Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal is quick and delicious and this is a new way to use zucchini in a low-carb one-pan dinner! And everyone who likes sausage and zucchini will love this for an easy dinner made in one skillet.
PIN the Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal to try it later!
I’m excited to share this new idea for a tasty and easy Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal! This recipe is a variation of a very old recipe for zucchini and sausage pasta sauce that was one of my favorites when I used to eat whole wheat pasta. Now I’m not eating much pasta (and most of my readers don’t seem to want pasta) but I still love this flavor combination!
And this sausage and zucchini dinner is a whole meal made quickly in a skillet. I bet everyone likes the sound of that, right?
The original version had fresh sage leaves, but when I made it I often switched out the sage for basil so when Kara and I worked on this recipe we made that change. We also increased the amount of zucchini to make it a complete meal that makes six servings. But be sure to serve with a generous amount of Parmesan Cheese.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- onion
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link)
- hot or mild Italian Sausage
- zucchini
- yellow summer squash
- salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste
- chicken stock or canned chicken broth (affiliate link)
- chopped fresh basil
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese
What sausage did we use for the Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal?
We used spicy hot Italian sausage for this skillet meal, but use any Italian sausage you prefer, either turkey or pork.
What is a Skillet Meal?
On my site I have a category called Skillet Meals where you’ll find one-pan meals and a few main dishes that are made in one skillet.
How to make Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Chop zucchini, onions, and fresh basil, and measure out the Parmesan Cheese.
- Heat olive oil, add onion and cook about 2 minutes.
- Add Minced Garlic (affiliate link) and Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link) and cook for another minute.
- Add sausage, and cook until it’s well browned, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks. Move cooked sausage to a bowl.
- Add more olive oil and heat the oil, the add zucchini and yellow squash pieces.
- Cook squash, turning every few minutes, until the yellow squash and zucchini is starting to lightly brown.
- Season squash with salt to taste and some fresh-ground black pepper.
- Add the cooked sausage back into the skillet with the chicken stock.
- Turn heat to medium-low and cook about 5-7 minutes more, or until the stock is mostly evaporated and the squash is tender-crisp. (Some people are reporting their broth is not mostly evaporated after this long, so if you feel it’s not cooking down as quickly as you’d like, I would turn the heat a bit higher.)
- Add the chopped fresh basil and gently stir to combine.
- Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and serve!
More Recipes Using Zucchini:
- Grilled Zucchini Lasagna
- Slow Cooker Zucchini Recipes
- Instant Pot Ratatouille
- Instant Pot Zucchini Recipes
- Cheesy Zucchini and Sausage Sheet Pan Meal
Yield: 6 servings
Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
When you have zucchini that needs to be used, this Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal is a tasty low-carb dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 T + 2 T olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 T minced garlic
- 1 tsp.Italian herb blend
- 19.5 ounces hot or mild Italian Sausage (see notes)
- 2 medium zucchini, cut into pieces about 1/2 inch wide)
- 2 medium yellow summer squash, cut into pieces about 1/2 inch wide)
- salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste
- 1 cup chicken stock (see notes)
- 1 cup chopped fresh basil, washed and dried if needed
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cut stem and blossom ends off squash, cut lengthwise into quarters, and then slice into pieces about 1/2 inch thick.
- Chop onion, chop up one cup fresh chopped basil, and measure out 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese. (You might want a little more Parmesan to add at the table.)
- Heat olive oil, add chopped onion and cook over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link) and cook for another minute.
- Then squeeze the sausage out of the casing, and cook until it's well browned, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks. I like to use an old-fashioned potato masher (affiliate link) to break the meat apart. Move cooked sausage to a bowl.
- Add the rest of the olive oil and heat the oil, the add diced zucchini and yellow squash pieces.
- Cook over medium heat, turning every few minutes, until the yellow squash and zucchini is starting to lightly brown.
- Season squash with salt to taste and some fresh-ground black pepper.
- Add the cooked sausage back into the skillet with the browned zucchini and add the chicken stock.
- Turn heat to low and cook about 5-7 minutes more, or until the stock is mostly evaporated and the squash is as tender-crisp as you prefer.
- Add the chopped fresh basil and gently stir to combine.
- Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and serve!
Notes
I used the hot sausage version of my favorite turkey Italian sausage, but use turkey or pork Italian sausage, whichever you prefer. Canned chicken broth will be fine for this recipe.
Recipe created by Kalyn and Kara, and adapted to be a no-pasta version of Rustic Pasta Sauce with Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Sage.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1
Amount Per ServingCalories 153Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 11mgSodium 344mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 3gSugar 6gProtein 7g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal would be suitable for low-carb or Keto diets, or for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. South Beach dieters will want to use turkey Italian sausage, but low-carb dieters might prefer pork sausage.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Skillet Meals to find more one-pan dinners like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2008 as a rustic sauce for pasta. When I was no longer eating much pasta, in 2020 I updated it into a one-dish skillet meal with zucchini and Sausage. It was last updated in 2023. (You can still find the printer-friendly version of the original Rustic Pasta Sauce with Hot Italian Sausage, Summer Squash, Onions, and Sage on my site if you’d like to see it.)
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