Use our guide to find the best Vegetable Spiralizer for your kitchen!
I love my job. I love it for a lot of reasons, but I am especially excited when I get to research things like: “who invented zucchini noodles?” Haha. While the critics disagree on the origination, I know that they hit the big time in 2013, with help from some major food bloggers! I remember reading the Inspiralized blog all those years ago – 6 years to be exact! I was enthused to try this new method for tricking my husband into eating vegetables!!
Yet, back in the day, I held onto a bit of skepticism. I wondered if people would grasp this veggie-prepping method. I definitely doubted we’d still be talking about zucchini noodles today! But look! Spiralized vegetables are definitely here to stay!!
I love them for the light and bright twist they provide to traditionally heavy meals (looking at you, spaghetti!). I also love them when my garden is exploding with zucchini!!! I’ll spiralize zucchini until I fill a large mixing bowl. Then, I have veggies prepped to use during the week. Add a little dressing for a salad, sautée in a little butter for a satisfying side dish, or add them to your eggs, soup, or spaghetti sauce. They are extremely versatile.
I have a spiralizer at home that I have used for several years. I like it. But it’s kind of bulky and I wondered if I could buy a better option – one that would store more discreetly.
And lucky for me (and because I have the best job!), I was faced with FIVE spiralizer options. And I decided to give them alllll a test. Do you want the results?? Keep reading!
Harold Imports Spiral Slicer
The Spiral Slicer from Harold Imports (HIC), is a double-sided spiralizer, offering two sizes of vegetable noodles. The idea is simple! You insert the zucchini, twist it through, and out come the vegetable noodles. I’ve seen several versions of this spiralizer, made by many different companies. They all appear to be the same! But do they work? Let’s chat about that.
First, the positives! This gadget is small! It would easily tuck away in a cupboard or drawer. Also, it comes with a scrub brush for cleaning the blade! But you could also wash this in the dishwasher. And that wraps up the redeeming qualities of this spiralizer.
Unfortunately, the negatives are easier to note! This spiralizer has a lot of potential, but it has a few flaws that I found frustrating. First, the size and shape of the noodle is frustrating. They make more of a ribbon shape – wide and thin Also, it was hard to distinguish the larger noodles from the smaller noodles, – they were quite similar in size. Last, many of the noodles stuck together! They didn’t cut all the way through, so they required separation, which was a frustrating task.
Overall, I would not recommend this spiralizer. If it is the only option available to you, sure it will do a fine job. But! There are much better options on the market.
OXO Good Grips Spiralizer
The OXO Good Grips Spiralizer is another hand held option. This gadget makes one size of noodles. To use it, you remove the cap and place a flat cut of zucchini over the blade. Then twist the spiralizer around to create long, beautiful vegetable noodles.
The best feature of this spiralizer is the square shaped noodle it makes. They are substantial enough to hold up during cooking. When I think of a vegetable noodle, this is the shape I like best! It is also a convenient size, discreetly tucking away in your cupboard or drawers.
The only disadvantage I found about this spiralizer, was the amount of time required to spiralize an entire zucchini. It was the slowest option, unfortunately.
However, if you’re looking for a good, hand held option, I like this the very best. I’ll spend an extra minute or two to create a better shaped vegetable noodle.
Cuisinart Food Spiralizer
The Cuisinart Food Spiralizer is the best-selling option at Orson Gygi. This gadget makes two sizes of noodles. To use the spiralizer, you remove the lid and turn the switch on the side to select the size of noodle you desire. Then, place the vegetable on the blade, return the lid, and finally, use the handle to twist the vegetable over the blade.
This spiralizer works very quickly. It is the easiest to use and makes nice noodles. It can accommodate a larger vegetable and works well with hard foods, like sweet potatoes. It makes two distinct sizes – a wide and flat noodle and thin and stringy noodle. There is also an option use a straight blade with this spiralizer, which is handy.
The clean-up of this spiralizer was the most tedious. The lid/handle were hard to fully clean. They can be washed in the dishwasher, although I prefer to hand wash to make sure all the nooks and crannies are cleaned out.
Overall, this spiralizer is a fantastic, easy-to-use option! It offers a variety of features, making this gadget a fantastic tool for any kitchen.
Spiral Vegetable Slicer
The Spiral Vegetable Slicer is the gadget I use at home. We’ve carried this style of spiralizer at Orson Gygi since the beginning of vegetable spiralizers. The unit comes with three different blades – medium spiral, large spiral, and straight. To use it, attach the suction feet to a flat surface. Then, place a flat end of zucchini over the blade and insert the handle in the back side. Now, turn the handle while pushing the zucchini toward the blade. Vegetable noodles will begin to form out of the blade.
This spiralizer created the longest spirals of noodles. Also, it accommodates large vegetables, which is fantastic when I let my zucchini get too big! And I love the shape of the noodles made by this gadget. They are a classically square vegetable noodle.
This spiralizer is a bit bulkier than the other options, making it trickier to store. It also takes a bit of practice to use the gadget alone. I often have a kiddo help me hold the zucchini while I get it started. After a few uses, it’s not hard. It just has a bit of learning curve.
I like this Spiral Vegetable Slicer. And this product testing has made me realize that I will keep it! For the price and the effectiveness, I will gladly store a bulkier gadget! Knowing it works well is totally worth it.
KitchenAid Spiralizer
On a whim, I decided I better try the Kitchen Aid Spiralizer. And I am so glad I did! This unit attaches to a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. It makes two sizes of noodles, plus attachments to peel, slice and core an apple. Versatile! Also, you can purchase additional blades to make smaller noodles!
This unit is slick. It works very quickly and effectively. So fast!! So easy. It is a well-oiled machine. It also makes a wonderfully shaped noodle. This spiralizer was fun to use. Plus, I can imagine it being very helpful when apples are in season!
Though this Kitchen Aid Spiralizer is a bit more of an investment, but would be well worth it if you are making vegetable noodles often! You can’t beat it for noodle shape and effectiveness.
Conclusion
There are many great options on the market. My recommendation for the best handheld spiralizer is OXO Good Grips Spiralizer. The easiest to use is the Cuisinart Food Spiralizer. The best shaped noodle is the Spiral Vegetable Slicer. And the most versatile is the KitchenAid Spiralizer Attachment.
Decide which style you like best and you’ll have the BEST Vegetable Spiralizer!
And when you do, use your vegetable noodles in one of these recipes:
