Curried Peanut Sweet Potato Noodles + Inspiralized Giveaway!
5 from 2 votes

Curried Peanut Sweet Potato Noodles -- Gluten Free and Vegan!

I first learned about zucchini “noodles” as I was getting into raw foods years ago. It seemed like such a cool idea: create a familiar recipe foundation (pasta) using something a little greener than pasta (zucchini). I purchased my first spiralizer, and it was love at first crank. It didn’t take me long to make noodles out of turnips, cucumbers, carrots, and beets, as well as a whole lot of zucchini marinara.

As you all know, I’ve moved away from raw foods significantly, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve parted ways with vegetable noodles. One of the reasons that spiralizing is so popular is that it isn’t specific to a particular eating style. It appeals to raw foodies because it’s an uncooked, vegetable-based alternative to noodles. It appeals to paleo eaters because it offers a grain free approach to pasta recipes. It’s popular with folks who are trying to eat more vegetables because it helps to make veggies feel playful and different. The spiralizer has something to offer everyone.

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Image (c) Evan Sung photography

This is the philosophy behind Ali Maffucci’s popular website and brand, Inspiralized. Ali’s only been blogging for a couple years, and I remember distinctly when her website first came to life. I was impressed with her fun, relaxed approach to making vegetable dishes for everyone, regardless of food philosophy or tastes. Ali’s own heritage is Italian, so she knows and loves pasta. Her goal is to create more nutritious, varied, and creative pasta offerings–turning to the vegetable kingdom for inspiration. She emphasizes health and wellness, but always with a playful attitude, and she’s passionate about great tasting food.

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If blogging isn’t enough to keep her busy, Ali’s also the creator of her own spiralizer model, the Inspiralizer. The product grew out of her own experimentation with various spiralizer models and her desire to create something sleek and user friendly.

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What makes this model so unique is that you can easily rotate between blades to create different shapes: you don’t have to rummage around for separate plates or blades, as is the case with other spiralizers. It has a counter clamp to keep it steady, 4 different veggie shapes, and a central coring blade that will hang on to smaller veggies, like carrots, while also supporting larger rutabagas and beets. You can read more about the Inspiralizer and its features here.

I’ve tried a lot of spiralizers in my day. There’s the Joyce Chen saladacco, which was my first spiralizer. I love the way it creates delicate, angel-hair textured zucchini noodles, but it’s not powerful enough to handle really hefty root veggies. I’ve also had the Paderno Spirooli, which I liked, but the detachable blades were definitely less convenient than the all-in-one, rotating Inspiralizer blade. The Inspiralizer is definitely my favorite to date: I appreciate the convenience and the range of shapes that it can create, as well as its durability.

Ali’s also the author of the best-selling cookbook Inspiralized, in which she shares her favorite spiralizer recipes. The subtitle of Ali’s book is “turn vegetables into healthy, creative, satisfying meals.” It’s rare that a subtitle sums up a book’s purpose so nicely. The book is really about creating whole meals with vegetable bases.

Inspiralized by Ali Maffuci

Vegan readers should be aware that it’s not a plant-based book; the majority of recipes do call for an animal protein. That said, the vegan offerings are great. They include vegan chipotle carrot mac n’ cheese, chana masala with kohlrabi, sesame almond butter kohlrabi bowl, tofu miso-tahini carrot bowl, and vegan celeriac alfredo with broccoli. A lot of other recipes, like the pesto spaghetti with heirloom grape tomatoes or carrot enchiladas, can be easily veganized.

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The best thing about Inspiralized is that it’s a perfect cookbook for mixed-diet homes. A lot of my clients dwell in families or partnerships or group houses or college suites wherein a lot of different eating styles are represented. It can be tough to create dinners that suit everyone. Inspiralized offers recipes that all start with a vegetable foundation, so that animal proteins can be easily added or subtracted. It’s a terrific book for anyone who’s trying to customize meals to be vegan or omni-friendly–and that’s not something that’s true of many cookbooks. Ali’s website also offers a bunch of vegetarian and vegan options.

