I’ve seen kelp noodles on a few raw restaurant menus and have grown extremely fond of their unique texture and their adaptability in many different dishes. Kelp noodles are a sea vegetable that are raw and ready to eat with no cooking required. They’re incredibly versatile and are my new favorite food to experiment with!
Kelp noodles are gluten-free, fat-free and low in calories so they are acceptable for almost every diet or lifestyle. Talk about a home run!
I decided to look for these noodles on my last trip to the grocery store and boy was I beyond thrilled to see them. They were in the refrigerated section of the store next to the tofu. I grabbed two packages of Sea Tangle kelp noodles with a huge smile on my face and the wheels in my head started to turn. It’s things that like this that make me really happy these days.
If you don’t have luck finding them in your grocery store, I found the same brand on Amazon.
For my first kelp noodle experiment, I decided to try it with garlic kale pesto. Since kale was on sale, I had tons of it in my fridge and I remembered seeing a kelp noodle pesto dish on a raw restaurant menu, but regretfully passed on trying it out.
Why has it taken me this long to make kale pesto!? I’m in love! Not only is it the perfect pasta sauce, it’s delicious as a dip. I was wiping the blender clean with broccoli making sure not one spot of pesto went to waste.
So whether or not you have kelp noodles around, just try whipping up this garlic kale pesto and enjoy it as a spread, dip or sauce – you wont regret it!
Let me know in the comments below if you’re planning to or if you’ve tried out this recipe. If you’re on Instagram, make sure to tag @raw_manda and #rawmanda in the caption so I can see your creations!
- 2 packages kelp noodles
- 2 cups broccoli, chopped
- 2 cups kale finely chopped
- ½ lemon, juiced
- -
- Garlic Kale Pesto
- 2 cups kale
- 2 cups spinach
- 3 green onion bulbs (just the white part)
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ⅓ cup cashews
- ¼ cup water
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- Rinse kelp noodles in warm water then place into a large mixing bowl.
- Add broccoli, kale and other veggies of choice to the mixing bowl.
- Massage lemon juice into mixing bowl so that everything is covered well. I like to use my hands!
- Place ingredients for pesto in a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until you get a smooth creamy consistency.
- Pour desired pesto into the mixing bowl, mix into noodles and veggies very well.
- If you have left over pesto, store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for a few days.
Hi! I have been dreaming of kelp noodles because I always love the seaweed salads I get from asian restaurants with kelp noodles. It has literally taken me MONTHS to actually find them in the store. I was looking in the seaweed section in health food stores and Korean markets and I thought they were always out of stock. I did a little more research and discovered that they are a raw food and must be kept in the refrigerator section… shortly after I found then at Lassen’s! I’m SO glad I did. This recipe is the first that I’ve tried with them and I’m in LOVE. I like that you suggest adding more vegetables to the kale, broccoli and noodle mixture… I added carrot ribbons, sliced Brussels sprouts and extra green onion. I am excited about the combination of kale & garlic pesto! These are staples in my fridge and it’s amazing to know that they can be combined to make a thick dressing for my raw noodle dishes. I didn’t have any spinach on hand so I simply used the next green thing on hand: parsley. I couldn’t help but add a dab of nutritional yeast and various spices to the pesto sauce before scraping it out if the blender. Ohh, and half an avocado too! I really love the creativity you brought to this recipe! Thank you!
Just made this for dinner tonight and it is awesome. This recipe will be in my dinner rotation. Thanks for sharing?
Hi Erika!
I love that!!!! Thanks for taking the time to let me know your feedback. Have a wonderful day Xx
Kelp noodles are actually just kelp fronds stripped of their outer green “coating layer”. Sure they’re more processed than just straight our to the sea but they do taste really good, they don’t have much of a flavor at all so they go well with any kind of dressing.
Very cool to know! Thanks so much for sharing :) Hope you have a wonderful day Xx
Just made this recipe and absolutely LOVED IT!! So simple to follow, and the taste was phenomenal!! After I come out of my current Kelp Noodle and Kale Pesto coma, I plan on adding this as a recurring dinner meal!
Thank you so much Amanda for sharing such an amazing recipe!
Hi Tori! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know you loved the recipe!! I am thrilled you are planning to make this recipe again :) I hope you have such a wonderful day! xoxoxo
Oh my gosh. I made this tonight and it was SO good! Great recipe, I will be making this over and over again. I have been experimenting with kelp noodles due to the fact that they are a magic food (aka super low calorie, low carb, and are also basically exactly like noodles..) and this is my favorite so far! Bravo!
Hi Liz,
They ARE a magic food! So happy you discovered them :) Glad you enjoy the recipe and that it is your favorite – thank you so much for taking the time to write and let me know what you thought! xoxoxo
Amanda
Hi! I know this post is a little old so sorry but I just saw this on Pinterest and it looks so yummy! What store did you get the noodles? I’ve found them on Amazon but I was just wondering if I’d be able to find them around here in case of emergency! Lol.
Hi May!
I have found them at many health food stores and they are usually available at Whole Foods :)
I like kelp noodles but have an abundance of zucchini and am wondering if I could substitute spiralized zucchini. Thoughts?
Hi Shanna!
Zucchini noodles would be a PERFECT substitution! Enjoy xx
Hi, I’ve been wanting to vegan for the longest time but I have no clue where to start
Hi Aundrea!
Check out my favorite documentaries and books. You can start there :) Good Luck!!! x