Pasta: Processed, carb-heavy, and calorie-dense. Basically a dieter’s dilemma.
Not anymore.
These 8 low-carb veggie impastas are sweeping the nation.
Get inspiralized with 40 creative recipes!
Zucchini
Zucchini is probably the most infamous of all veggie noodles, for good reason. It’s a great swap for many different pastas – linguini, fettuccine, cannelloni/manicotti shells, lasagna sheets, you name it! This extra light noodle works especially well in creamy and hearty italian dishes.
- Zucchini manicotti with spinach
- Cilantro pesto over zucchini noodles
- Zucchini lasagna with meat sauce and mushrooms
- Creamy chicken zucchini fettuccine
- Zoodles with turkey bolognese
Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti squash is a super great substitute for — you guessed it — spaghetti. It also lends itself perfectly to baked dishes and classic casseroles.
- Spaghetti squash shrimp scampi
- Roasted garlic and kale spaghetti squash
- Spaghetti squash with pesto and tomatoes
- Cheesy baked spaghetti squash boats with grilled chicken
- Spaghetti squash carbonara
Sweet Potato
Layer ’em in lasagnas or twirl ’em up like traditional noodles. The sweet flavor profile of sweet potato noodles (so eloquently termed swoodles) balances the sweet and spicy notes of asian dishes and the extra tang of mexican meals.
- Paleo chicken pad thai
- Sweet potato mexican lasagna
- Kung pao chicken sweet potato noodles
- Spiralized mexican sweet potato and chicken casserole
- Vegan coconut curry with sweet potato noodles
Cauliflower
Okay, so rice isn’t technically pasta, but it’s equally carb-heavy. Cauliflower is your go-to rice alternative. All you need to do is pulse cauliflower florets in a blender and voila! Use cauli rice in your favorite rice-centric mains or serve it up in place of your favorite starchy side.
- Shrimp fried rice
- Mushroom risotto
- Mexican cauliflower rice
- Thai red curry cauliflower rice
- Cauliflower rice pudding
Carrot
Carrot noodles make great substitutes for spaghetti, linguine, and fettucine. They lend themselves particularly well to light and crunchy cold pasta salads or warm and comforting asian inspired dishes.
- Cold spiralized sesame noodle salad
- Raw rainbow noodles
- Carrot pasta with ginger lime peanut sauce
- Tahini dill carrot noodles
- Honey ginger garlic chicken carrot noodle bowls
Beet
The sweetness of beetroot noodles pairs perfectly with zesty, tart, and tangy ingredients like tahini, balsamic, and goat cheese. Eat them raw or cook ’em up — your choice!
- Rainbow salad with beet, kale and avocado dressing
- Raw balsamic tahini beet noodles
- Golden beet noodles with goat cheese, pepitas and pomegranate
- Roasted beet noodles with pesto and baby kale
- Raw beet and sweet potato salad
Cucumber
Cucumber noodles are especially delicious substitutes in raw, cold noodle salad dishes. Pair them with any herb for a light, fresh, summery dish or creamy avocado for something a little more hearty.
- Spiralized greek cucumber salad
- Cucumber noodles with spicy sesame soy dressing
- Cucumber noodle salad with avocado dill dressing
- Cucumber mint noodles with ginger dressing
- Cucumber noodle salad with italian dressing
Eggplant
When people think of low-carb pasta substitutes, eggplant isn’t typically the first veggie to come to mind. But eggplant’s mild taste and unique texture allows it to replace a variety of pastas, and pairs especially well with traditional asian and italian flavors!
- No pasta eggplant lasagna
- Garlic chili eggplant noodles
- Vegan pasta primavera
- Paleo eggplant noodle chow mein
- One pot italian eggplant noodle parmesan
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