Zucchini noodles, cucumber, tomatoes, feta and a spicy yogurt dressing — we’ve been inhaling this easy low-carb, gluten-free salad for the last few days. Jump to the Zucchini Noodles Salad recipe or read on to see how we make it.
It takes no time at all — about 15 minutes — and holds up exceptionally well in the fridge. This zucchini noodle salad is perfect for taking to work or making ahead for dinner.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: How to make our 20-minute zucchini pasta recipe with garlic, tomatoes, basil, and parmesan cheese. Jump to the Zucchini Pasta Recipe.
Three Ways To Make Zucchini Noodles
If you don’t have the gadget in your kitchen that makes vegetable noodles, don’t fret. We’ve shared our top picks below to help you out or you can simply cut the zucchini into half moons or cubes.
Spiralizer — we have this one. Using a spiralizer means you’ll get thin, curly, long noodles fast. They’re not too expensive and can be used for much more than zucchini (sweet potato noodles anyone?).
Julienne Vegetable Peeler — like this one from OXO. These come in at under $10 and might even be hiding in your kitchen gadget drawer right now. You won’t get the curly, extra-long noodles like with a spiralizer, but you’ll still get thin noodles that are perfect in this salad. here’s a tutorial from Oh She Glows for making zucchini noodles with a julienne veggie peeler.
Mandoline Slicer — we have one similar to this that we found at an Asian market, but you can find lots of options online. Just like with the julienne peeler, you won’t get curly noodles, but it’s a really useful tool to add to your kitchen.
You can also use a standard vegetable peeler and make wide noodles.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Since you’ve got zucchini, you may want to take a look at our Easy Zucchini Bread Recipe with a lightly spiced, perfectly sweetened batter and a whole pound of grated zucchini mixed in.
How to Make the Zucchini Salad
This really could not be easier. Just as I mentioned earlier, if you can’t make noodles out of the zucchini, simply chop the zucchini into half moons or cubes.
The dressing is an insanely tasty combination of Greek yogurt, garlic, lemon, feta and spice. We use Sriracha since it’s a little bit hot and a little bit sweet — you could swap it out for your favorite hot sauce, though. Once the dressing is made, you can keep it in the fridge for days — in fact, it will get better over time.
When you’re ready to toss the salad, throw everything into a bowl and get to it. You can keep the dressed salad in the fridge for up to 1 day — longer than that and you’ll have a pretty soggy salad.
If you’re making a day ahead, just keep the dressing separate from the salad and you’ll be fine. And that’s it — a low-carb, gluten-free, no-guilt salad that’s hearty enough for dinner or simple enough for a quick lunch. Enjoy!
Recipe updated, originally posted August 2015. Since posting this in 2015, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
Mediterranean Zucchini Noodles Salad Recipe
- PREP
- TOTAL
Make this guilt-free zucchini noodles salad in 20 minutes! The yogurt-based dressing has just the right amount of kick from garlic, feta cheese, lemon and Sriracha hot sauce. The salad is perfect to eat straight away or made in advance.
You Will Need
Salad2 medium zucchini, spiralized or cut into noodles
1/2 medium hothouse cucumber, sliced into half moons
2 medium tomatoes, cut into small wedges
1/4 medium red onion, sliced thinly into half moons
2 1/2 ounces feta cheese, cubed (1/2 cup)
15 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
Yogurt Dressing1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 medium garlic clove, finely minced
1 tablespoon crumbed feta cheese
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon honey
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
- Prepare Salad
1Add zucchini noodles, cucumber, tomato, red onion, cubed feta cheese and olives to a large bowl then toss with two-thirds of the Greek Yogurt Dressing. Add more dressing if needed. Enjoy the salad straight away or keep refrigerated up to one day. The noodles will soften slightly over time, but will still have crunch.
2If making ahead more than a day, keep the salad and dressing separate and toss the day of.
- Make Dressing
1Stir yogurt, garlic, feta cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, Sriracha, and the honey together. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt, pepper, and/or Sriracha as needed.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Three Ways to Make Zucchini Noodles: Make noodles from zucchini using a spiralizer, a julienne vegetable peeler or with a mandoline. The spiralizer is the only one that will get that curly look, but the other two are a great options. You can also use a standard vegetable peeler and make wide noodles. If you don’t have any of these, simply cut the zucchini into half moons or cubes.
- Hothouse Cucumber: We buy hothouse or seedless cucumbers almost exclusively. They are the long, thinner-skinned variety usually sold in plastic wrap. You can use whatever cucumber variety you like, just keep in mind that you may need to peel and remove seeds.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
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I made this recipe. I don’t have a spiralizer so I made zucchini ribbons with my vegetable peeler. I had no feta, red onion or lemon zest. I used shallots and bocconcini cheese. It was excellent. thank you
I’m new to zoodling… do you need to cook them first or just stay raw?
Hi Katie, For this salad, we leave the zucchini raw. For a cooked zoodles recipe, check our zucchini pasta with parmesan.
Tried to print out the recipe but there is no way to do this online.
If you click the print button in the top right corner of the recipe it will take you to a printer friendly page.
To reduce the amount of water at the bottom of the bowl, try salting the zoodles and letting them drain in a collander for 20-30 min. You’ll be amazed at how much water will drain off them.
Great tip, Katy!
This was very good. I suggest serving it in a tall bowl. There always seems to be a lot of water at the bottom of these zoodles recipes. I make it right into the bowl, layering the ingredients and dressing as I go, and then leave it alone— don’t mix. Guests won’t experience the water at the bottom of the bowl quite so quickly.
I made this salad for our family reunion and it was the hit of the day. There are five members that are diabetics and the low sugar and carbs for this recipe was the biggest hit of all meals. I will be passing on the recipe and website to them. I also made the Easy Homemade Garlic Cheese bread and had to make more as it was also a great hit. I will be making this for my husband for many other dinners as he wanted more and it was gone. I am looking forward to trying out more of your recipes. Thanks for making my dinner the best.
Excellent. Added grilled chicken to this. Very filling. This would be great to bring to a summer potluck. Used my new spiral machine for the first time to make this. ??
This dish was fantastic. Simple to make and delicious to eat. I will definitely be making it again. Thank you!!!