Bacon and blue cheese zoodles deliver a full-flavored keto dinner in under 10 minutes — crispy bacon, tangy blue cheese, diced tomatoes, and fresh basil in one skillet. 4.2g net carbs and 14.1g protein.
I've made a lot of zoodle recipes over the years, and this one stays in regular rotation for a reason. The combination of crispy bacon and tangy blue cheese creates a creamy sauce without adding any cream at all. The residual bacon fat in the skillet does the heavy lifting, and when you toss in the cheese right at the end with the heat off, it melts into this rich, coating sauce that clings to every noodle.
I tested this dozens of times before I figured out the sweet spot. The key is cooking the zoodles for exactly 2 minutes, no more. Any longer and they release too much water, which thins out the sauce and turns everything soupy. Two minutes keeps them firm with just enough give, and the residual heat finishes them perfectly. If you're using store-bought spiralized zucchini, pat them dry with paper towels first. I always do this step even when I spiralize my own, just to pull out any surface moisture.
The bacon needs to be genuinely crispy here, not just cooked through. I'm talking shatter-when-you-break-it crispy. That extra crunch is what makes each bite interesting against the soft zoodles and creamy cheese. I leave one tablespoon of bacon grease in the skillet and add olive oil on top of it. That layered fat is what carries the garlic flavor through the whole dish.
This is one of those keto dinners I come back to on busy weeknights because it's legitimately ready in about 12 minutes from start to plate. I've timed it. The bacon takes about 5 minutes, and everything else happens fast once the skillet is hot. If you're looking for more low carb skillet meals, my chicken noodle skillet uses the same fast approach with different flavors.
One thing I want to mention: turn off the heat before you add the cheese. If the skillet is still on, it melts too fast and turns grainy instead of creamy. Off-heat, it softens slowly and creates that smooth, tangy coating I'm after. I use a standard crumbled variety from the deli section, nothing fancy.
For meal prep, I keep the components separate. Cook the bacon ahead (I often make extra when I'm doing bacon wrapped chicken tenders), spiralize the zucchini, and store them in the fridge. When it's time to eat, the actual assembly takes about 6 minutes. I don't recommend assembling the full dish ahead of time because the zoodles release water as they sit.
If you like bold, savory keto pasta dishes, you might also love my garlic and olive alfredo or avocado pesto pasta. Both hit that same satisfying, creamy territory without the carbs. And if you want something completely different for dinner, my keto ramen and keto hamburger helper are two more of my go-to weeknight recipes.
This works as a quick lunch, a main course for dinner, or a side dish, and it is at its best when tomatoes and basil are in season.
You can buy zoodles already spiralized in the produce section or the freezer aisle, or cut a zucchini into thin julienne strips with a chef’s knife.
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium high heat until crisp. Set aside. Cut into crumbles once cooled.
2
Sauté garlic
Remove all but one tablespoon of bacon grease from the skillet. Over medium heat, add olive oil and garlic cloves. Sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3
Add tomatoes
Add diced tomatoes and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.
4
Cook noodles
Add zoodles to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes until the sauce has incorporated into the zoodles and they’re heated through but still firm to the touch.
5
Finish the dish
Turn off the heat, add blue cheese crumbles and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Per serving: 1/4 of recipe
Calories
260
Fat
19.7g
Protein
14.1g
Total carbs
5.2g
Net carbs
4.2g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I substitute the blue cheese with another cheese?
I've tried this with feta and goat cheese when cooking for friends who don't love the tangy stuff. Feta gives a similar bite but it's milder, and goat cheese melts creamier. I'd say feta is the closest match to what I was going for, but goat cheese makes the whole thing feel more indulgent.
What's the best way to keep zoodles from getting watery?
I pat my zucchini noodles dry with paper towels before they go anywhere near the skillet. That's the single biggest thing you can do. Then I cook them for exactly 2 minutes, toss once, and serve immediately. The longer zoodles sit in a warm pan, the more water they release. I've also found that thicker spirals hold up better than thin angel-hair style cuts.
How do I spiralize zucchini if I don't have pre-made zoodles?
I use a handheld spiralizer. It's about $12 and it lives in my utensil drawer. Just trim the ends off the zucchini, press it against the blade, and twist. I get about 2 cups of zoodles from one medium zucchini. If you don't want to buy a spiralizer, you can use a regular vegetable peeler to make flat ribbon noodles. They cook the same way, just look different.
Can I make this recipe ahead of time?
I prep the components separately but I don't assemble ahead. The bacon keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days (I usually cook a big batch on Sundays), and spiralized zucchini stays fresh for 2 days stored between paper towels. When I'm ready to eat, the actual cooking from prepped ingredients takes about 6 minutes. Fully assembled leftovers get watery within a few hours, so I always cook to order.
Can I turn this into a cold salad?
I've done this in the summer and it works. Toss raw zoodles with crumbled bacon, diced tomatoes, fresh basil, and blue cheese, then dress it with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Skip the cooking entirely. The raw zucchini noodles stay crunchy and the flavors come together after about 10 minutes in the fridge. It's a completely different dish but just as good. If you want another protein-packed keto salad, my chef salad is one I come back to all summer.
What can I use instead of zucchini noodles?
My favorite low carb swap is spaghetti squash. I roast a whole squash on the weekend and use the strands all week. Hearts of palm noodles are another option I've been using lately. They come in a can, they're already cooked, and the texture is closer to actual pasta than any other substitute I've tried. For anyone not watching carbs, regular spaghetti works fine with this sauce.
