Swoon-Worthy Spiralizer Recipes You Need to Try

Look for lemons with thinner skins (smoother, shinier skins are often thinner); you'll get a nice citrus hit with each bite, but charring the slices softens the flavor so it's not overpowering. Serve right after tossing everything together, as the squash will start to wilt.

Our virtuous makeover of everyone’s favorite family-night dinner will send you racing to the dinner table. A hearty bowl of spaghetti and meatballs is as ubiquitous as it is timeless, though this Sunday supper can pack over 2,000mg sodium and 12g sat fat into a single serving. Our veggie-loaded version saves 450 calories, 8g sat fat, and 1,400mg sodium over the traditional recipe. Shiitake mushrooms amp up the meaty texture and umami flavor of meatballs, stretching 1 pound of beef across 8 servings. For a punch of fiber and a boost of nutrients, mix zucchini noodles with whole-wheat spaghetti. Bonus: One serving of our comfort food classic contains 11⁄2 cups of vegetables.

Spiralized sweet potatoes make for a hearty pasta replacement in this fresh feeling paleo meal. Puttanesca is an ultra-savory Italian pasta dish that typically consists of capers, anchovies, olives, tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil. In this iteration, fresh tomatoes meet their salty match for a hearty, dairy-free pasta dish that's light on calories and heavy on flavor. For a vegetarian option, leave out the anchovies and use vegetable broth instead of chicken.

Elote is the Mexican street food of your dreams: a grilled ear of corn dressed with mayo, chile powder, crumbly queso fresco, and a squeeze of lime. We translate the dish into a fresh zucchini noodle salad (trust us, you won’t be bored of abundant summer squash with this recipe). If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can use a julienne peeler. You could also cut the squash into thin planks and then slice into thin strips.

Add fresh curry paste to canned coconut milk and nut butter, and you have an instant, wonderfully complex satay sauce. Use as a dip, in stir-fries, or drizzled on this gluten-free veggie bowl. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can use a julienne peeler or the shredding blade of your food processor. The sweet potato noodles will look like too much for the skillet but will shrink considerably as they cook. If using store-bought curry paste, start with 2 teaspoons, as it is much higher in sodium than fresh.

What's better than roasted beets? Spiralized beets, duh! The nifty gadget turns beets and butternut squash into twirly noodles tossed in a delightful herby sauce. 

Thanks to the nifty spiralizer, raw vegetable "oodles" can be cranked out in a jiff. Packed with plant-based ribbons, whole grains, cabbage, peas, nuts, and herbs, this version of Pad Thai is satisfying and refreshingly raw, saving 400 calories over the classic. 

Creating these fabulously decadent—but still light—spiralized fries for a quick weeknight dinner. Taking any guilty pleasure and transforming it into a calorie-friendly option is always a good idea. Feel free to play with your chili recipe or use any leftovers from the night before.

Enjoy a lighter pasta for your favorite weeknight meal with zucchini noodles. They add a punch of fiber, and a boost of nutrients to this classic dish in just two additional minutes.

Make this cheesy chicken dish part of your Cooking Light DIET meal plan. Sign up today.

Summer squashes like zucchini and crookneck are now available almost year round in most parts of the country, but if you can’t find any zucchini, feel free to substitute carrots or parsnips, or maybe bell peppers and beets. The best thing about eggs is that they highlight many different flavor combinations, so feel free to mix and match.

Toasted bread is a great vehicle to get veggies and protein-packed ingredients, from avocado to almond butter, into your diet. Spiralizing butternut squash makes it easy to top toast, and paired with creamy goat cheese and fresh pomegranate seeds, it makes for a supreme salty-sweet combination. Feel free to substitute whole grain bread or sprouted breads for another option.

This dinner will be as tasty to the taste buds as it is to the eyes. Wheat berries take a bit of time to cook (about 30 minutes), so make them on the weekend when you have a little more simmer time. Then, use them throughout the week for fast dinner and lunches.

Pour a homemade dressing of ricotta cheese, buttermilk, lemon rind, lemon juice, and honey over carrot ribbons to make this simply delicious salad.

Simple, easy, and wonderfully crisp: the trifecta that makes these hash browns superior. A little cornstarch is the trick for crisping up the exterior.

Smoky bacon and earthy Brussels sprouts unite to bring a punch of flavor and texture to this naturally sweet veg. Add a couple of cashews for a touch of crunch, and you’ve got a healthy main course meal that feels just as decadent and satisfying as your average pasta dish.

A little sweet, a little salty, a bit of toasty, and a touch of tang—the makings of a grade-A salad.

Enjoy zucchini raw and tossed in a creamy cilantro-avocado pesto sauce. This basic recipe—a lighter play on pasta salad—is versatile, welcoming any veggies you like.

This salad contrasts the sweet, earthy taste of the beets with tangy-sweet, aromatic pickled shallots and a lemony vinaigrette. You can make the pickled shallots first thing in the morning or up to a day ahead.

This simple creamy cucumber salad comes together in a flash. The yogurt-based dressing is packed with fresh dill, parsley, and mint for a seasonal taste. Don't make the salad ahead—the cucumbers will release too much water.

A vegetable peeler turns squash into delicate ribbons, a foil for the salty ham. It's delicious raw when it’s shaved and marinated with a bit of salt.