pasta, when in fact, you are eating healthy, vitamin rich zucchini.

You know that spinach flavored pasta? This is like zucchini flavored pasta, that's actually just zucchini. Gluten-free, low-carb, super healthy zucchini.

There's something about the noodle shape that makes it way more fun to eat than just chopped up squash.

Zucchini Noodle Chicken Pesto Bowl — Elise Bauer

To make zucchini noodles, you'll need some sort of spiralizer, essentially a lathe, for vegetables. For these zoodles I'm using Ali Maffucci's Inspiralizer, which does the job perfectly.

This is a quick and easy zucchini noodle bowl with zoodles that have been tossed with basil pesto and served with chopped sautéed chicken breast and tomatoes.

With all the basil I have in my garden I made the pesto from scratch (recipe here, it's easy!) but you could just as easily use store bought pesto.

You cook the chicken first, and then while it's resting, sauté the zucchini noodles in the same pan. Toss with the pesto, put it all together in a bowl and eat! It even reheats well for leftovers.

Zucchini Noodle Chicken Pesto Bowl

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Servings 2 servings

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 medium zucchini (a little more than a pound)
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 cup prepared basil pesto
Handful cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Several fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced, for garnish

Cook the chicken breast:

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breast(s) with a little salt and the paprika. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on high heat in a large sauté pan. Place the chicken breast(s) in the pan and cook for a minute or two on each side, until well browned.

Lower the heat to low and cover the pan, cook for 2 to 5 more minutes (depending on the thickness of the breast) until the chicken is just cooked through.

Remove the chicken from the pan and let it rest while you make the zucchini noodles.
Make the zucchini noodles:

Use a spiralizer to make zucchini noodles with the zucchini.
Sauté the zucchini noodles, garlic:

Add another 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan you used to cook the chicken and heat it on high heat.

Add the zucchini noodles and the sliced garlic and sauté, stirring often, until the noodles begin to wilt. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt while you cook the zoodles.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer

When they are just barely cooked and if they are releasing moisture, remove them to a colander placed over a bowl to drain.
Cut the chicken:

Cut or slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Toss the zucchini noodles with pesto:

Place the zucchini noodles in a serving bowl and toss with basil pesto.

Elise Bauer

Serve the zucchini noodles in bowls topped with chicken, tomatoes, and sliced fresh basil leaves.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
476	Calories
30g	Fat
10g	Carbs
41g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2
Amount per serving
Calories	476
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 30g	39%
Saturated Fat 5g	27%
Cholesterol 96mg	32%
Sodium 439mg	19%
Total Carbohydrate 10g	4%
Dietary Fiber 3g	10%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 41g
Vitamin C 29mg	144%
Calcium 158mg	12%
Iron 2mg	13%
Potassium 1048mg	22%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.