This recipe for gluten-free sweet potato noodles topped with shrimp, cilantro pesto and peas is a clean eating weeknight meal ready in under 45 minutes!

Years ago, when I first started seeing spiralizer vegetable recipes online, I ordered up a spiralizer and gave it a try. If there was such a thing as negative percent success, that’s pretty much what happened to me. I made the mistake of buying this tiny little spiralizer. It was handheld and didn’t work at all. I told my mom about it and it turns out she had also bought that same one I had years before. What a funny coincidence! She referred to the little hand held model as “totally bogus!”

As time went by, I kept seeing more and more mouthwatering photos all over my friends blogs, and I really wanted to try it out again. Then my mom told me that she had a finally gotten a new sprializer, and she had loved it. She told me that her new one worked better.

Before jumping in again, I went onto facebook and asked my facebook friends to recommend a model that they liked. There are basically two good options according to them. One is the one made by the inspiralized lady. Some of my blogging friends swear by that one. And the other is the Paderno. According to my Facebook friends, you have to get the 3 blade Paderno, not the 4 blade. So I ordered one up.

Holy smokes does that thing really work. I can’t believe it! {Thank you Facebook friends.} Well that just opened up a whole world of possibilities all of a sudden. The counter-top versions of the spiralizer is so night and day different from the hand held totally bogus model.

It suctions down to the counter top, and then you attach your veggie to the spikes. Add some pressure and start cranking. It is actually a little addictive. You can get carried away just blasting through vegetables. And they pile up fast!

You end up with these strange perfectly cylindrical cores which I still haven’t figured out what to do with.

My favorite thing so far has been to make sweet potato noodles with the spiralizer. They cook up in a little oil, just until they are tender, not falling apart. They are a healthy whole-food (and gluten-free alternative) to wheat or grain noodles and yet so satisfying.

This summer when zucchini is in season I will surely become a huge fan of making noodles from them. And cucumbers and yellow squash… Oh boy!

These sweet potato noodles are tossed with cilantro pesto and topped with shrimp, peas and more cilantro pesto. The combination is so crazy flavorful and delicious. My daughters and I chowed down on this combo. They gave it two thumbs up and told me it was okay if I wanted to tag this recipe “kid friendly.”

LINK LOVE

Coconut Curry with Sweet Potato Noodles {vegan} from Taylor

Antipasto “Pasta” Salad from Lexi {And her recommendation about the spiralizer attachment for the Kitchen Aid stand mixer.}

Sweet Potato Carbonara with Kale from EatingWell.

QUESTIONS

Do you ever throw out questions to your facebook friends for research/ advice about what to buy?

Have you tried spiralizer recipes yet?

Did you ever try the bogus hand held model?

Would your kids call this kid friendly?

What do YOU do with that strange core/plug thing that is left after you spiralize something?

Sweet Potato Noodles with Shrimp and Cilantro Pesto

• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings: 3 cups noodles, 3 cups shrimp mixture 1x

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Description

Grain free noodles made from spiralized sweet potatoes, cooked until just tender, tossed with cilantro pesto and then topped with shrimp and peas. This makes a healthy gluten-free weeknight meal in under 45 minutes.

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Ingredients

• 1 large clove garlic
• 2 loosley packed cups cilantro leaves and stems, washed and spun dry
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• ¼ cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan
• ½ teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 pound thawed, peeled and deveined large shrimp (26–35 ct.)
• 1 10-ounce bag frozen sweet peas, thawed
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into noodles with a spiralizer with 3 mm blade
• Fresh lime wedges

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Instructions

1. With motor running in food processor, drop garlic through the feed tube and allow to process until minced. Open lid and add cilantro. Cover and turn processor on. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil through feed tube and allow to process until the mixture becomes paste like, scraping sides as necessary. Add pepitas, Parmesan and ¼ teaspoon salt and process again, scraping sides as necessary, until smooth and pesto-like. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add shrimp and cook, turning once until bright pink and cooked through. Add peas and pepper and stir to combine. Cook, stirring often until the peas are just heated through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in ½ of the pesto. Cover to keep warm.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat in a large straight sided skillet or wide Dutch oven. Add sweet potato noodles, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, gently stirring occasionally. Add 2 tablespoons water to prevent from over browning as it cooks. Cook until wilted and al-dente, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the remaining cilantro pesto and gently stir to combine. Divide noodles among four bowls. Spoon the shrimp mixture over the noodles, dividing evenly and serve with lime wedges.

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Notes

To Make Ahead: Pesto can be made up to 1 day in advance. Store in a sealed container in refrigerater. Bring to room temperature before using.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
• Calories: 495
• Sugar: 15 g
• Sodium: 836 mg
• Fat: 18 g
• Saturated Fat: 2 g
• Carbohydrates: 53 g
• Fiber: 10 g
• Protein: 33 g