Strawberry Zucchini Noodles with Balsamic Cashew Cream

These whole30 compliant strawberry zucchini noodles are tossed with balsamic cashew cream! They’re a healthy no-cook dinner that’s paleo and vegan friendly, under 300 calories and only 6 ingredients!

Well hellloooo there.

Are you feeling a little bit tired and bleary-eyed after ALL THE PARTYIN’ you did yesterday?

I figured as much.

Which is why we’re keepin’ it super-simple (but SUPER YUMMY) today. Like S-I-X ingredients and Z-E-R-O cooking kinda EZ.

I got your post-July-4^th-tired-person-no-working goals COVERED yo’!

BUT FIRST. I’m going to actually talk about what I did in my real life for a second. We ALWAYS talk about breakfast, main dishes, dessert and other things that make our bellies happy on FFF. BUT, I actually DO life things too.

Except not on July 4^th. I literally did nothing. Except sit at home alone, work and then go to bed at 8:30.

#WivesOfHusbandsWhoWorkGraveyardShiftsOnHolidaysProblems

Also, see “longest hashtag EVER TYPED.”

Anyway. LAST week I had a super fun experience! I went to Santa Ana California for 3 days and got to attend an awesome food photography workshop put on my Todd and Diane Porter. If you’re not into food photography, you probably don’t know them. BUT, they are world famous and SO AMAZING.

They have the most INSANE studio with 2 HUGE rooms just for props. Like a whole wall of JUST CUTTING BOARDS.

Basically. It was heaven for me.

To be honest with you, I did not learn A LOT. BUT, I had so much fun hanging out with some blogger friends and just shooting food for the joy of it. It was awesome not having to worry about posting it to the blog, or being under any time constraints.

Okay, I actually am going to post to blog, because here are some of my favorite photos:

I typically take more “dark and moody” photos because 1. I like them and 2. I feel like I am not good at fun, white, bright photos. So, I challenged myself to do most of those during the workshop. What do you think? Do you like them? THOUGHTS IN COMMENTS PLEASE.

NOW we can talk about 6 ingredients of pure tangy-sweet creamy-cashew bliss that you will want to sit on your tongue every single day that you are too lazy to cook, and only have 20 minutes to make DINNER HAPPEN.

So, like, every day? Pree much.

Here’s the balsamic cashew zoodles low down:  Spiralize zucchini. Blend cashews. Mix. Toss in juicy-fresh strawberries.

Boom. You nailed it. How can you even MESS that kind of instructional simplicity up?

You cannot. That is how.

Using a combo of almond milk and balsamic vinegar in the cashew cream sauce makes the texture CRAZY OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD kinda amazing. Think luscious, velvety-smooooooth, SUPER THICK and CREAMY.

But, most of all, I want you to imagine with me the moment where tender-crisp swirls of fresh zucchini noodles mish-mash with the current tangy-savory-sweet flavor profile situation that we have jiving up inside of your super-simple-no-cook-summery bowl of (whole30! Paleo! Vegan) love food.

AND THEN…

Image when THAT enters the vicinity of YOUR FACE. !!!

If your face works anything like mine, you can already feel the food-happy-dance it’s having…WITHOUT EVEN ACTUALLY EATING ANY REAL-PERSON FOOD.

Like. Whoa.

The fact that I have to even internet-tell you that you’re missing out on somethin’ AMAZIN if you don’t put 6 ingredients together in your real-person-not-internet-related life concerns me.

Top Tips

• I buy my cashews pre-roasted. If you can’t find these, then simply bake them in a 400 degree oven for 5-7 minutes until very golden brown. Do this before soaking them overnight and do not skip this step as toasting the cashews adds a lot of flavor. You can also roast them in a pan for a few minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently.
• If you want to make a smaller serving of this recipe, I found it really hard to make a half batch of sauce…UNLESS you have a Blendec and have a twister jar. This smaller jars works great if you’re a smaller family. BUT, this also makes great leftovers the next day!

Spoiler alert: You’re going to be eating summer-fresh-simple good food all.week.long.

Recipe

Strawberry Zucchini Noodles with Balsamic Cashew Cream

Print

Rate

Serves: 4 servings

Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Total: 20 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 6 Large zucchini spiralized with the 3mm blade, or 8 medium sized
• Sea salt
• 1 Cup Roasted cashews covered in water and soaked overnight *(read notes)
• 1/4 Cup Good-quality balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 Cup Unsweetened almond milk
• 1 1/2 Cups Strawberries thinly sliced.
• 1/3 Cup Fresh basil thinly sliced

Instructions

• Place the spiralized zucchini noodles into a large colander set over a large bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Let them sit, tossing occasionally, for 15-20 minutes so that they can release some moisture.
• While the zoodles sit, drain the cashews and toss them in a high-powered blender. Add in the balsamic vinegar and almond milk.
• Set your blender to the “chop” setting for 1 minute, and then up to the “puree” setting until the sauce is thick and creamy. This takes a good 4-6 minutes and you’ll need to scrape down the sides a very times. Season to taste with sea salt. **
• Drain the water from the zoodles and transfer to a paper towel. Press out as much excess moisture as you can and then transfer to a large bowl.
• Pour the sauce into the zoodles and toss to evenly coat. Gently, stir in the strawberries and basil.
• DEVOUR.

Tips & Notes:

*I buy my cashews pre-roasted. If you can’t find these, then simply bake them in a 400 degree oven for 5-7 minutes until very golden brown. Do this before soaking them overnight and do not skip this step as toasting the cashews adds a lot of flavor. You can also roast them in a pan for a few minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently.
**If you want to make a smaller serving of this recipe, I found it really hard to make a half batch of sauce…UNLESS you have a Blendec and have a twister jar. This smaller jars works great if you’re a smaller family. BUT, this also makes great leftovers the next day!

Nutrition Disclaimer

Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.

Author: FoodFaithFitness

Course:Main Course

Cuisine:American

Share your creationsTag @foodfaithfit and hashtag it #foodfaithfitness so I can see what you made!

Rate It

FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:

• Inspiralizer
• Colander
• Blendtec
• Mixing bowls

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: SMARTPOINTS: 8 POINTS+: 8. OLD POINTS: 6

IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAG @FOODFAITHFIT AND #FOODFAITHFITNESS ON INSTAGRAM! I LOVE SEEING YOUR RECIPE RECREATIONS!

Want more easy, berry-licious vegan meals?

Spiralized Cucumber Salad Recipe with Chia Seed Strawberry Vinaigrette

Superfood Quinoa Salad Recipe with Blueberries and Cacao Nibs

Cucumber Quinoa Salad Recipe with Blackberries

STAY IN DA KNOW ABOUT BEHIND-THE-SCENES INFO GOING ON AT FFF BY KEEPING IN TOUCH ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND PINTEREST!

This post may contain affiliate links, but I only recommend products that I actually use and <3. Thanks for supporting FFF!