Quick & Easy Pesto Zucchini Noodles With Salmon

Pesto zoodles with salmon is an easy, flavorful weeknight meal that you will crave. Bake a fresh salmon fillet with cherry or grape tomatoes on a sheet pan until just cooked through, then use a spiralizer to cut zucchini into noodles. Cook the zoodles in a large nonstick sauté pan, then toss toss with crispy pancetta, walnut pesto, the burst tomatoes, flaky salmon, and lots of cheese.

It’s a vibrant summer entrée that is light, yet satisfying and just makes you feel good! Plus, it’s gluten-free! Trust us, it satisfies that pasta craving while increasing your vegetable intake. Nothing wrong with that!

If you love this recipe, be sure to check out all our easy pesto recipes! We love to make big batches of Pistachio Pesto or Arugula Pesto and enjoy them with various dishes throughout the week. And for sure add this Pesto Salmon to your must make list!

Ingredient Notes

• Zucchini or store-bought zucchini noodles
• Salmon fillet: This is Atlantic salmon, though you can check out our salmon guide for more information on the different species.
• Cherry or grape tomatoes
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Granulated garlic
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Pancetta
• Pesto sauce (store-bought is fine!). For a more intense garlic flavor, consider making our Ramp Pesto or Garlic Scape Pesto.
• Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, for serving

What are zoodles? Zoodles, also known as zucchini noodles, are spirals of fresh zucchini pasta. While you can make them with a julienne peeler or mandoline (based on the attachment piece), we recommend a spiralizer.

Alternatively, you can buy pre-made zucchini noodles at your local store. They’re usually in the produce section in a refrigerated case (you’ll see all varieties together: zucchini, sweet potato noodles, butternut squash noodles, yellow squash noodles, etc.)

How To Make Zoodles (Zucchini Noodles)

1. Wash and dry the fresh zucchini, then trim the ends off. Attach the trimmed zucchini to a spiralizer so that it’s lined up with the blade, then twist the handle until the entire zucchini is cut into noodles. This takes about 10 seconds total.

Note: the first few turns of the zucchini may create smaller strands of noodles. Once it gets going, the zucchini pasta will be longer. Simply cut these with kitchen shears to shorten.

Place the zoodles in a large bowl until ready to cook.

Sheet Pan Salmon

Making the baked salmon for this recipe could not be simpler.

1. Prep the salmon. Preheat an oven to 325F. Pat a 1 ½ lb fillet of salmon dry on all sides with a paper towel, then place on a rimmed baking sheet along with 1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes. Drizzle both with olive oil, then season with 1 tsp Kosher salt and ¼ tsp of black pepper. To the salmon only, add 1 tsp garlic powder.
2. Bake the salmon. Place the salmon in a preheated oven and cook until tender and flaky, but very moist, about 20 minutes. Salmon is medium-rare (our preferred doneness for the fish) when the internal temperature reaches 110-125 F. The tomatoes should begin to burst slightly.

How To Make Pesto Zoodles

1. Cook the pancetta. While the salmon and tomatoes cook, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add 2 tsp olive oil and 4 oz cubed pancetta. Why add oil when cooking pancetta? It has much less fat to render than bacon and needs a little extra grease in the pan. Cook 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until the pancetta is mostly crisped on all sides. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate or bowl.
2. Cook the zoodles. To the hot skillet, add the zucchini pasta. The cook time is dependent on how done you want the noodles. They are safe to eat raw, so if you want them crunchier, cook for 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat, season with ½ tsp Kosher salt, then move on to the next step. If you want the noodles more cooked, you can heat them through, tossing often, for 7-8 minutes total. This is our preferred way to eat zoodles. The risk here is that they become too watery, so pay close attention to whether they’re becoming too mushy.
3. Toss it all together. To the cooked zoodles, add 1 cup pesto (any type!), crispy pancetta, and tomatoes, then toss well. Add large pieces of flaked salmon on top, then carefully toss once more. Remove from the heat.
4. Serve immediately. Divide the pesto zoodles into bowls, then top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano. Serve immediately!

Tips For The Best Zucchini Noodles

• Avoid overcooking zucchini pasta! Zoodles can go from crisp to mushy in a matter of minutes, so watch them carefully. You’ll notice the zucchini noodles starting to let off lots of water as they begin to cook down. This is a good sign that your zoodles are about to overcook, so take them off the heat!
• Use the right tool! We highly recommend using a spiralizer (or KitchenAid spiralizer attachment) versus a julienne peeler or mandoline. Not only is a spiralizer the quickest way to make zucchini noodles, but it creates the a shape that is most similar to wheat pasta, which we just love!
• Use large zucchini! Larger zucchini (or yellow squash) are much easier to spiralize than smaller squash.

FAQs

1. Can I make zoodles ahead of time? We absolutely recommend spiralizing zucchini in advance! It’s a meal prep lifesaver for busy weeks, and can easily be done 2-3 days in advance. Simply spiralize fresh zucchini, then place the zoodles in a glass container or largze plastic bag with a paper towel (to help absorb excess liquid). They’ll stay crisp until ready to cook — or just toss them with the remaining ingredients and eat raw!
2. Do the zucchini need to be peeled? Nope!
3. How long will pesto zoodles keep? Cooked zucchini noodles are always best eaten fresh (they tend to release more water during reheating), but this recipe will easily keep for up to 5 days. Tossing reheated zoodles with Parmesan cheese will help to absorb excess liquid!
4. Can I use other squash? We love the light, crisp texture of zucchini and yellow squash in this recipe. You can of course spiralize pretty much any vegetable you want (sweet potatoes! butternut squash! carrots! broccoli stems!), but we like summer squash here.
5. Is it ok to use frozen salmon? Yes! Thaw completely overnight in a refrigerator, then pat dry with a paper towel and proceed with directions. Don’t want to use salmon? Use any seafood you love most, or switch out the fish entirely and add shredded rotisserie chicken or your favorite classic meatballs instead!

We loved this recipe way more than we expected to. It’s packed with flavor and such a great way to use up zucchini! You will not miss the pasta one bit.

If you make these Pesto Zoodles with Salmon, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!

Have leftover pesto? Try our Trenette al Pesto, Pesto Gnocchi, or Chicken Pesto Panini next!

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More salmon recipes to try!

• Salmon Cake Recipe
• Cucumber Slices with Salmon
• Chili Bourbon Glazed Salmon
• Salmon Ceviche
• 10 Salmon Dinner Recipes You Can’t Live Without