Stir-Fry Zucchini Noodles
Feb 25, 2026
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Stir fry zucchini noodles, or zoodles, are spiralized zucchini tossed with onions, teriyaki sauce, and toasted sesame seeds for a delicious, low-carb version of takeout stir-fry! Make this easy dinner in 20 minutes with only 5 ingredients.
I’m spiralizing zucchini for a low-carb stir fry that tastes just as delicious as my original teriyaki noodles! These stir-fry zucchini noodles with onions are loaded with rich teriyaki flavor. It’s the type of stir fry recipe I love to throw in a pan on a weeknight, since it’s so easy to make in 20 minutes or less.
Zoodles, or zucchini noodles, are an easy alternative to traditional egg noodles in pasta recipes and stir-fries. As you’ll see in my zoodles carbonara and pesto zucchini noodles, the texture here is pretty spot on.
Why The Best Low-Carb Stir-Fry Uses Zucchini Noodles
- Veggie-packed. Replacing pasta with zucchini noodles is a great way to work extra vegetables into a meal.
- Soak up the flavor. Like regular noodles or ramen, zoodles take on the flavor of any ingredients you cook with them. Drenched in teriyaki sauce with sesame seeds, this zucchini stir-fry is so delicious, you won’t even miss the pasta.
- Versatile. Enjoy a bowl of stir-fry zucchini noodles as is, or bulk up the meal by adding a protein like chicken, shrimp, or beef. Serve your zoodles warm over jasmine rice, or eat them cold the next day.
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make This Recipe
- Zucchini – Smaller zucchinis have fewer seeds and a more concentrated flavor, so that’s what I use here. Any size will work, though.
- Onions – I spiralize the onions, too. Due to the spiralizer, this is the first time I worked with onions and didn’t tear up! I recommend yellow onions or white onions as they’re good for sautéeing.
- Soy Sauce – Low-sodium is best. Swap soy sauce for tamari if needed.
- Teriyaki Sauce – This is an umami-packed, sweet-tangy Japanese cooking sauce. Choose your favorite store-bought teriyaki sauce, or you can use the homemade teriyaki sauce from my teriyaki chicken recipe.
- Sesame Seeds – You can use raw or toasted sesame seeds. But them pre-toasted or you can toast the seeds lightly in a dry skillet.
How to Easily Spiralize Zucchini
To make zucchini noodles, you will need a spiralizer, which can be found in stores like Walmart or Target and online. It’s a tool that turns zucchini into long, thin spaghetti-like strands.
- Prep. Wash the zucchini and trim off the ends.
- Spiralize. Pass the zucchini through the spiralizer to create long, spaghetti-like noodles. Refer to the instructions for your specific model as needed.
- Pat the zucchini dry. Use paper towels to absorb the excess moisture from the spiralized zucchini.
If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can use a vegetable peeler to slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin, pappardelle-style strips instead, as I do for my zucchini salad.
Optional Add-Ins
- Add more vegetables, like snap peas, chopped broccoli, or cauliflower, to this stir-fry. You can sautée them alongside the onions.
- Stir in fresh herbs, such as cilantro, basil, or green onions.
- Make it spicy by adding crushed chili flakes or a drizzle of sriracha.
- Add nuts, including cashews or peanuts, for crunch.
What to Serve With This Stir-Fry
- Salad and veggies. For a light meal, I like to serve these stir-fry zucchini noodles with a Japanese kani salad, cucumber salad, or baby bok choy on the side.
- Rice. You can also serve this stir-fry over a bed of white rice or kimchi fried rice. Or, try stuffing the rice into maki rolls or cucumber sushi rolls for a fun twist.
- Protein. I’ll sometimes top the stir-fry zoodles with shrimp, chicken katsu, or miso salmon. You can also thinly slice beef to make a steak stir-fry with zucchini noodles, or keep it vegetarian with tofu.
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Stir-Fry Zucchini Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 yellow onions, spiralized
- 4 small zucchini, spiralized, patted dry with paper towels
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium teriyaki sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cook the onions. Heat oil in a wok set over medium heat. Add the spiralized onions and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until translucent and tender.
- Add zucchini. Stir in the zucchini and continue to cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Add soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, and sesame seeds; mix and continue to cook for 5 minutes or until zucchini is tender.
- Serve. Remove from heat and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Stir Fry With Zucchini Noodles
One thing to keep in mind when cooking zucchini noodles is that they release a lot of water, so it’s best to cook them for a short time and, if needed, drain them before you add the teriyaki stir-fry sauce.
- Sauté the veggies. Add the spiralized onions to a hot wok or a skillet with oil. Sauté for 4-5 minutes over medium heat. Next, add the zucchini and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Pour over the soy sauce and teriyaki sauce, and sprinkle in the sesame seeds. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. The zucchini noodles should be tender, but not mushy.
- Serve. Take the pan off the heat, and serve with an extra garnish of sesame seeds and green onions if you’d like.
Storing Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Stir-fry zucchini noodles are best served fresh since they tend to become a bit soggy in the sauce over time. However, you can refrigerate leftovers for 1-2 days in a pinch. Likewise, store any uncooked zucchini noodles airtight in the fridge and cook them within 3 days.
- Reheat. Warm up the zucchini stir-fry gently in a skillet on the stove or in the microwave until it’s hot throughout.
A quick question do you know how to get rid of the water created by the zoodles? Do I need to cook them at a higher temp or lower? Often when I am cooking them, I have a puddle of water on my plate from the moisture of the zucchini.
I bought frozen spirals from my local IGA, just to try. And I want to try them with this recipe. Because the package says I can put in microwave or stove top. Should I cook them first like package says, and then add to pan with sauce?
Hi!
No, you don’t have to precook the zoodles; just follow the recipe and maybe give them a minute or two longer in the pan.
Hi Katerina!
I had some store bought zucchini tri-color noodles in my refrigerator and I wasn’t sure what to do with them so I tried your recipe.
WOW!!! This was such a surprise. It was Zee Best! It was so tasty, I would make it for company anytime. My 17 year old daughter loved them too. She said they were very “unique tasting”. If she could she would live on Sushi and Japanese food every day … but it can get very expensive to buy. I never leave recipe reviews but this one was truly a winner! Thanks so much!
Blessings,
Denise
That’s great! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much! 🙂
Did anyone use red onions instead? I am out of yellow
Hi!
You can use the red onions, but the flavor isn’t as strong as yellow onions.
Great and awesome recipes, looks so delicious.