Zucchini Pasta with Sausage and Peppers

This zucchini pasta with sausage and peppers recipe is a delicious and easy low carb pasta dish for any day of the week. With wide zucchini noodles that look like pappardelle pasta along with spicy Italian sausage and sweet bell peppers creates a healthy but delicious keto dinner. Best of all one serving has just 196 calories, 12.4 grams of protein and only 6.4 grams of net carbs. 

You might also like this low carb zucchini carbonara dish too!

I haven’t made this recipe for a long time and just remembered it because I was craving wide pappardelle pasta tonight. So I thought I’d redo this post and see if there was anything I wanted to change. And there was nothing to change! It’s simple, delicious and keeps me on my low carb diet.

This zucchini pasta with sausage and peppers dish was so yummy. The Italian sausage adds tons of flavors and we have always loved peppers and sausage together. I made regular pasta for my husband and use the zoodles for myself and it only took about 20-25 minutes. That’s a win/win dinner for me.

How to make zucchini pasta noodles.

I think I have mentioned many times my love for vegetable noodles and I have many different ways of making them. Many use a spiralizer or hand held julienne peeler.  

However lately I have been LOVING these wide zucchini noodles using a regular potato peeler like this. There is something about the shape that makes I much more like pasta to me then the other shapes. Though honestly they are all good. However everyone has a ptoato peeler so give it a try!

Recipe ingredients and substitutions.

The simple ingredients I used were bell peppers, fresh zucchini, Italian sausage, fresh garlic cloves, olive oil, Italian herb seasoning, salt and black pepper. Note there is not pasta sauce involved in the recipe. I recommend Rao’s marinara sauce if you want to buy store bought sauce to add to this recipe. This is my favorite sauce because of the flavor and it’s low in carbs.

• Italian Sausage – I used hot Italian sausage but if you don’t like the heat you can use sweet Italian sausage or really any kind of flavored sausage. Many grocery stores have a variety of flavored chicken sausage that would work.
• Zucchini Noodles – I used thin zucchini and a vegetable peeler to get the wide pappardelle type noodles. You can use larger zucchini or even buy some zoodles from the grocery store. And as I mentioned above you can use a low carb pasta like konjac miracle noodles, palm heat noodles or even regular pasta if you are not on a low carb or gluten free diet.
• Sweet Bell Peppers – I think it’s important to use sweet bell peppers but if you want to add a fresh green pepper in the mix that’s fine. You can even use a banana pepper if you like some extra heat.
• Fresh Garlic and Spices -I really the flavor of fresh garlic and feel it’s important to this dish but if you don’t have any you can substitute with garlic powder. 1 clove of garlic equals ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder. And while I used dried Italian seasoning you can substitute with dried basil, dried oregano or dried thyme, if you don’t have it.
• Optional Additions – There are no tomatoes in this recipe but you could add chopped Roma tomatoes or cherry tomatoes if you want and add only a few more carbs to the dish. Add the tomatoes when you add the peppers. You can garnish this dish with fresh grated parmesan cheese or add your favorite fresh herbs like fresh basil, parsley or thyme. I personally like crushed red pepper flakes as well.

How to make zucchini pasta with sausage and peppers.

Note these recipe is no tomato sauce in this recipe but if you want to add some store bought, try Rao’s marinara which is fairly low in carbs. Add at the very end and let simmer for a minute or two

Step 1: Get out a large skillet or pan and heat to medium high heat. Then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Take the casings off the Italian sausage and break it up into little pieces so it looks like little meat balls. Add to the hot pan and saute for a minute or two. Turn down the heat and add in the peppers.

Step 2: Saute the peppers for about 5-7 minutes until they soften. Then add the crushed garlic and the other tablespoon of olive oil and mix around. Cook for another minute or two to incorporate.

Step 3: While those are cooking make your zucchini pasta. To make these wide noodles first wash and keep the skin on as it adds contrast and give the noodles more texture.

Start peeling the whole length of the zucchini for long wide noodles. They should look like ribbons. I don’t use the core as it has tiny seeds and makes for mushy noodles. So when done you will still have the middle of the zucchini left.

Step 4: When the peppers have softened add in the spiralized noodles and mix well to combine. Cook for a just a few minutes until you get the texture and consistency you like. I like the al dente so I only cook them for 2-3 minutes. If you want them softer just cook for a few minutes more.

Step 5: When done to your liking take off the stove and plate up. You can add some crushed red pepper flakes or freshly grated parmesan on top if you wish. You can even garnish with fresh basil or parsley if you want.

To make this a complete meal just add a green salad. Store leftovers in an airtight container. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

More keto zucchini noodles dishes to try.

I love pasta dishes as does my family but here are a few of my favorite recipes using zoodles.

• keto zucchini carbonara or alfredo with chicken
• low carb creamy sun dried tomato and basil zoodles
• keto creamy pesto noodles
• low carb zucchini linguine salad
• low carb lemon ricotta zoodles or cacio e pepe (pepper and parmesan)

I’m so glad I rediscovered this keto zucchini pasta with sausage recipe because it was so easy to make and totally satisfied my craving for pasta. Next time I’m going to add some sun dried tomatoes that my husband made from his garden produce this summer. I hope you love skillet meal as much as I do!

The nutritional information for 1 serving without cheese is: 196 calories / 12.6g fat / 8.9g carbs / 2.5g fiber / 12.4g protein = 6.4g net carbs