But zucchini noodles—or zoodles—are one substitute I can really get behind. Long, thin strips of squash really do remind you of pasta, especially when they’re topped with marinara sauce or sautéed like chow mein.
This recipe is another great example of zucchini noodles’ star power. In a restaurant, you’d typically find ramen or rice noodles swimming in a spicy beef bone broth. Here, crunchy zucchini noodles mimic the texture—without any added carbs or grains.
On their own, the noodles wouldn’t taste like much other than squash. That’s where the spicy bone broth comes in. The savory beef stock only gets better when simmered with ginger, lemongrass, cilantro, red chili, and coconut aminos. You can even bust out the slow cooker for this part—the longer the ingredients simmer, the more the flavors deepen.
Not a fan of super spicy dishes? No worries—just remove the chili peppers halfway through the cooking time.
The incredible flavor isn’t the only reason to start cooking with bone broth. Unlike other store-bought bouillon or regular stock, bone broth retains all the vitamins, minerals, and collagen from the beef and bones. A Paleo superfood in it’s own right, it can help heal joints, promote healthy skin and hair, and even soothe digestive distress.
The other benefit of this soup is that it offers infinite possibilities for customization. When you quickly fry the zucchini noodles in the wok, toss in any other vegetables you have on hand. I like mushrooms and tomatoes, but everything from green beans to bok choy works. If you’re craving some protein, stir-fried chicken or beef also go nicely.
Plus, this recipe is a great excuse to get some use out of your wok—something that all too often collects dust in my kitchen. If you don’t have one on hand, any large frying pan will do. So get cooking—a satisfying soup awaits!
Photos: Paul Delmont
Ingredients
- For the broth base
- 3 (17.6-ounce) boxes beef bone broth
- 1 onion or 3 shallots, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 large red chili pepper, sliced
- 1 (2-inch) piece ginger, chopped
- 1 bunch cilantro, stems chopped, leaves reserved for garnish
- 3 stalks lemongrass, crushed
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- Juice of 3 limes
- 1 bunch scallions, sliced
- For the zucchini noodles
- 2 to 3 zucchini
- 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
Directions
- Open bone broth, pour into large pot or slow cooker, fill empty package with water, and pour into pot as well.
- Add onion, ginger, chili, ginger, cilantro stems, and lemongrass. Bring to a boil over medium heat, turn heat down and let simmer, or, if using a slow cooker, turn it on high. Let flavors infuse for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 hours.
- Meanwhile, use a spiralizer or vegetable peeler to create long, thin zucchini noodles. Set aside.
- Heat coconut oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Place zucchini noodles and garlic in hot wok and quickly sauté, tossing the noodles in the hot oil, about 1 minute. (If you don’t have a wok, a frying pan will do.)
- Remove from heat and divide noodles between bowls.
- Strain the broth through a sieve and discard the solids. Stir in coconut aminos, honey, and lime juice. Check for seasoning.
Thank you Jess for all of your awesome recipes. I started the Paleo diet just after the new year. I had no idea what I was doing, but your recipes are simple, easy to follow, and have such great taste. I’m 42 and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis last year. Medication helped but I wasn’t turning the corner. I googled auto immune/anti-inflammatory diets and came across Paleo, everything changed within 2 weeks of being on this diet. So thankful I came across your website!
The paleo diet is excellent for those struggling with an autoimmune condition, because it decreases inflammation, and those dealing with ulcerative colitis and other GI ailments. Glad you are enjoying the recipes and find them easy to follow!
I had been thinking of a beef noodle soup because I’m into this zucchini noodles thing but I was going to use Daikon radish noodles because they have a stronger strength and wouldn’t need the frying plus they have a sort of horseradish type taste that would go well with beef soup. The large, over-sized Korean Daikon kind are difficult to noodlize but the Japanese 4″ uniform root size are perfect. Personally I’ve never found my zucchini noodles to be very limp but they aren’t as crisp as fried.
Daikon radish noodles sound like a flavorful and hearty add to the spicy bone broth. There are so many ways to tailor a bone broth and still get all the amazing benefits from the soup.
Thanks for your recipes. Keep them coming….
Glad you are enjoying the recipes!
In the first instruction it says to pour in a package of water after the bone broth. Does this mean one 17.6 ounce water add in? There are 3 packages , Around 48 ounces of bone broth in the recipe already I believe.
Also to reduce the cost of the bone broth I was going to use one Fire and kettle Bone Broth, with some organic beef stock and mix in some cooked grassfed ground beef as a modification. The bone broth is the same price as the beef these days. Any thoughts on what else I might have to adjust to add the beef.?
Thanks I was looking for a bone broth based soup and this does look delicious.