Now for the super fun part: Ali has generously agreed to share one copy of Inspiralized and one free Inspiralizer to a lucky US Choosing Raw reader. And in preparation of the giveaway, she was kind enough to share the Inspiralizer with me, too. I’ve had such a fun time playing around with it, and today’s recipe is evidence of that.

Inspiralizer Sweet Potato Noodles

When I first got into spiralizing, I saw it as a means of creating raw food dishes. Now that I’m not hung up on keeping things cooked or uncooked, I can explore a greater variety of spiralized recipes–including spiralized sweet potato noodles! These can be eaten raw, but as you’ll see, lightly sautéing them makes them into a truly delicious meal, and I think it creates some of the heartiness and comfort that we associate with traditional pasta (and which zucchini pasta doesn’t really deliver).

Curried Peanut Sweet Potato Noodles -- Gluten Free and Vegan!

I can think of so many ways I’d like to try sweet potato noodles, but this is a good place to be starting. It’s a simple veggie/noodle sautee with a rich, bold, and super flavorful peanut curry sauce. I’ll warn you that the sauce is addictive, and once you whisk it together, you’ll want to use it as an all-purpose dip, soba noodle dressing, salad dressing, and bowl condiment. But it complements the sweet, tender sweet potato noodles perfectly, and it makes this easy, one-pot dish come to life.

Curried Peanut Sweet Potato Noodles -- Gluten Free and Vegan!

If you have a peanut allergy, you’re welcome to use almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, or any other nut/seed butter in place of peanut. You could also use 1/3 cup soaked nuts in place of nut butter, and use a high speed blender to create the creamy sauce.

Curried Peanut Sweet Potato Noodles -- Gluten Free and Vegan!

As for the veggies in this recipe, feel free to mix them up a bit based on what you have. I had snow peas, pepper, and onions, which worked well with the Thai-inspired flavors, but this would be a good recipe to use any vegetable combination. If you’re short on groceries, you could use a frozen vegetable medley to make it even easier.

Curried Peanut Sweet Potato Noodles -- Gluten Free and Vegan!
5 from 2 votes

Curried Peanut Sweet Potato Noodles (gluten free)

Author - Gena Hamshaw
Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup peanut butter substitute almond butter, cashew butter, tahini, or sunflower seed butter
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons red curry paste
  • 2 tablespoons low sodium tamari
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup or 1 pitted medjool date
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger (or 1 teaspoon ginger powder)
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1-2 teaspoons coconut sesame, safflower or grapeseed oil (just enough for sautéing)
  • 2 medium sized sweet potatoes spiralized
  • 1 yellow or white onion sliced thinly
  • 1 red bell pepper pith and seeds removed, chopped into strips
  • 1/2 lb about 1 1/2 cups snow peas
  • Optional: 2-4 cups cooked jasmine rice or brown basmati rice or cooked quinoa for serving
  • Optional: Chopped peanuts and green onions for topping

Instructions

  • Blend the peanut butter, water, curry paste, tamari, date, lime juice, ginger, and garlic together in a food processor or a blender until smooth.
  • Heat the oil in a wok, cast iron skillet, or large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the onion and peppers. Sautee for 5-7 minutes, or until the onions are clear. Add the sweet potato noodles and the snow peas, along with a third cup of water. Cover the skillet and let the noodles steam for about 2 minutes. Remove the cover and sautee the noodles for another 2-3 minutes, or until they're tender and the snow peas are bright green.
  • Stir in the peanut sauce and heat everything through. Serve noodles over jasmine rice, if desired, or over a bed of freshly steamed greens. A handful of chopped peanuts and green onions or cilantro makes a perfect additional topping. Leftover noodles will keep for up to three days in the fridge.

Curried Peanut Sweet Potato Noodles -- Gluten Free and Vegan!

As you can see, I suggest jasmine rice as a serving option, but a bed of freshly steamed greens would be cool here, too, since the sweet potato noodles are already nice and hearty. Or you could use a nice scoop of each.

