Brazil Nut Free Basil-Pesto Zucchini Noodle Salad
This vibrant, herb-forward salad is everything you want in a warm-weather dish — light, fresh, and packed with bold Mediterranean flavor. Spiralized zucchini stands in for pasta beautifully, especially once you salt and squeeze out the excess moisture so the noodles stay pleasantly firm rather than watery. The pesto here is made entirely from scratch in a blender using fresh basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and good olive oil — no store-bought sauce with mystery additives or shared-facility concerns to worry about. Kalamata olives and crisp cucumber round out the salad with briny, cool contrast that makes every bite interesting. Because every single ingredient is whole and straightforward, this is one of those recipes where you know exactly what's going into the bowl. A finishing drizzle of olive oil and a handful of torn basil leaves take it from weeknight easy to genuinely impressive. It comes together quickly and tastes even better than it looks.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the zucchini noodles
- 4 medium zucchini (about 2 lb total)
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt, divided
For the pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
- ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 tbsp lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
For the salad
- ½ cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
- 1 cup thinly sliced english cucumber
For serving
- 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, torn, for serving (optional)
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Spiralize the zucchini into long noodles using a spiralizer, or cut into thin ribbons with a julienne peeler. Place the noodles in a colander set over the sink, toss with 1/2 tsp of the sea salt, and let stand for 10 minutes until the zucchini releases some of its moisture.
- 2
While the zucchini drains, combine the basil leaves, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 1/4 tsp sea salt in a food processor or blender. Pulse 6–8 times until the herbs are roughly chopped.
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