I have seen zucchini, cucumbers and sweet potatoes done with the spiralizer.. and of course, potatoes (for french fries not pasta). The julienne peeler can be used with the same and and plenty of other vegetables that you just want cut into very thin strips for salads or as a fancy way to serve veggies.

For zucchini noodles, I like to add shredded carrots, perhaps some shredded purple cabbage and Thai peanut sauce, done a bit on the thicker side to account for the liquid that will weep from the zoodles. Bean sprouts could be a good addition or chopped peanuts for some crunch.

Love it!

Tish, that sounds good. Similar to this recipe I stuck in my to-try folder this morning.

Thai Peanut Zucchini Noodles

I'm so glad I finally opened this thread because when I read the subject line I thought you were asking about some kind of hot iron that would give you Shirley Temple curls.

Somehow Funkyart I just couldn't imagine an imaginary you with spiral curls cascading down your back.

Ha! No curls here-- darn it! Sorry for the confusion but hopefully you found some new recipes to try. The board has come through with a few interesting options -- as usual!

I love using thinly sliced cabbage (just use an ordinary knife) in place of pasta for my meatballs. I adore cabbage.

Linelle, have you tried cabbage steaks? Surprisingly good:

http://www.everydaymaven.com/2012/garlic-rubbed-roasted-cabbage-steaks/

Writersblock, actually YES!!! That very recipe. Delicious. By the time I'd flipped mine and they were well carmelized they began to fall apart and weren't too steak-like in appearance, but it all gets mooshed up anyway, right?

I love all cruciferous veggies, but cabbage is my true love.

Funky (and others), a blog I read has some zoodle recipes today. If you will go to emilyaclark.com and read her Saturday 6 entry, she mentions wanting a spiralizer - there are several recipes listed there.

Thanks Tina! It never crossed my mind to roast 'em. I will now.

Thanks, Tina.. yeah, the blogosphere is really blowing up with "zoodle" recipes. They also recommend the paderno spiralizer.. but as, always, I like to hear from the personal experience from the great cooks here!

I am going to try cucumber noodles next.. i have dinner plans tonight and tomorrow but Monday is mine to play!

Writersblock-- do you cook the noodles or use them raw? I've done both. I think I would prefer slightly warmed (vs cooked) with the thicker noodles.

Sorry, I missed this before. It depends on what I'm making, but usually I just toss them in a hot pan for a minute or so to warm them up. When my own squash (usually Zephyr) is in season, that doesn't need any cooking. You can eat those like an apple when they're right off the plant.

Following...I just bought the Veggetti at Target yesterday ($15) and used it last night to make zucchini noodles for meatless meatballs with spaghetti sauce. It worked quite well (easy to use and easy to clean), however I think I want an instrument that has more size options because this one makes such small strands. I don't see it working well for curly fries, for instance. (The Veggetti I got was the small handheld model with 2 size options.)

I love zoodles with homemade spaghetti sauce. I actually prefer them to pasta now. I use the julienne slicer as I'm fairly certain a spiralizer would just end up being another unused kitchen gadget for me.

I borrowed by sister's Paderno to see if it's something I'll use/want. Zucchini noodles for dinner tonight!

So glad to hear, Lyban! I think that's the one I am looking at also!

BirchPoint.. I believe my current julienne cutter is a Rikon and it also makes very small strands. I think I'd like to cut thicker noodles so they'll stand up better to sauces and proteins.

Paderno is by far the highest rated on Amazon but I always get paralyzed by the negative reviews....

Does anyone have experience with the handhelds vs. the countertop models? I am not sure how much I'll use this (best intentions, of course!) and I am put off by the amount of space/pieces to store and complexity of the tabletop ones -- I bought some kind of slicer thing at a demo in walmart a few years ago, but promptly forgot how and when to use it and now it sits in my cabinet taking up space. For me, simpler is better so I am tempted to go with a handheld, but wanted to get opinions from people who have used both.

I had the same question, lkplatow.. for the same reasons. Just this afternoon, I got an email with a link to this blog post that includes a video for choosing a spiralizer. She didn't demo the handheld but she said she had a hard time getting it to work and that she doesn't recommend it. She did walk through how to use the Mueller and the Paderno I am sure there are other videos doing similar product demos but this one further convinced me that I need to replace my julienne cutter/peeler. The noodles are a great size and it's so easy!

Also the link shows the wide range of veggies you can use it on-- and has links to a few recipes.

I have been using the handheld Veggetti that I bought at Target for $15 for about a week now and I think it is a great kitchen gadget if you don't feel committed to the space hogging Paderno. It has produced lovely zoodles for me (that is, I have only used it for zucchini and yellow squash). I would like a Paderno, though, for doing potatoes primarily. I'm getting ready to go on a 2 week vacation and I plan to take the Veggetti with me!

