Mexican Chicken Zucchini Noodles
42 Comments
Updated Jun 22, 2022
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Mexican Chicken Zucchini Noodles is an easy, low-carb, gluten-free recipe full of delicious, spicy flavor. A simple combination of zucchini noodles, pico de gallo, chicken and cumin, it’s the perfect weeknight meal and takes less than 30 minutes to make.
I’m always conjuring up new, healthy and delicious recipes with zucchini noodles. Because who doesn’t love zoodles? They’re a blank slate for so much flavor.
And with Cinco de Mayo right around the corner I wanted a light, fresh meal with some spicy kick. Thus, these Mexican Chicken Zucchini Noodles were born. They’re tasty, spicy, easy to make and can be on your plate in less than 30 minutes!
After my celiac diagnosis several years ago I learned to make zucchini noodles (or zoodles) in a spiralizer, to replace any pasta cravings. Since then, I’ve become slightly obsessed with my spiralizer. The spiralizer is affordable, simple to use and will make any pasta recipe sooo much healthier.
If you’re new to spiralizing, I’ve prepared a Beginners Guide to Spiralizing which will give you more ideas on the best vegetables to spiralize. I’ve also created a guide on 5 Ways to Make Zucchini Noodles (and how best to cook them). Both of those posts should have you covered in the zucchini noodle zoodle department.
How To Make Mexican Chicken Zucchini Noodles
The great thing about this recipe is 1) how easy it is to make, and 2) how much flavor there is. Just follow these five steps for a delicious, Mexican-inspired dinner recipe that’ll knock your socks off.
- Sauté the Chicken: Dice up the chicken to your desired size, I prefer bite size (fit more food on the fork and kid-friendly). With a little bit of oil in the pan, sauté the chicken until cooked all the way through.
- Add the cumin: Cumin provides a rich, earthy, nutty and slightly spicy flavor to this recipe. It’s also a popular spice in many Mexican recipes. Sprinkle the cumin onto the chicken and then stir until combined.
- Add the salsa: Toss in the pico de gallo, stir for about a minute and turn off the heat. The goal is to warm the salsa rather than cook it.
- Add the zucchini noodles: I prefer my noodles a little firmer and with a little crunch after plating, so the zoodles need to be mixed in with the chicken and salsa only enough until they’ve warmed up. If you leave the zoodles in too long, they may get a little watery.
- Plate and Serve! You can also add some optional toppings such as cotija cheese, queso fresco, cilantro, or even avocado. I used queso fresco and cilantro for this recipe.
Meal Prep with Zucchini Noodles
Zucchini noodles are a perfect ingredient to meal prep. Once you’ve spiralized your zucchini, place them in an airtight storage container on top of a paper towel. The paper towel will absorb any excess moisture. The zoodles will stay good for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
For more ideas on the foods I meal prep frequently, make sure to check out my Meal Prep Ideas for Spring, Summer, and Winter.
For More Healthy Zucchini Noodle Recipes
- Zucchini Pasta with Lemon Garlic Shrimp
- Zucchini Noodle Caprese
- Zucchini Noodle Spaghetti Bolognese
- Zucchini Noodles with Chicken, Spinach and Parmesan
Mexican Chicken Zucchini Noodles
Description
Ingredients
- 3 cups pico de gallo, (1 recipe)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 medium zucchini
- salt and pepper, to taste
- queso fresco, to garnish (optional)
- cilantro, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the diced chicken and cumin and stir together for 8-10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- While the chicken is the cooking, spiralize the zucchini. Trim the zucchini noodles with kitchen scissors to prevent extra long pieces.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, add the pico de gallo salsa to the pan. Stir gently for one minute, to warm it through, then turn off the heat.
- Add the zucchini noodles to the pan and toss together with the chicken and pico de gallo.
- Plate the Mexican chicken zucchini noodles, garnish with cilantro, queso fresco and enjoy!
Lisa's Tips
- On the third time making this recipe I added diced avocado and it was divine! Definitely consider adding avocado to the recipe either as fresh avocado, Guacamole or drizzle on my Avocado Dressing for a creamy sauce.