In all, this recipe is a winner, and it’s also a perfect weeknight meal option. I specifically had it on my menu plan this week with the knowledge that I’d be whipping it up this evening, and it was as doable as I hoped it would be. My sweet potato noodles aren’t quite as firm and crisp as I’ve seen them in photos–they definitely broke apart a bit–but I loved the tender texture, and I can’t wait to enjoy the leftovers today. I’m sure the flavors will be better after marrying overnight!

Curried Peanut Sweet Potato Noodles -- Gluten Free and Vegan!

If you’re eager for more spiralizer ideas–and the device that allows you to bring them to life–then please enter my giveaway, below, to win a copy of Inspiralized and your own free Inspiralizer. US entries only, please. The giveaway will run for two weeks, and I can’t wait to pick a winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

On that note, it’s time to get to work. Happy Friday!

xo

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Categories: Recipes, Main Dishes
Method: Stovetop
Ingredients: Sweet Potato
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Vegan
Recipe Features: 30 Minute or Less, Quick & Easy

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    144 Comments
  1. Hi Gena, I’m a little “late to the table” on my blog post reading, but sure am glad I decided to read this one tonight! The spiralizer and book look great and I love the recipe–in fact, it looks so good to me that I might just try and cut matchstick pieces without a spiralizer and make it that way. What a yummy and colorful combination! Thanks xo

  2. I’m also a traditionalist and have not branched out beyond zucchini, although this post is inspiring me to do so! Broccoli sounds like a great way to use up those huge stems, and sweet potato is very intriguing!

  3. I don’t have a spiralizer yet. But sweet potato noodles sound wonderful! I would LOVE to win this machine and book!

  4. This is my first time happening upon this site and I love it. 🙂

    I don’t currently have a spiralizer, but if I did, I would make noodles out of zucchini.

  5. This looks delicious. I love making “noodles” with carrots and cucumbers to make salads. I will have to try this recipe myself. 🙂

  6. I have only tried zucchini ones (I just have a handheld grater) but they were awesome!

  7. I don’t have a spiralizer but I love shredding sweet potatoes or carrots with my food processor and using those.

  8. I’ve never made veggie noodles! Now I am dying to try, and I think I’d have to start with this recipe!

  9. I have never made veggie noodles. Maybe I’ll get lucky and win this spiralizer. Thanks for the giveaway!

  10. I have actually never spiralized. We have made long thin strips of zucchini using a veggie peeler before. I’m not a big fan of raw zucchini, though. I think I would lightly saute like you did here!

  11. I’ve got zucchini coming out of my ears but I also love making a combo of beet and carrot noodles. Yum! Super excited to try your new spiralizer!

  12. I’ve only ever tried spaghetti squash as noodles. Can’t wait to try more! Thanks for opening my eyes to this whole new world!

  13. I have never made vegetable noodles before, but I would think to start with zucchini and then try other vegetables.

  14. I’ve only done this with zucchini, so it would be good to have a reason to branch out.

  15. Zucchini because it’s so easy to spiralize and neutral tasting so it goes with any sauce!

  16. It looks absolutely delicious, I would love to try this really soon! I also love my spiralizer, in fact this reminds me of the zucchini noodles I made – tossed with a mix of tomatoes, spring onions, mint, watercress and spiked with a tart and tangy dressing.

  17. I’ve only done zucchini and cucumbers, and I don’t like zucchini all that much so I need to try sweet potato! Baked sweet potato is already one of my favorite foods so I know I’ll love it!

  18. I’ve never tried anything other than zucchini (and just with a peeler), but I’m excited to try sweet potato!

  19. I’ve never made any of them because I don’t own a spiralizer, but I’ve always been intrigued, and would love to try the sweet potato. This dish looks great!

  20. I have a cut rate spiralizer. I would love a high quality one like this to try out lots of different veggies. I’ve only tried zucchini.

  21. I love spiralizing zucchini and summer squash together…carrots are great too!

  22. Favorite vegetable to make noodles with? I don’t have one currently, as I’ve never seen vegetable noodles outside of blogger photos! I would love to try all sorts, though, particularly zucchini due to how many recipes I’ve seen involving them.

