Fresh low carb noodles made out of broccoli stalks! Paired with an Asian-inspired sesame-ginger dressing, it makes a wonderful healthy salad.
This ridiculously easy and fresh recipe is brought to you by your local spiralizer. Egads, I love that thing. It really is a fun gadget to use and now everybody is turning everything into noodles. Got some zucchini? Spiralize it! Got some rutabaga? Spiralize it! Don’t know what to do with all that cucumber, or those turnips or radishes? Yup, you got it. Spiralize those suckers too. In fact, turing vegetables into noodles has become so popular, I am shocked that my auto-correct has yet to recognize the word “spiralize” as a proper verb. It keeps underlining it in red as I type, admonishing me in its own not-so-subtle way that my grammar and spelling leave something to be desired. Well I can guarantee you that within a few years, “spiralize” will be officially recognized by Mirriam-Webster as new word in the English language. This is a trend that isn’t going anywhere any time soon!
A few weeks ago, I saw a recipe on Pinterest for spiral broccoli noodles and I was absolutely struck by the brilliance of it. The florets of the broccoli won’t spiralize very well (oh shut up, auto-correct, it IS a real word!). They’d simply spew little bits of green stuff all over your kitchen counter. But the stalks make excellent noodles and I love me some broccoli stems. In fact, sometimes I like the stalks more than the florets and I find myself snacking on them raw as I cut up broccoli for roasting. They have a lighter, more neutral flavour and they are so crunchy and delicious. I can hardly believe I used to throw the stems away! Or that I used to just get the broccoli crowns at the store, so I wasn’t paying for the added “useless” stems. Funny how times change. I hate food waste so once I found out how much I liked broccoli stems, I stared chopping them up along with the rest of the broccoli.
And now that I know I can make noodles out of them, I’m overjoyed. I hang on to the stalks when I cook broccoli now and keep them in the fridge until I have enough to make some noodles. Three or four is perfect. Most of the recipes I’ve seen use the broccoli noodles as a base for marinara sauce, which is all very well. But broccoli is wonderful with asian flavours and the idea of making a light noodle salad really appealed to me. I thought I would have to steam the noodles to get the right texture but I found I liked them just as they were, fresh and slightly crunchy. It went so well with the ginger and sesame flavours, and I had a hard time keeping enough of this to serve with dinner that evening. I could have eaten the whole batch. It also made great leftovers the next day. Broccoli stalk noodles are a total low carb win.
If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can still make this salad. Simply use a carrot peeler to shave thin lengths of broccoli stems. But I do recommend getting one (I use the Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer) because they are inexpensive and a great way to jazz up your low carb recipes.
You also have to check out these Sesame Marinated Cucumber Noodles from Perry’s Plate. Also, have you ever wanted to make your own kimchi? This kimchi recipe from Foodie with Family looks wonderful!
- 4 large broccoli stems
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
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Wash broccoli stems and trim ends. Cut into noodles using a spiral vegetable cutter (alternatively, you could shave them using a carrot peeler). Place noodles in a large mixing bowl.
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In a small bowl, combine sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos or soy sauce, ginger, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
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Drizzle over broccoli noodles and toss to combine. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Serves 4. Each serving has 10.04 g of carbs and 3.62 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 6.42 g. Food energy: 143kcal Total fat: 10.22g Calories from fat: 91 Cholesterol: -- Carbohydrate: 10.04g Total dietary fiber: 3.62g Protein: 4.84g Sodium: 322mg
Briana Thomas (briana-thomas.com) says
Seriously? Seriously awesome! Definitely sharing this.
Nicole E says
This looks really tasty, thanks for the recipe! I’ve never thrown away the broccoli stems, I usually just chop it up and include it with the rest of the broccoli.
Also, just wanted to say I use my mandoline with the ‘french fry’ blade to make noodles and it works really well.
Carolyn says
Great tip on the mandolin!
Wenchypoo says
For shorter noodles, try the food processor–put the stalks in the chute SIDEWAYS, and run them through with the French fry blade. The noodles will be shorter and thicker, and can be boiled for softness. This method also works for Oyster mushroom noodles, and any other veggie you can spiralize.
Carolyn says
Cool idea!
Malainie says
This looks so good! I make a cold broccoli salad, steaming the broccoli in the microwave, then tossing it with toasted sesame oil and salt. Served very cold.
On a different subject, what program do you use to get your nutrional values, Carolyn?
Carolyn says
I use MacGourmet. I used to use Mastercook but they don’t make it for Macs. Unfortunately, MacGourmet has some issues and sometimes I can tell that the carb count is wrong so i have to go and investigate why.
asdf says
Removing the thick, fibrous outer peel of the broccoli ( or for that matter, cauliflower core) stem produces a tenderer broccoli strips for use as noodles, chiffonade for slaw, slicing cooking along with the florets, or pureeing. I blanch or cook both broccoli and its educated sibling cauliflower, because I am not particularly keen on having them raw.
Wenchypoo says
It also makes for less gas.
lori says
Thanks for sharing this! I’ve seen all the recipes for noodles made from zucchini, but I never would have thought of broccoli stems. I’m not a fan of zucchini and the stem had always been my favorite part of the broccoli. I definitely have to try this and may just try these “noodles” with my favorite pasta sauce.
Jen {Bakerette.com} says
Ok, YUM! This dish looks so tasty! I’m going to have to give it a go!
Dianne says
Would you know of anything besides sesame oil I could use? My husband has a deadly allergy to anything sesame. You column is great. I always enjoy your recipes and blog, thanks.
Carolyn says
You could try avocado oil, it’s very neutral in flavour.
Linda says
I cannot believe I did not think of this. I love broccoli stems. They are my favorite part of the plant. I have been peeling and eating them raw for years. This looks amazing. Thank you!
Anne o says
Yum! Just made this and eating at nearly 8pm. Imagine perfect summer dish ice cold out of the fridge. You nailed the dressing Carolyn! perfect combo of Asian spices.
Debbie T says
I have torn rotator cuffs in both shoulders so a lot of the methods for making noodles out of veggies is not within my pain tolerance. I did find bagged “Broccoli Slaw” in the produce section of my local grocery store recently so I think I’ll try that with the awesome Asian sauce! Thank you!!
Carolyn says
That’s too bad, that has to be hard! I am sure broccoli slaw would work too.
Valerie says
This was delicious! I made this for lunch today with the noodles cooked. I love the flavors! I never thought to spiralize the stems before but now I will be doing it much more often!
Tracie says
Whenever I eat the stems I always peel them first. Do you need to peel them to spiralize? For mid-cooking snacks – love that! – they really are a lot of work to chew if you don’t remove the thick outer layer.
Carolyn says
I didn’t bother and they were fine.
Christiana says
Yum! I love broccoli stems too. One wee question – 2 cloves of minced garlic shown in ingredients list, but not mentioned again – should it be there?
Carolyn says
Whoops! Yes, should be in the dressing.
Lisa says
This was amazing–my favorite thing that’s come out of my spiralizer so far! Didn’t have sesame oil, so subbed in tahini–rich and delicious!