Nutrition
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Hi Lisa. Does this recipe freeze well?
Zucchini noodles in general don’t freeze well, unfortunately. They become really limp and soft when thawed, as they have so much water content. So I’d say this recipe is best fresh.
Delicious and so easy … will become one of a staples dinners.
That’s the beauty of zucchini noodle dishes :)
I made this tonight and it was delicious. But it was really watery. Also I forgot to cut the zoodles and thus it was difficult to eat.
Love the recipe. How many servings and is the nutritional values for the whole recipe or is it per serving? Thank you
The nutritional information is always per serving :)
I never would have thought of this combo, but the flavors are great together – and so fresh and healthy! The queso fresco and avocado I added made it even better. This is also a quick and easy recipe (especially by using store bought zoodles). I’m definitely adding this to my recipe rotation!
So glad you enjoyed this fresh and easy combo!
Can you please tell me where all the carbohydrates are coming from in this recipe? The ingredients just don’t seem to warrant all those carbs!
Thank you
Hi Janet – Thanks for pointing that out! Just tweaked the nutritional information.
Thanks so much Lisa! Makes so much more sense now – am ready to try!!
Love all the flavors in this recipe. I also love that it’s low carb and good for me too. Thanks!
Hi Krissy- Yes! This is definitely a great low-carb option :)
I love one pot dishes like this, and using zucchini means this is a great dish to cut carbs in my diet.
Hi Anita – Definitely a great way to keep things low-carb :)
Totally a combo I never would have thought — but this looks AMAZING. Can’t wait to try this soon!
Hi Kathryn – It gives a healthy twist to your average Mexican dish :)
I’m always looking for new and healthy lunch options and this is going to be my new favorite.
This dish is definitely a great lunch or dinner recipe to keep on hand!
This is a delicious zoodles recipe! I love the chicken and flavors added to it, thanks for the dinner inspo!
Hi Noelle – It’s a great way to dress up your zoodles with Mexican inspired flavors!
I haven’t tried Mexican flavor with zoodles. I will be trying this one night this week. Thanks for the inspiration! Also, I just made a batch of chia pudding and put some in the freezer.
Hi Jan – Let me know how you like the Mexican flair on these zoodles!
I made this for dinner tonight. I added a little bit of oregano and smoked paprika to the chicken and it was amazing thanks for sharing your recipes!
Wonderful! I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe and it sounds great with those additional spices!
Great quick healthy cinco de mayo dinner. I to make it vegetarian used black beans instead of chicken.
Hi Susan – I’m so happy you truly made this dish you’re own! And so glad you loved your vegetarian mexican zucchini noodles! :)
Made this last night!!! We liked it SO much we made sure to pack some for lunch!!
Oh yay! I’m so happy you loved the recipe Melinda. It’s amazing what happens when you just throw some delicious ingredients together. ;) x
Spiralizing zukes is my favorite veg to replace pasta. I repurposed the egg box, lined with paper towel, and the zukes keep for over a week that way. I actually find it helps keep them fresh but dry so they din’t get mushy ahead of using. This recipe looks like a keeper!
Hi Hillary – Yes, zucchini is perfect for replacing pasta and I love the egg box idea! I’ll have to try it out. Thanks for sharing your tips and you’ll love this mexican zoodle dish. :)
This looks delicious. I happen to have some cojito in the fridge and can’t wait to use it with this recipe!
Hi Sara – Cheese and some smashed avocado are excellent extras for this dish! :)
This recipe was SO delicious. I have a family member with celiac and she LOVED it, but so did all of my wheat pasta loving family members!
Yes, this dish is definitely a family favorite and sooo healthy!
I know what I will be having for dinner tonight! This looks so flavorful and satisfying; yum!
Thanks, Sarah! I hope you enjoy it!
This dish looks so full of flavor and I love that it’s lightened up with those zucchini noodles! Look forward to trying this!
Thanks, Carrie! It’s absolutely delicious, you’ll love it! :)
Great sounding recipe, and I had no idea you could store spiralized zucchini for several days. Good to know!
Yep, which is fantastic when you don’t want to bust out the spiralizer ever night. :)