Description
A delicious and healthy recipe featuring spiralized zucchini noodles topped with a spiced lean ground beef mixture and creamy peanut-tahini sauce.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- to taste salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. Greek oregano
- 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp. dried mint
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 2 tsp. olive oil (plus more as needed)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
- 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- optional thinly sliced green onions for garnish
- 6 T softened creamy peanut butter
- 2 T Tahini Sauce
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tsp. granulated Monkfruit Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp. ground garlic (pureed garlic that comes in a jar)
- 4 tsp. soy sauce (gluten-free if needed)
- 2–3 tsp. Sriracha Sauce, to taste
- 2 medium-sized zucchini squash, about 10–12 inches long
- 1 T olive oil
- 4 cloves fresh garlic
- to taste salt and fresh ground black pepper to season noodles
Instructions
- Grind together the garlic powder, salt, pepper, ground cumin, Greek oregano, dried parsley, and dried mint in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to make the spice mix.
- Heat the 2 tsp. olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the ground beef, season with the spice mixture, and cook over medium-high heat until the beef is starting to brown, breaking it apart with a turner as it cooks.
- When the beef is nearly done, push it over to the side of the pan, add a little more olive oil if needed, add the finely chopped onions, and cook until they’re softened and starting to brown.
- Stir the beef and onions together, add the lemon juice and water, simmer 5 minutes over medium heat, and then turn the heat to low and keep the beef mixture warm.
- Put the peanut butter and tahini (if using) into a glass measuring cup and microwave about 20-30 seconds, just long enough to soften it.
- Then whisk in the warm water, lemon juice, sweetener, ground garlic, soy sauce, and Sriracha Sauce (or other hot sauce) to make the peanut-tahini sauce.
- Use a Spiralizer or other gadget to make the zucchini noodles. (Be sure to cut a slit the length of the zucchini so you don’t get one long noodle!)
- Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick pan, add the garlic cloves, and cook over medium-high heat just until you smell garlic (less than one minute).
- Discard the garlic and add the zucchini noodles to the hot pan.
- Cook about 2-3 minutes or until the noodles are just starting to soften, stirring a few times.
- Season noodles with salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste.
- Stir the chopped mint and parsley into the beef mixture.
- Divide the zucchini noodles into four bowls, then top each one with one-fourth of the beef mixture and a generous amount of sauce.
- Garnish with thinly-sliced green onions if desired and serve right away.
- If you’re not going to be eating four servings at once, cook all the meat, but only cook the amount of zucchini noodles you’re going to eat at that time. Store the raw zucchini noodles, meat mixture, and sauce separately in the fridge, then cook the rest of the noodles and reheat the other ingredients when you’re ready to combine them.
Notes
- Use gluten-free soy sauce if desired.
- Adjust the level of spiciness by changing the amount of Sriracha Sauce used.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 25g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 20g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 30g
- Cholesterol: 90mg