Happy Monday!!
After I mentioned I’ve been following a keto way of eating several weeks ago, I had a few questions about what exactly I eat in a day. While I’ve had success with the keto diet, I’m not a nutrition expert or medical professional so I don’t feel comfortable telling all of you to eat this way. However, this is a favorite weekday one-pan dinner that I make every week and is delicious and filling and yes, it is keto-friendly.
I usually get home close to 7pm and my goal is to get dinner together as quickly as possible with as little fuss as possible. I live for one-pan dinner recipes since they cut down on my prep work and on me spending a ton of time cleaning up the kitchen afterwards.
Usually when I get home, I turn on a podcast (here are a few of my favorite podcasts) and head into the kitchen. Cooking dinner is my time to decompress from the work day and focus on creating a delicious dish that I look forward to. But I’m human, and at the end of the day, the thought of scrubbing several pots and pans doesn’t sound fun at all. Especially since my apartment doesn’t have a dishwasher!
Enter the beauty of one-pan dinner recipes and all their magic.
Cacio e Pepe Zucchini Noodles is one of those dishes that requires the bare minimum of ingredients. Cacio e Pepe translates to cheese + pepper. Grated parmesan, freshly ground pepper, zucchini, and bacon are all you need to get this dish ready in about 15 minutes.
Because this recipe requires so few ingredients, this is where the quality of ingredients matters. Trader Joe’s has wonderful freshly grated parmesan in their cheese section for $5 (you can find a $2 parmesan shaker in their pasta aisle that’s also delicious), freshly ground peppercorn, and uncured bacon for the best price out there.
Cacio e Pepe Zucchini Noodles shows you don’t need a bunch of flashy, expensive ingredients to pull together a delicious meal for yourself.
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 strips of bacon
- 1 zucchini, spiralized
- 3 tbsp grated parmesan
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
- red pepper flakes, optional
- In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and add the 3 strips of bacon.
- Once the bacon is cooked to desired level, remove the bacon and set aside.
- Add the spiralized zucchini noodles to skillet and toss with tongs.
- Add the parmesan, ground pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Slice the bacon into bite-size pieces and add back into the skillet.
- Divide into bowls and serve.
