This dish is fantastically delicious, very healthy, and incredibly satisfying. One bite and I bet you’ll want to make it often. I just enjoyed it 3 days in a row! Each serving has 377 calories and 11 grams of fat. It’s also fiber-rich with 8 grams of fiber.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 cup onions, diced
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 (24 oz.) jar pasta sauce, such as Classico tomato basil
- 1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
- 1½ cup carrots, chopped
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon vodka
- ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- Black pepper, to taste
- ⅔ cup reduced-fat milk
- 4 cooked chicken sausages, diced, I like Trader Joe’s, see shopping tips below
- 2 pounds zucchini to make 8 cups zoodles, see prep tips below
- 4 teaspoons Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)
Instructions
- In a large, nonstick pan heat olive oil. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Stir in onions and sauté until soft, about 4 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in pasta sauce, tomatoes, carrots, vodka, Italian seasoning, and a little black pepper. Cover pan and simmer on low heat, about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Remove cover and stir in milk and cooked sausages. Mix well and continue to cook another 8-10 minutes until heated through.
- Create zoodles and add to a large bowl microwave-safe bowl. Spray zoodles with a little olive oil spray. Sprinkle with a little garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Microwave covered for about 3-4 minutes until zoodles are soft.
- To serve: For each serving, add about 2 cups cooked zoodles to a bowl or plate. Top with 1 cup pasta sauce (includes sausages and carrots). Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese, if desired.
- Store leftover sauce and zoodles in the refrigerator for 3 days. This sauce freezes great!
Video
Notes
Makes 4 servings. Each 1 cup pasta sauce including sausages and carrots and 2 cups zoodles
Food Facts
Alla Vodka is nothing more than a tomato sauce laced with cream, vodka, and hot pepper paste. I’m using reduced-fat milk and it tastes wonderfully rich! Alla vodka sauce became quite popular in the late 1980s and is still popular today. Prep Tips
The best and easiest way to make zoodles is with the Veggeti Spiral Vegetable Slicer. See shopping tips. If you don’t want to buy one, you can use a julienne peeler, vegetable peeler or mandolin. Using a vegetable peeler will make your noodles much wider but will still taste good. Shopping Tips
Although there are many zoodle makers on the market, the easiest one to use and most inexpensive one is called Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer, Makes Veggie Pasta. It costs about $10. Click on the link to buy it on Amazon.com Trader Joe’s has a terrific selection of reduced-fat chicken sausages. I love their garlic herb but they sell other varieties such as chicken apple, spicy Italian, and spicy jalapeño. Each 12 oz. package contains 4 fully cooked sausages. The garlic herb contains 130 calories, 7g fat, 17g protein, 0g carbs, 0g fiber, 510mg sodium, 0g sugar. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s in your town, look for other reduced-fat brands in your supermarket. Most of these sausages have from 6-8 grams of fat each. I also like Brat Han’s line of healthy, fully cooked sausages sold at Whole Foods. Jody Maroni’s Smoked Chicken Apple Sausages would also work for this recipe. Or, use your favorite fully cooked sausages. WW Freestyle SmartPoints 8-Blue
WW Freestyle SmartPoints 8-Green
WW Points Plus 8
Alla Vodka is nothing more than a tomato sauce laced with cream, vodka, and hot pepper paste. I’m using reduced-fat milk and it tastes wonderfully rich! Alla vodka sauce became quite popular in the late 1980s and is still popular today. Prep Tips
The best and easiest way to make zoodles is with the Veggeti Spiral Vegetable Slicer. See shopping tips. If you don’t want to buy one, you can use a julienne peeler, vegetable peeler or mandolin. Using a vegetable peeler will make your noodles much wider but will still taste good. Shopping Tips
Although there are many zoodle makers on the market, the easiest one to use and most inexpensive one is called Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer, Makes Veggie Pasta. It costs about $10. Click on the link to buy it on Amazon.com Trader Joe’s has a terrific selection of reduced-fat chicken sausages. I love their garlic herb but they sell other varieties such as chicken apple, spicy Italian, and spicy jalapeño. Each 12 oz. package contains 4 fully cooked sausages. The garlic herb contains 130 calories, 7g fat, 17g protein, 0g carbs, 0g fiber, 510mg sodium, 0g sugar. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s in your town, look for other reduced-fat brands in your supermarket. Most of these sausages have from 6-8 grams of fat each. I also like Brat Han’s line of healthy, fully cooked sausages sold at Whole Foods. Jody Maroni’s Smoked Chicken Apple Sausages would also work for this recipe. Or, use your favorite fully cooked sausages. WW Freestyle SmartPoints 8-Blue
WW Freestyle SmartPoints 8-Green
WW Points Plus 8
| SKINNY FACTS: for 1 serving 377 calories, 11g fat, 2g sat. fat, 52mg chol, 21g protein, 40g carbs, 8g fiber, 950mg sod, 20g sugar |
| FACTS: for Freestyle SmartPoints 259 calories, 2g sat. fat, 17g protein, 8g sugar |
Skinny Facts
Serving: 3cupsCalories: 377kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 21gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 950mgFiber: 8gSugar: 20gBlue Smart Points: 8Green Smart Points: 8Plus Points: 8
I see carrots in the photo , but not in the recipe . If I missed it , I apologize .
Thanks !
It looks like this dish has carrots in the picture, but I don;r see them listed in the ingredients, or prep notes. Are they carrots or something else? Thanks, can’t wait to make this.
Sorry Trudi, there are carrots and I just added it to the recipe.
Enjoy!
My best,
Nancy
Sorry Robin. Yes there are carrots and I just added them to the recipe.
All the best,
Nancy
Nancy, I love your site, especially because you include the WW points. I am a life member. I just got a new Instant Pot and could use some good recipes for dinner. Would you consider including some IPot recipes.
Carol W
Thanks so much for the sweet note Carol! I have about 5 instant pot recipes. Here’s the link to check them out.
https://www.skinnykitchen.com/?s=instant+pot
Have fun!
My best,
Nancy