I've avoided getting one of the bigger ones ---- (kitchen needs MORE sorting and decluttering NOW to find a place to keep it). But with all the comments here --- mine arrives tomorrow. I have one like the vegetti - but it doesn't really work for me. And so I've been using a knife or a regular vegetable peeler, but that is messy enough I rarely do it. Gonna be trying the 3-blade Paderno (some review comments pushed me to that one vs the 4 blade).

Thank you all, again.

ok, finally used the spiralizer for zucchini a few nights ago---it worked very nicely, but I ended up sautéing it because I wasn't sure how I/we would like it raw with a chicken spinach dish. it was good, but way too salty (the directions said to salt it to get the zucchini to release it's moisture- I didn't use much, but still was too much for us!) so, for those who make zucchini noodles, do you leave them raw or sauté them or what??

I tried them raw and liked them-- but when I made my dish, I "warmed" them in the pan along with the light sauce-- I'd guess it was a minute or less. I think that helps the flavors meld with the noodles. I did not salt them-- nor do I salt zucchini moons when I add them to a marinara or tomato sauce. The only time I salt zucchini is when I cut thin "planks" and use them in place of lasagna noodles. I like the zucchini juices mixing with the tomato sauce but in lasagna it makes it all too wet.

Interested to see what others say.

I saute them in a little bit of olive oil for just a couple minutes. No need to add salt beforehand.

I saute them briefly sprinkled with Lawry's seasoning salt.

My Paderno arrived today. I spiral sliced zucchini and carrots. I decided to top them with my mock pesto (no oil or cheese). We actually tried them raw and heated. I preferred the heated dish. The machine itself is easy to use and making the zoodles only took a few minutes. The carrot did seem to stain the white plastic. I put that blade in the dishwasher and it came out ok. Still, it seems plastic similar to the bowl on a food processor would be a better choice. It is made in China. I think this will get plenty of use in my kitchen.

I used my sister's Paderno to make zucchini noodles. It was amusing. It leaves behind a beautiful, ridged end piece, I even took a picture of it because it looked so cool.

One recipe suggested putting the noodles on a towel lined sheet and heating them in an oven to get rid of excess moisture. Ain't nobody got time for that nonsense on a hot summer evening. I did let them sit on a paper towel lined pan for an hour (?) before I used them. I pan sautéed them with olive oil, then tossed with homemade pesto.

It was tasty and looked pretty. But. But it's a bulky piece of equipment to store. How often would I make veggie noodles? We don't eat much pasta so it's not as though it would be worth getting the equipment out just for subbing the zucchini for regular pasta.

I don't have a vision to how else I'd use the spiralized veggies. While I still have the loaner equipment, I'd like to try different things. What else will the rest of you be making?

The storage and convenience of a stowed appliance is my only hesitation. I use my immersion blender often... and the kitchenaid when called for.. pasta maker? waffle iron? panini maker? not so much. I guess that's a combo of convenience and lifestyle choices too.. i just don't eat pasta or waffles all that much.

I am not really looking at zoodles (or swoodles or coodles or beedles) as a pasta replacement. I see it as another interesting way to serve veggies-- which I am always looking for. Sure, I will use it where I'd have previously used pasta sometimes.. pesto, chicken/eggplant parm, sesame noodles, pad thai.. but I will build sauces and meal plans around them being veggies. I'll also use them in salads and as a lightly sauted side dish. I love the texture of the cuts. Beets, cucumbers, carrots, zucchini. , sweet potatoes all bring different dishes to mind.

I can usually take or leave fries but I saw a photo of shoestring sweet potato fries that looked great.I'd put them on burgers or steak for company.

BUT.. will it be worth it to me to pull out, assemble, clean and put away? I think so.. but I am not 100% convinced. I guess that was a long way of not answering your question.

My first dish will be cucumber and carrot spirals with a sesame peanut sauce - perfect for the hot weather. I could use my julienne slicer for it but this is a dish where I want the thicker noodles. I literally can smell this dish when I think about getting the spiralizer! Also looking forward to beets -- but I have been craving them in any form.

For me, I think just continuing to use my chef knife on veggies makes more sense. Easier to store, use, and clean.

yes the recipe book that came with ours seemed to suggest serving the zucchini raw (hence the salting to remove moisture?) which I didn't find that appealing with a hot dish... our gadget is pretty small and doesn't require assembly, but I'm not sure how much I will use it- overall, I think I prefer pasta and husb prefers gf pasta. but, it was a neat way to serve zucchini. altho I used a fairly narrow zucchini, I did find when I got to the middle of it where more seeds are, the spiralizer was alittle more difficult to use...

I will try sweet potatoes next and see how it does with a firmer, more consistent texture.

