Sweet Potato Noodles

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 30 mins

Soaking: 60 mins

Total: 100 mins

Servings: 4 servings

Yield: 1 saucepan

Creamy, spiraled sweet potato noodles are so good, you won’t even notice that they’re vegetables. While other vegetable «noodles» can become soggy and don’t hold up well to a thick, rich sauce, sweet potato noodles have an excellent texture that allows them to keep their shape. They also lend a subtle sweet flavor to a savory sauce, like this rich, velvety cashew cream sauce. This recipe is topped with crispy bacon, but you can easily omit it to make the dish completely vegetarian.

The creamy sauce and hearty noodles are an excellent base for a variety of mix-ins and toppings. Add more herbs like chopped basil or parsley or change up the vegetables to include sautéed kale. Try adding mushrooms with the onions for even more texture and flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cashews

• 3/4 cup water, plus more for soaking cashews

• 4 medium sweet potatoes

• 5 slices bacon, diced

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 medium onion, sliced

• 1 teaspoon salt, divided

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided

• 1 tablespoon vegetable bouillon

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 1/2 cups frozen spinach

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

• 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, garnish

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients.

   

2. Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with water. Soak for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.

   

3. Wash, scrub, and peel the sweet potatoes.

   

4. Cut the ends off both sides of each sweet potato and discard. Place a potato onto the spikes of the spiral vegetable slicer.

   

5. Rotate the spiral vegetable slicer using even pressure to form long noodles. Set the noodles aside.

   

6. Heat a large, shallow saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the diced bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until the bacon is crisped. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon, leaving the drippings behind. Reserve the crisped bacon for serving.

   

7. Add the olive oil and onion to the pan. Sprinkle with about half of the salt and pepper, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and slightly caramelized, about 20 minutes.

   

8. Meanwhile, prepare the cashew sauce. Drain the cashews and rinse. Add to a blender along with the 3/4 cup water, vegetable bouillon, garlic, and the remaining salt and pepper. Blend on high speed until completely smooth.

   

9. Add the spinach to the pan with the caramelized onion, stirring, until the spinach is heated through.

   

10. Add the sweet potato noodles and cook, tossing and stirring, for about 5 minutes or until the noodles are softened. 

    

11. Add the cashew cream and toss until the noodles are coated. Top with the crispy bacon and chopped parsley.

    

12. Garnish with the Parmesan cheese and enjoy.

    Tips

    Get a jump on dinner by making the noodles ahead of time in bulk. They freeze well and can easily be tossed into a dish, no thawing required.

    If you don't have a tool to spiralize the potatoes, many supermarkets carry spiralized vegetables, including sweet potatoes, in the produce section.