Zucchini with ground beef is a classic combination, but these Ground Beef Peanut Sauce Zucchini Noodles are a fun idea! And this is a think-outside-the-box idea for zucchini noodles with peanut sauce.

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Close-up photo for Middle Eastern Ground Beef Zoodles with Peanut-Tahini Sauce

It won’t be long now and zucchini will be abundant from the garden or Farmers Market. That’s when I think about making zucchini noodles for an easy meal. And zucchini noodles (also called Zoodles) are much more mainstream now than they were when I came up with this recipe for Ground Beef Peanut Sauce Zucchini Noodles.

The recipe was inspired by having an abundance of zucchini, and memories of the Middle Eastern Beef and Hummus Pita Rounds that were so tasty. The spicy beef mixture in this recipe is very similar to that one, and it also has onions and plenty of chopped fresh herbs. If you’re looking for something to make with zucchini and ground beef and you like middle eastern flavors, I hope you’ll give this a try!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

Can you make Ground Beef Peanut Sauce Zucchini Noodles without Tahini?

In this recipe I love the way the slightly-spicy peanut and tahini sauce perks up the flavors of the beef, and also goes great with the zucchini noodles. I love Tahini Sauce (affiliate link), a middle eastern sesame paste, but no worries if you don’t have any; just make the sauce with all peanut butter and it will still be great.

How low in carbs are the Ground Beef Peanut Sauce Zucchini Noodles?

This tasty recipe for zucchini noodles with ground beef and peanut sauce has about 11 net carbs per serving.

What’s the best way to make zucchini noodles?

There are a lot of different gadgets that can be used to make zoodles or zucchini noodles, but I’m a big fan of the Spiralizer (affiliate link). If you don’t want to invest in a spiralizer, check my post on Three Ways to Make Noodles from Zucchini and Other Vegetables. No matter which method you use, be sure to cut a lengthwise slit halfway through the zucchini before you start making noodles, otherwise you’ll get one long noodle! Many stores also sell zucchini noodles already made if you want it to be even easier!

How do you cook zucchini noodles?

Zucchini noodles are good raw, but for this recipe and many others I like them just slightly cooked. Here are the steps I use for cooking them:

  1. Heat a few tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat in the largest frying pan you have.
  2. Add several garlic cloves and cook just until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. (This is called “seasoning the oil” in Chinese cooking, but the technique works great here too.)
  3. Be careful not to let the garlic get brown, remove it when you start to smell garlic.
  4. Add zucchini noodles to the pan and stir-fry over high heat just until the noodles start to soften, about 2 minutes.

Collage one for Middle Eastern Ground Beef Zoodles with Peanut-Tahini Sauce

Preparing the beef and herbs for Ground Beef Peanut Sauce Zucchini Noodles:

(The next two sections are only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. Grind together garlic powder, salt, pepper, ground cumin, greek oregano (affiliate link), dried parsley, and dried mint to make the spice mixture.
  2. Brown the beef in a non-stick frying pan, seasoning with the spice mixture.
  3. When beef is nearly cooked through, push it to the side, add a tiny bit more olive oil if needed, and brown the finely chopped onion.
  4. Then stir together the spicy beef and onions, add the water and lemon juice, simmer about 5 minutes, and then keep warm over low heat while you prepare the zoodles and sauce.
  5. Whisk together warmed peanut butter, tahini (affiliate link) (or more peanut butter), warm water, lemon juice, sweetener, ground garlic puree, soy sauce, and Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link) to taste to make the sauce.
  6. Chop up a generous amount of fresh mint and parsley.

Collage 2 for Middle Eastern Ground Beef Zoodles with Peanut-Tahini Sauce

Making zucchini noodles and assembling Ground Beef Peanut Sauce Zucchini Noodles:

  1. Be sure to cut a slit lengthwise, going halfway through the zucchini! If you don’t do that you’ll get one long noodle!
  2. Use a Spiralizer or one of my other Three Methods to make Zucchini Noodles to make the zoodles. I prefer the thicker noodle setting on the Spiralizer for this recipe.
  3. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and saute the garlic cloves very briefly to season the oil. Remove garlic and discard.
  4. Add noodles and cook over high heat for 2-3 minutes, or just until they’re barely starting to soften. Don’t overcook!
  5. Stir the chopped mint and parsley into the warm ground beef mixture.
  6. To serve, divide noodles into four bowls; top each with one-fourth of the spicy beef mixture, drizzle over a generous amount of sauce, and sprinkle with sliced green onions if desired.
  7. Serve right away and enjoy, YUM!

