If you miss pesto pasta on a low carb diet, you have to try these low carb pesto turnip noodles! Using fresh basil this easy pesto sauce is naturally low carb and the angel hair turnip noodles taste just like real pasta! Great for a decadent vegetarian or meatless dinner. Just 4.4g net carbs and 15 minutes to make.
You might also like this low carb pesto tilapia dinner!
I have so much basil in my garden that I naturally had to make some pesto. And since I didn’t want to use regular pasta I made these low carb pesto turnip noodles.
Now I have made some amazing recipes with veggie noodles that I made from beets, zucchini, carrots, butternut squash, asparagus and cabbage. But OMG I love this turnip noodles dish.
Turnips when cooked get a little starchy like regular pasta and unlike zucchini noodles. And when they are cut into a thin angel hair pasta, it’s an substitution for noodles.
The easy pesto sauce is so full of savory flavor and can be used itself on vegetables, chicken, shrimp or seafood. And did I mention this delicious meal only takes 15 minutes? It’s become one of my favorite meals and it’s pure low carb comfort food.
Turnip benefits and calories.
Turnips are root vegetables that are low in calories, fat and carbs but high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. 1 turnip has 34 cals / 0.4g fat / 7g carbs / 2g fiber / 1g protein = 5g net carbs.
These veggie noodles are made from turnips which when cooked taste a bit like a potato. Yes they can have a bit of a bitter taste but with the right sauce and by picking a fresh, smaller turnip they taste delicious. Check out this article about the health benefits of turnips to learn more.
Simple recipe ingredients I used.
Below you can the simple ingredients I used which were fresh small turnips, fresh basil, raw walnuts, fresh garlic cloves, parmesan cheese and extra virgin olive oil.
You can use spinach in place of the basil or a mixture of the two. You can also use pine nuts instead of the walnuts and romano cheese instead of parmesan if you wish.
It’s important to have fresh, small or medium turnips because if they are older and larger they tend to be bitter and fibrous. The ones I bought below were pretty fresh, firm and about 2 ½ inches in diameter.
How to make pesto turnip noodles.
- Add the walnuts to a dry skillet and toast for a minute or two on medium heat until fragrant. Let cool.
- Meanwhile make your turnip noodles by cleaning and peeling the turnips and then using your favorite vegetable slicer to make the noodles.
- In a food processor add the cooled walnuts and garlic and process until they are chopped very finely. Then add in the basil and process until it too is finely chopped or minced.
- Lastly add the parmesan cheese and olive oil and process once more to finish the pesto sauce.
- Get out a large skillet and heat to medium. Add a couple tablespoons of the pesto to the pan and then add the turnip noodles and the rest of the pesto sauce. Mix well. Let cook for about 5-6 minutes until the turnips soften just a little and that’s it.
- You can season with salt and black pepper if you wish but I don’t think it needs it as the parmesan cheese adds enough salt. (Please scroll down to view and print the recipe card.
It’s important to make a very thin noodle when making the vegetable noodles. It will mimic real pasta the best and have less of a bitter taste.
As you can see above how great this Saladacco vegetable spiral slicer makes angel hair vegetable noodles. I also have this Paderno spiralizer that I like for thicker pasta shapes but I believe it has a vermicelli blade which would work too.
Other low carb turnip recipes to try.
I have a few low carb turnip recipes for you on the blog. These cheesy scalloped turnips are AWESOME! For a lighter dish, these garlic & lemon noodles or these rosemary & garlic noodles which are simple but flavorful.
Well I hope you enjoy these tasty turnip noodles with basil pesto sauce. Not only do they make a nutritious meal but they are also rich, delicious and taste just like angel hair pasta to me.
You could even add shrimp or chicken to this recipe to make it more of a meal or leave it as is for a low carb side dish. I ate it as a vegetarian dinner however.
The nutritional information for 1 serving is 474 calories
48.4g fat / 6.4g carbs / 2g fiber / 6.1g protein = 4.4g net carbs
Low Carb Pesto Turnip Noodles
If you love angel hair pasta with pesto you will love these low carb pesto turnip noodles. Takes less than 15 minutes to make and is a deliciously gluten free, low carb dinner.
Ingredients
- 4 cups turnip noodles, cleaned and peeled
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
- ¼ cup raw walnuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Add raw walnuts to a dry pan and lightly toast over medium low heat until fragrant. This should only take a few minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool.
- Meanwhile make your turnip noodles with any spiralizer you want. I highly recommend making and thin of noodles as you can - like angel hair pasta.
- Next place garlic into food processor and cooled walnuts. Process until finely chopped. Then add in the basil leaves and chop until finely minced. Lastly add the cheese and olive oil and process until it makes an oily pesto sauce.
- Heat up a little of the pesto in a non stick pan and then add the turnip noodles and all of the pesto sauce. Mix well and cook for 5-6 minutes until the noodles soften just a bit.
- Take off the stove and serve. You can season with salt and black pepper if you wish but I don't think it needs it as the parmesan cheese adds enough salt.
Notes
The nutritional information for 1 serving is 474 calories
48.4g fat / 6.4g carbs / 2g fiber / 6.1g protein = 4.4g net carbs
Note you can substitute spinach for th basil or do a combination of both. You can also substitute pine nuts for the walnuts and romano cheese for the parmesan cheese.
Also if you want to add more vegetables you can try to steam some broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, sweet peppers, etc and mix in with the pesto.
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