And now I hang my head in shame.. i replaced my (broken) $300 ceramic chef's knife because, "it's so thin and so much better for cutting vegetables thin". Sigh. I guess i am still on the justification fence.

Oh, sorry, didn't mean to harsh your mellow by mentioning knives.

You should get one if you have the space. It will make very pretty dishes. Just think of all those colorful veggies, prepared in fancy and fun shapes. You're very creative and will appreciate the beauty of the presentation.

There. Is that helping push you off the fence? Treat yourself with the dog sitting money. Then treat your sister to lovely food prepared with the spiralizer. Win-win.

I have been eating a totally plant based diet this summer so the spiralizer adds a nice twist for me. When it comes to gadgets, I probably have too many. I use my food processor almost daily. I confess I love spending a winter afternoon making real pasta with my pasta maker. When my oldest son moved out, he requested the waffle iron and pannini maker.

haha Hhireno! You are both the devil AND the angel on my shoulders! Yes, the presentation is so much nicer.. and I do think I'd prefer the thicker noodles.. but space IS an issue. I submitted my next amazon order earlier this morning-- after moving the spiralizer to the "save for later" list (uh.. is anyone else's 6 pages long??). I suspect I will get it soon.. but for now, I'll squirrel away all the ideas for the wonderful dishes I can make. I think I will save it as a reward once I organize my pantry/appliance storage area.

Mimou, I used to make fresh pasta quite a lot.. like making bread, it was very relaxing to me. One day, I had the bright idea to gather all my nieces and nephews to make pasta for the entire family-- 18 of us. The oldest of the kids was 9 or 8 at the time.. the youngest was 2 or 3. What a MESS!! I haven't made pasta since-- and the oldest is about to turn 25!

I've been spiralizing for quite some time now and I'm addicted! I've owned three different machines and the one that is the best by far is sold on insprialized.com. It makes beautiful noodles and it grips the veggie really well. It also clamps onto the counter firmly. There are also a ton of recipes on this blog, definitely worth a look.

As for watery noodles, what I do is place the noodles on a paper towel lined cookie sheet and place in the oven at 200F for about 30 minutes. I find that they don't release as much liquid this way and it doesn't dilute the sauce as much.

thanks for the oven tip... I will definitely try the oven next time!!

Funkyart - my 'saved' cart items on Amazon is about 12 pages. (It does include a lot of music recommendations which needs time to evaluate / decide.)

lepages - I just looked at the Spiralizer you mentioned, and it looks a lot like the Padermo one, which arrived yesterday. Will be working it out later today. (I did create some storage space yesterday, but it is a bit larger than I *hoped*!)

Love the shared experience on prepping the zuke spirals.

I checked the inspiralizer site and was interested in the chicken tikka masala over butternut squash noodles. Oddly, so many of the pictures make me feel motion sickness, as though I'm looking at them upside down! Can someone else go look at that and tell me if you get the same feeling? It's the weirdest thing. I'm afraid to check another recipe.

hhireno I see what you mean about some of the pictures - they seem to be done from a slightly *off* overhead view. It doesn't bother me but I don't get motions sickness - if you're sensitive to those visual cues I can see how this would be difficult to look at!!

OMG.. overhead photos often give me that reaction, Hhireno! It's become the IN thing to do across the blogs and it makes me batty. It is crazy how many things can give me that motion sickness feeling or vertigo.. I won't bore you with the list but wanted to let you know that you aren't alone!

Thank you ladies! I am prone to motion sickness and, at least this time, not crazy if others notice it also. Honestly, it makes me hesitant to view that site.

Note to funky: I'll take rustic wooden tables, white plates, linen napkins, and artful crumbs over this style of photo. I'd rather yawn than do something else that vertigo can cause.

Another devil on your shoulder note to funky: think how cool your blog pictures will look with an occasional spiralized vegetable, as long as it's not taken from a vertigo inducing angle.

OMG.. overhead photos often give me that reaction, Hhireno! It's become the IN thing to do across the blogs and it makes me batty.

I haven't noticed it on blogs, but have seen it recently on some of the Cooking forum photos. It's a little disconcerting.

I think it might be the combo of an overhead shot and a wide angle lens but I am not sure.It's really pretty ridic.. not only do many of the bloggers use the shots-- they also have photos of themselves taking them.. on ladders, chairs and countertops-- balancing over the dish. So not going to happen here (speaking of vertigo!)

Hhireno LOL.. the blog has a VERY strict budget! More strict than my home budget! ;)

This looks good! Might be on the menu next week.

Zoodle Pasta Pie

I made something like that last week. No eggs or cheese for me but lots of onions and tomatoes!

I ordered a zucchini slicer from Pampered Chef, and it worked really well. It looks more like a mandoline, but it worked great. Both DH and I enjoyed the zoodles.

It's small, so it doesn't take up a lot of space.

Pampered Chef veggie strip maker