Ground Beef Zucchini Noodles in two bowls

More Tasty Low-Carb Zucchini Noodles:

Check out my collection of Keto Recipes for Zucchini Noodles for more tasty dinners with zucchini noodles.

Close-up photo for Middle Eastern Ground Beef Zoodles with Peanut-Tahini Sauce
Yield: 4 servings

Ground Beef Peanut Sauce Zucchini Noodles

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ground Beef Peanut Sauce Zucchini Noodles are a tasty summer dish that's loaded with delicious middle eastern flavors! And this is a think-outside-the-box way to use zucchini with ground beef.

Ingredients

Spice Mix Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. Greek oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
  • 1/2 tsp. dried mint

Beef Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. lean ground beef
  • 2 tsp. olive oil (plus more as needed)
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice (see notes)
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
  • thinly sliced green onions for garnish, optional

Peanut-Tahini Sauce Ingredients:

  • 6 T softened creamy peanut butter (see notes)
  • 2 T Tahini Sauce (see notes)
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tsp. granulated Monkfruit Sweetener (see notes)
  • 1/2 tsp. ground garlic (pureed garlic that comes in a jar)
  • 4 tsp. soy sauce (gluten-free if needed)
  • 2-3 tsp. Sriracha Sauce, to taste, or use another hot sauce of your choice

Zucchini Noodle Ingredients:

  • 2 medium-sized zucchini squash, about 10-12 inches long
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 4 cloves fresh garlic
  • salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste to season noodles

Instructions

  1. Grind together the garlic powder, salt, pepper, ground cumin, Greek oregano, dried parsley, and dried mint in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to make the spice mix.
  2. Heat the 2 tsp. olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the ground beef, season with the spice mixture, and cook over medium-high heat until the beef is starting to brown, breaking it apart with a turner as it cooks.
  3. When the beef is nearly done, push it over to the side of the pan, add a little more olive oil if needed, add the finely chopped onions, and cook until they’re softened and starting to brown.
  4. Stir the beef and onions together, add the lemon juice and water, simmer 5 minutes over medium heat, and then turn the heat to low and keep the beef mixture warm.
  5. Put the peanut butter and tahini (if using) into a glass measuring cup and microwave about 20-30 seconds, just long enough to soften it.
  6. Then whisk in the warm water, lemon juice, sweetener of your choice, ground garlic, soy sauce, and  Sriracha Sauce (or other hot sauce) to make the peanut-tahini sauce.
  7. Use a Spiralizer (affiliate link) or other gadget to make the zucchini noodles. (You can use the small or medium sized noodle for this, whichever you prefer.)
  8. Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick pan, add the garlic cloves, and cook over medium-high heat just until you smell garlic (less than one minute).
  9. Discard the garlic and add the zucchini noodles to the hot pan.
  10. Cook about 2-3 minutes or until the noodles are just starting to soften, stirring a few times.
  11. Season noodles with salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste.
  12. Stir the chopped mint and parsley into the beef mixture.
  13. Divide the zucchini noodles into four bowls, then top each one with one-fourth of the beef mixture and a generous amount of sauce.
  14. Garnish with thinly-sliced green onions if desired and serve right away.
  15. If you’re not going to be eating four servings of this at once, I would cook all the meat, but only cook the amount of zucchini noodles you’re going to eat at that time. Store the raw zucchini noodles, meat mixture, and sauce separately in the fridge, then cook the rest of the noodles and reheat the other ingredients when you’re ready to combine them.

Notes

I use my fresh-frozen lemon juice for this recipe. If you're making this for a carb-conscious diet plan, use natural peanut butter without added sugar.

You can buy Tahini Sauce or Sriracha Sauce at Amazon.com if your store doesn't have it (affiliate link). You can also make this with all peanut butter if you don't want to buy tahini.

I would use Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) for this recipe, but use the sweetener you prefer.

This recipe inspired by the same Hummus with Lahmeh from Mazza Restaurant that  inspired Middle Eastern Beef and Hummus Pita Rounds.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 535Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 9.1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21.8gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 587mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 3.9gSugar: 5.3gProtein: 41g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Ground Beef Peanut Sauce Zucchini Noodles in two serving bowls with sauce on the side.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If you use natural peanut butter and an approved sweetener, everything in the Ground Beef Peanut Sauce Zucchini Noodles should be approved for low-carb eating plans, and they’re also great for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Spiralizer Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for zucchini noodles with ground beef and peanut sauce was first posted in 2016. It was last updated with more information in 2024.

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