Spring Zoodles

Would you like to know more about how to make zucchini noodles? FDHD recommends 3 tools for making veggie noodles, in this case, zoodles—or zucchini noodles. Two of the tools are cheap-as-chips, but all three zoodle or spiral slicers are low-tech and can fit almost everyone’s budget. Click on each tab to learn more about selecting the right tool for the right job—making zoodling a snap!

Oodles and oodles of spring-tastic noodles perfectly Fast Day (FD) friendly and naturally high in vitamins, phytonutrients, minerals and fiber and zestfully low in calories and high-glycemic carbohydrates make zoodles a great FD pasta sub!

Precision Kitchenware, Ultra Sharp Dual Julienne Peeler/Vegetable Peeler

A julienne peeler is the easiest and most economical way to zoodle your zucchini or create zucchini noodles. Julienne peelers are available in most kitchen stores or you can find them online at out trusted partner, Amazon.com. There are many types of julienne peelers on the market, but they are not created equal and price will somewhat determine the quality of the blade. The blade must be sharp and sturdy to withstand stress.

We recommend the Precision Kitchenware, Ultra Sharp Dual Julienne Peeler/Vegetable Peeler. The julienne peeler is sturdy, has a blade guard and gets a high score of 4 ½ out of 5 stars.

A julienne peeler is versatile, working well on firm-fleshed veggies such as squashes (both summer and winter squash), cucumbers, daikon and other large radishes, root vegetables of all kinds such as sweet potato, rutabaga turnips, parsnips and carrots, and some fruit such as apples and pears.

Norpro Carrot Curler

Another low-tech tool is the Norpro Carrot Curler. You can read about FDHD’s review here. We give it two hearty thumbs up! The Norpro Carrot Curler makes broad, graceful curls of any veggie with a small enough diameter to fit within its bevel slicer (or sharpener). It works just like a pencil sharpener. Turn the veg or the peeler and create long, graceful curls.

Carrots, zucchinis, quarters of larger veggies like beets and daikon, turn out beautiful noodles. It’s also super economical and available in many kitchen stores, but you’ll probably have better luck buying online. Amazon.com also carries it.

Benriner Cook Helper Slicer

A zoodler, or spiral slicer, is a machine that uses a handle crank to power a twirling turnstile of veggies against a stationary specialty blade. It makes beautiful, thin noodles—rather like angel hair or linguine. We prefer the Benriner Cook Helper Slicer, even though it only has 2 blade selections and has a smaller vegetable clearance.

We prefer it because it securely holds the veggies on the mount, vertically, and creates great noodles. It’s also super-easy to clean and disassemble, taking less cabinet space. But it is more expensive. Available in cooking stores or online at Amazon.com, this is one gadget we’re ga-ga over!

The Benriner spiral slicer works great on zucchini, yellow squash, some root veggies, beets, carrots and cucumbers. FDHD almost always uses the larger spiral slice blade, because the smaller blade makes noodles too fine to hold shape. We appreciate the sturdy plastics that make the stand and like the stainless blades that are very sharp!