This is a great summertime recipe for when it’s too hot to grill or turn your oven on and you’ve got squash exploding out of your garden. Salmon also happens to be in season during the summer, when it’s easier to find fresh wild-caught fillets. The spicy-citrusy fish and zoodles are light, easy, and delicious.
Prep time 15 minutes
Serves 6
6 salmon fillets, 5 to 7 ounces (140 to 200 g) each
Sea salt
3 limes, zest and juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon (15 g) hot sauce
11/2 teaspoons honey
2 pounds (905 g) summer squash (zucchini and yellow squash work well)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) melted Homemade Ghee
Additional limes and hot sauce, for serving
1 Lay the salmon fillets on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle about 1/8 teaspoon (40 ml) salt on each fillet.
2 In a small bowl, combine the zest from one and one half of the limes and the juice from all three. Stir in the garlic, hot sauce, and honey. Pour the mixture over the salmon, covering all of them. Let the salmon rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
3 Cut the squash with a spiral cutter to make “noodles.” If you don’t have a spiral cutter, slice the squash lengthwise into planks and then into long 1/4-inch (5 mm) “noodles.” Put the squash into a 6-quart (5.7 liter) slow cooker and sprinkle them with a few pinches of salt.
4 Lay the salmon on top of the noodles. Try to lay them in a single layer, if you can, but if they don’t fit, just overlap them slightly.
5 Put 1 teaspoon (5 ml) ghee on top of each salmon fillet.
6 Cover and cook on low for about 2 hours, or until all of the fillets are just barely cooked through.
7 Transfer the fillets and squash to a serving platter. Serve with lime wedges and hot sauce.
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Spicy garlic lime salmon and zoodles is a slow cooker dinner where the salmon steams gently over a bed of spiralized summer squash. A punchy marinade of lime zest, garlic, hot sauce, and honey glazes each fillet as it cooks. Ghee melts over the top into the squash noodles, and every bowl lands bright, spicy, and rich.
Pro Tips
- Use partially firm salmon fillets of even thickness so they all finish at the same moment. Tapered tail pieces cook faster than thick center cuts.
- Spiralize the squash ahead and let it drain on towels. Zucchini releases a lot of water, and a drier noodle means a sauce rather than a soup.
- If you have no spiral cutter, slice the squash into planks and then into quarter-inch noodles — the rustic shape works just as well.
- The one-hour marinade does matter: ten to fifteen minutes of rest lets the lime and garlic season the fish before the gentle steam begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use zucchini only instead of mixed squash?
Yes, zucchini alone makes classic zoodles. Yellow squash adds sweetness and color variety that looks beautiful on the platter.
How spicy is this dish?
Mildly spicy from one tablespoon of hot sauce, balanced by the honey. Serve extra hot sauce at the table for those who want more fire.
Why did my zoodles turn mushy?
They were either spiralized too thin or cooked too long. Add them with the salmon for the final cook only, and keep the squash strands thick enough to hold their shape.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- Additional limes and hot sauce, for serving
- 1 Lay the salmon fillets on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer.
- Sprinkle about 1/8 teaspoon salt on each fillet.
- 2 In a small bowl, combine the zest from one and one half of the limes and the juice from all three.
- Stir in the garlic, hot sauce, and honey.
- Pour the mixture over the salmon, covering all of them.
- Let the salmon rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
- 3 Cut the squash with a spiral cutter to make “noodles. ” If you don’t have a spiral cutter, slice the squash lengthwise into planks and then into long 1/4-inch (5 mm) “noodles. ” Put the squash into a 6-quart (5. 7 liter) slow cooker and sprinkle them with a few pinches of salt.
- 4 Lay the salmon on top of the noodles. Try to lay them in a single layer, if you can, but if they don’t fit, just overlap them slightly.
- 5 Put 1 teaspoon (5 ml) ghee on top of each salmon fillet.
- 6 Cover and cook on low for about 2 hours, or until all of the fillets are just barely cooked through.
- 7 Transfer the fillets and squash to a serving platter.
- Serve with lime wedges and hot sauce.
