This is such a delicious meal that I know you’ll want to make it often! The sauce is luxuriously rich, thick, and sensational tasting. And, the homemade sauce is very easy to make. So, dinner on the table in about 30 minutes…Oh yeah! Each serving has only 193 calories and 7 grams of fat.
Ingredients
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 reduced-fat chicken sausages, cut into small, bite-size pieces, see shopping tips
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 (14.5-15 oz.) can crushed tomatoes (~2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (leave out for Paleo)
- ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasonings
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 large zucchini (to make 4-6 cups cooked zoodles), see shopping tips
- Parmesan cheese, for topping, if desired
Instructions
- Cook the onions by placing in a microwave-safe plate or bowl and cooking for 1-2 minutes, to soften. Next, in a medium or large saucepan, heat oil. Add sausage pieces, cooked onions, and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, sugar, Italian seasonings, red pepper flakes, and a little salt and pepper. Bring to a light simmer. Cover and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the zoodles. See prep and shopping tips, below. Place raw zoodles in a microwave-safe bowl and cook in the microwave for about 2 minutes, until soft. Divide cooked zoodles among each plate. Top each serving with ¾ cup sauce. Sprinkle each with a little Parmesan cheese, if desired.
- This sauce freezes great.
Notes
Makes 4 servings. Each serving, about 1-1½ cups zoodles, and ¾ cup sauce.
Prep Tips
The best and easiest way to make zoodles is with the Veggeti Spriral 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
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 contain 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. Although there are many zoodle makers on the market, the easiest one to use and the 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 This is another favorite zoodle maker. Also very easy to use.
Veggetti Pro Table-Top Spiralizer, Quickly Spiral Slice Vegetables into Healthy Veggie Pasta
WW Freestyle SmartPoints 3-Blue
WW SmartPoints 3-Green
WW POINTS PLUS 5
Prep Tips
The best and easiest way to make zoodles is with the Veggeti Spriral 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
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 contain 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. Although there are many zoodle makers on the market, the easiest one to use and the 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 This is another favorite zoodle maker. Also very easy to use.
Veggetti Pro Table-Top Spiralizer, Quickly Spiral Slice Vegetables into Healthy Veggie Pasta
WW Freestyle SmartPoints 3-Blue
WW SmartPoints 3-Green
WW POINTS PLUS 5
| SKINNY FACTS: for 1 serving (1-1½ cups zoodles & ¾ cup sauce) 194 calories, 7g fat, 1g sat. fat, 33mg chol, 13g prot, 23g carbs, 7g fiber, 525mg sod, 6g sugar |
| FACTS: for SmartPoints 100 calories, 1g sat. fat, 9g protein, 1g sugar |
Skinny Facts
Serving: 1.5cupsCalories: 194kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 13gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 525mgFiber: 7gSugar: 6gBlue Smart Points: 3Green Smart Points: 3Plus Points: 5