  23. I have never made vegetable noodles because I don’t have a spiralizer, but I would LOVE to try these sweet potato noodles!

  24. Zucchini noodles and turnip noodles! I have yet to try sweet potato noodles (not sure why) but this recipe sounds delicious so I am thinking now is the perfect time.

  25. I’ve never had spiraled veggies, but I’d love to try! I love using shredded root veggies as a salad, though!

  26. Carrot noodles are my go-to, so I love a recipe like this to remind me to give other orange vegetable noodles a chance. I love the idea of sweet potato noodles for a heartier dish!

  27. I loooove zucchini noodles, mainly because my garden is full of them right now 🙂

  28. I’ve never tried turning veggies into noodles, but it seems like a great way to incorporate more of them into your diet! I have a ton of zucchini right now and would love to try spiralizing them.

  29. This looks amazing! Antsy for that giveaway, my spiralizer has been a great practice tool, but I need an upgrade 🙂

  30. So far I’ve only made noodles from zucchini, but I have to do it on my mandolin as I don’t have a spiralizer. Also, I’m a huge fan of the easiest veg noodle ever — spaghetti squash!

  31. I’ve never made veggie noodles before, though I’ve wanted to. I’d love to use this to make the sweet potato noodles, as my 5yo girl LOVES sweet potatoes!

  32. My favorite veggie to spiralize is sweet potatoes! Can’t wait to check out this recipe!

  33. I bought a mandoline a few years ago for the specific purpose of making veggie noodles, but I found the process and the equipment sort of terrifying, so it hasn’t had as much use as I’d hoped. This is sad because I love zucchini and sweet potato noodles, and with autumn coming there’s going to be all those fabulous squashes and root vegetables just crying out to fulfill their noodle destinies. If I were the lucky winner of this spiralizer and its accompanying cookbook, they would both get a great deal of us win my kitchen!

  34. I can’t choose between sweet potato and zucchini! So many dishes to make with these!

  35. Sounds great! Can’t wait to try! My favorite is cucumber noodles. So fun in salads!

  36. I have made tons of zoodles but have never thought about sweet potatoes! what a great idea!

  37. I currently have just a plan vegetti. I love using it for zucchini, which is my personal favorite for a middle substitute. I would love to try the sprializer to get use of many more vegetables, especially this winter. This recipe looks so good and tasty!!!

  38. I always do zucchini but am pretty burned out, so I’d like to do sweet potatoes, but my spiralizer broke, so I’d love to win the one and the cookbook!

  39. last night i made sweet potatoes «sushi» with a very similar dipping sauce and it was delicious. I will definitely try the sweet potatoes as noodles.

  40. LOVE zucchini noodles and can’t wait for my kids to try and enjoy. So excited about the new breakfast ideas for my non-grain family.

  41. I love spiralizing noodles, but my arm gives out after a while, so I’m all for new-fangled tools to make life easier ;). Looks so yum!

  42. Thanks Gena for the great recipe!

    I have been using a mandoline to get sorrrtta veggie noodles, but I’m excited to try out a true Spiralizer!

  43. I just bought Inspiralized, but it hasn’t arrived yet. I would love another copy to share with my daughter-in-law!

  44. I can’t choose a favorite, but I’ll narrow it down to three. I’ve had fabulous luck with carrots, zukes, and sweet potato noodles! I’d love Ali’s cookbook and spiralizer!

  45. So far, my favorite is zucchini, but I have experimented much. I am looking forward to trying this sweet potato recipe!!

  46. I’ve never made veggie noodles because I’ve been waiting to get a spiralizer…. so this is perfect!

  47. Zucchini noodles are my go-to but would love to explore other vegetable noodle options!

  48. Wow, I had no idea there were so many possibilities with veggie noodles! Can’t wait to try the sweet potato with peanut sauce!

  49. I love sweet potato noodles! (But now that fall is right around the corner, I’m very excited to try other seasonal things.)