Zucchini noodles with meat sauce
A rich, simmered beef marinara over tender zucchini noodles, all the coziness of spaghetti night in a lighter bowl.
- 40 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $5.33 a serving
- 380 calories
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Most of the time here is hands-off, so you can sit down while it cooks.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb lean ground beef (90/10)
- 1 jar marinara sauce, 24 oz
- 3 packages zucchini noodles, 12 oz each
- ¼ cup grated parmesan (optional)
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, torn (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Each serving has about 380 calories, 29 g protein, 25 g carbs and 19 g fat, and costs about $5.33 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No lean ground beef? Ground beef works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion and the garlic.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, add the onion, and cook 4 minutes, now and then, until .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min
Add the beef and garlic, turn the heat to medium-high, and break the beef up with a spoon. Cook 6 to 7 minutes, until with no pink left.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 6 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Let it sit between stirs. Brown bits taste far better than gray crumbles.Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
in the salt, Italian seasoning, pepper flakes if you like, and the marinara, and .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium-high heat
to low and 15 minutes, now and then, until thick.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Add the zucchini noodles and them in the sauce for 2 minutes, just until warm and barely soft.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Dolly’s tip: They release a little water as they warm, which is why the sauce simmers thick first.Serve in bowls with parmesan and basil on top if you like.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
