Butternut Squash Noodles topped with Tofu Ricotta
Vegetable noodles galore! Vegetable pasta has become all the rage so give it a try with this Butternut Squash Noodle and Tofu Ricotta dish.
As a Registered Dietitian, I am ALL about it. More fun ways to enjoy vegetables, count me in. The trend started strong with the “zoodle” aka. zucchini noodle, but now you can pretty much spiralize anything.
Fitting all my kitchen appliances and gadgets in my tiny apartment kitchen is quite a task. I categorize my kitchen appliances and gadgets as essential, useful, and unique.
Essential meaning used daily - kept in a convenient place in my kitchen
Useful meaning used monthly - secondary to essentials
Unique - can be stored a remote location used occasionally
My spiralizer has been bumped up from the useful category to essential, since I use it so often. It’s not a problem since the model I have is pretty slim appliance to store in your kitchen.
There are many models of spiralizers out there.
The Veggetti:
“The handheld” - it’s like a pencil sharpener
Pros: It has only two sides for thinner or thicker noodles. It is handheld, which makes it small and easy to store. Lower price.
Cons: It takes a little more effort to spiralize your vegetables. Since it only has one shape, really only thinner and slightly softer vegetables like zucchini really are the only ones that work well.
The Paderno or Inspiralizer:
The table top, hand crank style.
Pros: Can handle sturdier vegetables like carrots, butternut squash, cabbage, etc. Comes with various blades for a variety of noodle shapes. Moderate price.
Cons: It is a little more bulky and will need more space for storage, but still a pretty compact appliance.
The Veggie Bullet:
While I haven’t tried this appliance myself, the promising reviews sound too good to pass up.
Pro: It can spiralize, shred, slice & blend a wide variety of produce, cheeses, and meats. Now there will be no excuses that vegetables take too much time to prep!
Cons: Bulkier, more expensive.
Don’t have a spiralizer at home? No worries! Grocery stores are spiralizing everything for you! My last trip to Whole Foods, they had a whole wall full of spiralized vegetables. You name it; they had it – spiralized sweet potato, zucchini, summer squash, beets, carrots, plus more!
I opted for butternut squash noodles for this recipe, because I thought it would be the perfect pair for my tofu ricotta, balancing sweet with savory. Tofu is one of those versatile foods since it’s like a blank canvas and takes on any flavors it is paired with. By pulsing extra firm tofu in a food processor it creates the same consistency of ricotta cheese.
Adding tofu incorporates a plant-based source of protein to the dish, perfect for a protein-packed meatless meal. You can easily use just tofu, but if tofu ricotta is new to you, try mixing it half and half, tofu and ricotta.
Enjoy!
Vegetable pasta has become all the rage! Try this Butternut Squash Noodle & Tofu Ricotta via @RD_kitchen Tweet this
Butternut Squash Noodles topped with Tofu Ricotta
Yield
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
- 8 ounces extra firm tofu, water pressed out
- ½ lemon juiced and zested
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil divided
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 cups baby spinach
Directions
-
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss cherry tomatoes with ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place cherry tomatoes on baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, until cherry tomatoes begin to burst.
In a food processor, pulse tofu until it resembles ricotta consistency. Remove tofu to a bowl and fold in lemon juice, lemon zest, and Italian seasonings. -
Slice butternut squash in half. Remove seeds and peel. Spiralize squash into noodles (or buy squash already pre-spiralized).
-
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes.
-
Sauté for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
-
Add the butternut squash and gently toss to coat in the olive oil. Cover with lid and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-
Remove lid and add baby spinach and roasted tomatoes. Toss until spinach has wilted.
-
Transfer noodles to serving dishes and top with tofu ricotta.
| Calories | 188 |
| Carbohydrates | 21.8g |
| Fiber | 4.8g |
| Sugar | 4.5g |
| Fat | 7.8g |
| Protein | 6.8g |
| Sodium | 42mg |
RDelicious Kitchen