How should I store leftovers of this dish?
I store leftover components separately when I can. If you've already mixed everything together, put it in an airtight container in the fridge and eat it within 2 days. Reheat in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes. I don't use the microwave for this because it steams the zoodles and makes them mushy. The skillet method crisps up the bacon again too, which is a nice bonus.
Made this twice, both times watery by the time I serve it. I cook them 2 minutes like you say. But now I’m wondering if I should be salting and squeezing first. Does that play nice with the bacon grease and blue cheese, or does it just create a salt problem you have to work around?
Salting and squeezing does pull more water out, but with bacon and blue cheese already in the mix you’d want to rinse them after or it gets too salty. Easier fix is just patting them really hard with paper towels before they hit the skillet. And serve fast, even sitting 5 minutes and they start releasing again.
Didn’t expect this to hit me, but blue cheese and bacon over zucchini noodles is exactly what my aunt made over pasta on July nights. Still smell the garlic in the skillet.
Salt your zoodles and let them sit about 5 minutes before cooking, then squeeze the water out with a kitchen towel before they go into the skillet. First time I made this they released so much liquid during that 2-minute cook that everything steamed instead of sauteed and the blue cheese just kind of floated around rather than coating anything. Squeezed them out first the second time and the whole dish changed, the garlic and tomato flavors concentrated the way they should and the cheese actually clung to the noodles.nnOne more thing I figured out: pulling the pan fully off the heat before you add the blue cheese crumbles makes them go creamy instead of that slightly grainy texture you get when the pan is still hot. Also, the one tablespoon of bacon grease the recipe calls for is actually the right amount. I tried two tablespoons once thinking more fat would be better. Just felt heavy.nnI almost gave up after that first watery batch. Would’ve been a mistake, because this is a regular spring weeknight dinner for me now.
My wife has been skeptical about zoodles since the first time I made them (they came out watery and sad), so I wasn’t expecting much when I tried this on a Tuesday after work. The whole thing was done in like 12 minutes and I kept tasting it thinking something was off, because it actually tasted like real food. When she tried it she stopped mid-bite and said ‘wait, what’s in this?’ She was genuinely confused, trying to figure out what she was eating. She thought there was cream in the sauce. There isn’t. It’s the blue cheese melting into everything with the bacon grease. We’ve already made it twice more and she’s the one asking for it now.
I’ve made probably every zoodle recipe on the internet at this point and most of them are just watery noodles with stuff thrown on top. This one is completely different. The bacon grease staying in the pan when you cook down the garlic and tomatoes, it actually builds into something saucy instead of just pooling at the bottom. And the blue cheese was the thing I was most skeptical about (kept thinking it would bulldoze everything) but it melts in just enough that you get that funky richness without it taking over the whole dish. I’ve been sending this to every friend who asks me for a “good keto dinner” because this is finally one I can actually stand behind. Nothing else in my rotation comes close.
Yeah the bacon grease cooking the garlic and tomatoes down is doing the actual work. Most zoodle recipes drain all that off. I keep every bit of it, that’s the whole sauce.
Made this three times in the last two weeks. Added red pepper flakes on the second batch and freaking can’t imagine it without them now. Would give 5 stars but the zoodles got soggy on me once and I still have no idea what I did different.
If your zoodles keep going watery, salt them in a colander for about 10 minutes before they hit the pan. Sounds fussy but it takes 30 seconds and the texture difference is real. I skip it when I’m rushing and always notice. The heat-off step for the blue cheese matters too – add it while the pan’s still hot and you get a greasy mess instead of those creamy crumbles.
Used goat cheese because that’s what I had. Might actually be better? Less sharp, but it melts into the bacon fat and tomatoes and coats everything more evenly. The basil still does its thing. I’ll try the original eventually, but the goat cheese version holds up fine.
Yeah that melt is real. Blue cheese stays crumbled in the pan, goat cheese just coats everything. The basil comment tracks too, it does its thing regardless.
Blue cheese with zoodles seemed like someone just threw fridge leftovers together. But I had everything on hand and made it anyway. The bacon grease carrying the garlic before you add the tomatoes is what makes it work. Blue cheese melts just enough from the residual heat to coat everything without getting gluey. Going in the weeknight rotation.
Yeah, bacon grease is doing more than just cooking the garlic there. And the blue cheese thing – I went back and forth on whether to add it before or after pulling the pan before landing on residual. Direct heat turns it into a pool.
The bacon and blue cheese over zoodles work way better together than I expected, and the tomatoes keep it from getting too heavy. My one note: zucchini noodles release a ton of liquid, so mine got pretty watery by the end. Salt them and press with paper towels before they hit the pan. Fast weeknight dinner I keep coming back to.
Squeeze your zoodles in a kitchen towel before they go in the skillet. I skipped it once and the blue cheese just thinned out into nothing. That step matters more than you’d think.
So many zoodle recipes are just wet noodles with something scattered on top, but keeping that tablespoon of bacon grease in the pan and pulling the blue cheese crumbles in off the heat completely changes what this is. I’ve made at least six different versions this year. Not making any of the others anymore.
My son has been asking about ‘the bacon pasta’ every day since I made this last week. He still doesn’t know it’s zoodles and at this point I’m not going to tell him.
Finally tried zoodles because bacon and blue cheese seemed like the most fearless combo I’d seen, and yeah, it all came together so fast in one pan that I’m annoyed I waited this long.
