The spiralizer is one of my favorite kitchen tools. It’s the fastest, easiest and most fun way to get more veggies into your diet. Today I’m sharing my favorite vegetables to spiralize along with veggie spiralizer tips and recipes.

Creating spiralized vegetable noodles is not only fun, it’s a great way to boost the nutrient density of any meal.

Spiralizer Beginner’s Guide

If you just bought your first spiralizer, congratulations. You’ve purchased one of my absolute favorite kitchen tools. And if you’re reading this post because you’re wondering if a spiralizer is worth it (meaning, should you really splurge on yet another kitchen tool) – well, the quick answer is yes. But I hope the video and information below will inspire you.

Most of you are well aware of my love for zucchini noodles. It’s the number one vegetable I spiralize. In fact, the most popular post on Downshiftology is all about making and cooking zucchini noodles. Yep, I’m smitten with zoodles.

My Favorite Spiralizer Recipes & Vegetables

Spiralized Zucchini

Zucchini is the go-to vegetable when it comes to spiralizing and that’s for good reason – it’s soft and easy to spiralize with a neutral flavor that adapts well to many traditional pasta dishes. I leave the peel on for added nutrition (after giving it a good wash), but don’t forget to include yellow squash in your zoodle repetoire as well.

Recipes:

• Zucchini Noodles with Chicken, Spinach and Parmesan
• Zucchini Noodle Caprese
• Carrot and Zucchini Pasta with Avocado Cucumber Sauce
• Zucchini Noodle Spaghetti Bolognese
• Zucchini Pasta with Lemon Garlic Shrimp
• Mexican Chicken Zucchini Noodles

Spiralized Cucumber

With cucumber I use the large spiral slicing blade (for added crunch) or the straight blade to create beautiful ribbons of cucumber. These ribbons are quite the show stopper and in just a few seconds you’ll have plenty of cucumber for your favorite salad.

Recipe:

• Easy Cucumber Salad

Spiralized Bell Pepper

As a Cali girl some of my favorite recipes are Mexican-inspired and there’s no easier way to slice up a sweet bell pepper for fajitas or tacos. Use the straight blade to easily and quickly slice an entire bell pepper. Just remove the white pith and seeds when you’re done.

Recipe:

• Steak Fajitas with Cassava Flour Tortillas

Spiralized Parsnip

Parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, celeriac and other root vegetables are a breeze to spiralize. The fine or medium spiral slicing blades are your best options for creating vegetable noodles that look strikingly similar to pasta. Just toss these in a pan for a quick sauté for the perfect al dente veggie noodle.

Recipe:

• Parsnip Noodle Chicken Alfredo

Spiralized Carrot

Spiralized carrots are a great alternative to shredding or slicing for salads or stir fry and let’s be honest, they look way fancier. Grab the largest carrots you can find for easier spiralizing and use a fine or medium spiral slicing blade.

Recipe:

• Grilled Fish Tacos with Citrus Carrot Slaw
• Carrot and Zucchini Pasta with Avocado Cucumber Sauce

Spiralized Sweet Potato

If you want to whip up fast food-style curly fries at home (in a much healthier incarnation) then you’re in luck. Just peel the sweet potato and spiralize away. Of course, you can easily spiralize white potatoes as well. I opt for the largest spiral slicing blade when making my curly sweet potato fries.

Recipe:

• Curly Sweet Potato Fries with Garlic Aioli
• Spiralized Sweet Potato Egg Nests
• Sweet Potato Noodles, Cabbage and Lentil Salad

Spiralized Red Onion

Red onion may just be my favorite vegetable to spiralize – want to know why? No streaming tears! My eyes are hyper-sensitive to onions and I’ve never been able to cut one the traditional way and walk away without crying. But with the spiralizer I can slice an entire onion and never shed a tear because it’s so darn quick. Love that.

Recipes: Any salad you want to top with onions. Also perfect for pickled red onions or caramelized onions.

Spiralized Cabbage

Whether you use green or red cabbage, you can slice an entire cabbage for coleslaw or braised cabbage in mere seconds. If your cabbage is extra-large you may need to cut it in half, but if it’s average-size just pop on the straight blade and twirl away.

Recipes:

• Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro, Lime, Bacon Slaw
• Sweet Potato Noodles, Cabbage and Lentil Salad

Spiralized Beet

My love for beets has increased as I’ve gotten older and I’m now extremely fond of these nutrient-packed veggies. Spiralize either golden or red beets for a vibrant addition to any salad. Pro tip: use gloves when handling beets so you don’t stain your hands.

Recipe: Spiralized Beet Salad (coming soon)

Spiralized Apple

To finish off this list I’m swapping a veggie for a fruit because why not end with something sweet – apples. Use any of the spiral blades for curly apple noodles, perfect for salads, or use the straight blade to quickly slice your apple for apple chips.

Recipes:

• Apple Chips
• Braised Red Cabbage with Apples (coming soon)

Vegetable Spiralizer Tips

• Play around with the different blades. You may like your slices thicker or thinner depending on the vegetable and recipe.
• Orange and red/purple colored veggies are packed with nutrients and get their color from beta carotene and anthocyanin – but these colors can also stain your tool. Remember to immediately wash your spiralizer (and cutting board) after slicing brightly colored veggies.
• When it comes to carrots, parsnips and other “narrow” vegetables, grab the largest you can find. The wider the better.
• While not on this list (because it’s the middle of summer and I couldn’t find one), my favorite winter vegetable to spiralize is butternut squash.
• Many spiralized veggies make for great healthy meal prep. Slice zucchini, carrot, onion and beets on the weekend and store in a ziploc bag or glass storage container in the fridge for various recipes throughout the week.
• Again, I use the Paderno Spiralizer (the one you see above), but if you have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, you may love the KitchenAid Spiralizer. Watch my video on zucchini noodles where I compare and contrast five different spiralizers.
• And if you’re ready for the next evolution in spiralizing, make sure to check out the new Vegetable Sheet Cutter. Your veggie recipe repertoire will grow exponentially.

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What’s your favorite vegetable to spiralize? Let me know in the comments below!

Originally published July 2017 and updated December 2019.