Vegan Walnut Parmesan Zucchini Noodles
Vegan Walnut Parmesan Zucchini Noodles
During the Winter months I like to mix up my cooked meals with a couple of go-to, quick,, raw-ish meals. Smoothies and desserts certainly make their way into the rotation. Dinner is usually a hearty grounding soup or stew. Either that or or it's a slew of sautéed veg with different fantastic sauces. But lunch… oh lunch. My most rushed meal of the day. I often barely get to it. And, I admit, I often end up eating a pastiche of snacks. Hummus, almonds, carrots, plantain chips. Not the worst. But definitely not the best. I find lunch challenging even freelancing from home! So one of my goals this month has been to meal plan my way into excellent lunch situations. Vegan walnut parmesan zucchini noodle lunch situations included!
Right now I’m really digging lightly sauteed zucchini noodles with some sort of punchy sauce or vegan cheesy situation. I developed this walnut parmesan years ago, back when I first got into plant based cooking. And it’s stuck with me since the beginning. Mostly because it literally takes 1 second to blitz together in a blender. 1 and done. Then I toss it on all the things. I even baked up some crimini mushrooms stuffed with this walnut parmesan the other night as an appetizer for a dinner party. Definitely a hit, y’all!
These vegan walnut parmesan zucchini noodles are savory, satisfying and crazy fast. The vegan parmesan has that whole umami cheese thing going on. Sun dried tomatoes amp up that umami flavor even more (did you know tomato seeds are high in glutamic acid, an amino acid responsible for umami flavor?). Plus they add a tangy sweetness and a little Italian flair. Basil brightens everything up. It’s a no brainer recipe, for sure. Don’t even think about it, dudes. Just go make it.
And it's a #cheesebabyshower!
In other news, did you know Sarah of Snixy Kitchen is about to pop out a baby?! Well she is and all of us blogger babes are so friggin stoked we just had to throw her a virtual baby shower about it! Sarah loves cheese (and sweets). So we’ve all collaborated to wish her well by pumping the inter webs full of cheesy and sweet and sweet cheesy recipes! Check all of the recipes out below!
Cheesy Things
- the briny - Smoky Beans n' Greens Enchiladas with Roasted Sweet Potato and Sunflower Seed Cheese
- Half Baked Harvest - Greek Falafel Melts
- Healthy Nibbles & Bits - Japanese-Spiced Goat Cheese Ball with Pistachios
- Just Putzing Around the Kitchen - Cheesy Fried Spinach & Artichoke Bites
- My Natural Kitchen - Brazilian Cheesy Thyme Popovers
- Vanilla And Bean - Almond-Sage Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Gruyere
- Fix Feast Flair - Mixed Greens Salad with Lilikoi Vinaigrette, Honey Macadamia Nuts, and Goat Cheese
- FoodieCrush - Cheesy Sausage Pizza Bread
- Foodness Gracious - Avocado Feta Bowl with Couscous Grilled Chicken and Charred Corn
- Vegetarian 'Ventures - Pimento Mac & Cheese Bites
- MJ and Hungryman - Cheese Stuffed Kimchi Pancakes
- Savory Simple - Cheddar Chive Crackers
Sweet Things
- the pig + quill - Mini Vegan PB+J Cheesecakes
- The Kitchen McCabe - Meyer Lemon Pudding Cakes + Honeyed Chevre Whipped Cream
- The Little Epicurean - Matcha Mochi Waffles Sundae
- Shared Appetite - Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Mousse
- The Pancake Princess - Vegan Aquafaba Lemon Meringue Pie
- The Food Charlatan - Lemon Bars {gluten-free}
- Kale & Caramel - Spiced Caramel Chocolate Nut Clusters
Cheesy & Sweet Things
- The Bojon Gourmet - Blood Orange & Corn Flour Ricotta Cake with Whipped Mascarpone {gluten-free}
- HonestlyYUM - Sweet Cheese Puffs (for a Sweet Cheese Baby)
- fit for the soul - Queso Mais Ice cream {No-Churn}
- Completely Delicious - Chocolate Orange Ricotta Scones
- Good on Paper Design - Citrus Ricotta Mini Cakes {gluten-free}
- Floating Kitchen - No-Bake Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache Layer {gluten-free}
- Hungry Girl por Vida - Gluten-Free Pretzel Goat Cheesecake Bites
- Heartbeet Kitchen - Roasted Citrus Bowls with Honey Mascarpone
- Salted Plains - Pavlova with Mascarpone Coconut Cream and Candied Citrus
- The Kitchen Paper - Candied Citrus Ricotta Cake
le jus d'orange - White Cheddar and Apple Mini Pies with Cinnamon-Infused Honey
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup hemp hearts
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 large zucchinis
- 2 large cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil + more to taste
- 1 teaspoon sweet white cooking wine
- 3 tablespoons minced sundried tomatoes*
- handful fresh basil, chopped roughly + more to garnish
- In the bowl of a high powered blender, combine the walnuts, hemp hearts, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Blitz briefly to break everything down into a sandy mixture. This only took me 1 second with my nutribullet. The main thing is to avoid pulsing the mix into a "butter." You want a parmesan-like, slightly rough texture. Once blended, set aside.
- Remove the tops of your zucchini and discard. Spiralize or mandoline slice your zucchini into long, thin noodles. Place your zucchini noodles in a bowl and set aside.
- Set a large sauté pot over medium high heat. Add the minced garlic and olive oil, cooking for 2 minutes, until beginning to brown. Add the zucchini noodles to the pot along with the sweet white cooking wine. Cook covered for 4-6 minutes, occasionally gently tossing the zucchini noodles in the pot -- you just want to cook the noodles until their warmed through. Remove from the heat and drain off the excess liquid from the pan.
- Add directly to the pan the chopped sundries tomatoes, walnut parmesan and chopped basil. Toss to combine. Serve immediately, garnishing with more fresh basil leaves as you like. Enjoy!