Chicken Free Basil-Pesto Zucchini Noodle Salad
This vibrant, herb-forward salad is everything you want on a warm day — 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 blender pesto comes together in under a minute using fresh basil, parsley, garlic, and bright lemon juice, and that citrusy punch is what makes the whole dish sing. Kalamata olives and crisp English cucumber round things out with a briny, cool contrast that keeps every bite interesting. The entire recipe is built from whole, plant-based ingredients — no meat, no poultry, no hidden proteins to worry about — so it's genuinely satisfying without relying on any animal-based shortcuts. Finish it with torn basil and a drizzle of good olive oil and it looks like something you'd order at a restaurant, even though it came together in your own kitchen.
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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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