From Cheeseburger Fries to vegetable-packed skillets, because THAT’S HOW WE DO!
That is to say, lately I’ve been trying to achieve balance by enjoying comfort foods like Cheeseburger Fries AND light, healthy, and nutritious meals like my Sausage, Sweet Potato Noodles and Broccoli Skillet. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, right? Moderation is key!
Spiralized sweet potatoes are sauteed with broccoli or broccolini and fresh garlic then tossed with browned Italian sausage and freshly grated parmesan cheese. It’s packed to the max with nutritious ingredients, made in just one skillet and in under 30 minutes, and is a home run with all demographics.
- Ben = demolished two bowls. Hello healthier way to serve your meat and potato-loving man, well, meat and potatoes.
- Lincoln = requested to Facetime his grandparents to show them the “longest noodle he ever saw” then proceeded to eat an entire bowl whilst said grandparents watched.
- Me = couldn’t decide what was better – the light yet craveable taste of this simple dish, or the fact that both my boys were inhaling it with zero push back!
This skillet meal feels fancy, but is easy and uncomplicated, and clearly the whole family loves it. Ben’s and my eyes locked in a silent state of disbelief as Lincoln picked out pieces of broccoli to not put on the table in a pile of rejected food, like he’s known to do, but to actually put them in his mouth. Huzzah! What can I say, the combination of sausage, garlic, and sweet potato has that effect on people!
How to Make Sausage, Sweet Potato Noodles and Broccoli Skillet
Start by peeling 2 medium sweet potatoes then slicing off the ends and cutting them in half. I find spiralizing a sweet potato half vs the whole thing produces longer noodles with less chance of the potato getting off center on the spiralizer which creates “half moon” noodles. By the way, I recommend the Paderno Spiralizer >
Pop the sweet potato half into the spiralizer fitted with the smallest blade, aka the “spaghetti” or “angel hair” blade, then spiral away!
Set the sweet potato noodles aside then heat 1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a large, 12″+ skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3/4lb ground Italian pork sausage (spicy or mild – your call!) then brown while breaking it up with a spatula as it cooks. Scoop the cooked sausage onto a plate then set aside.
Turn the heat down juuuust a touch then add 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, the sweet potato noodles and either 8oz small-cut broccoli florets (from one bunch of broccoli,) OR 8oz broccolette/broccolini that’s been trimmed and sliced into small florets. I’ve tried both and they both cook in the same amount of time.
Season the vegetables with lots of salt and pepper, and a dash of red chili pepper flakes if you like (I did!) then saute until the sweet potato noodles are almost al dente, about 5 minutes. In order to keep your sweet potato noodles from breaking up, gently toss them with tongs every so often.
Next add 2 minced garlic cloves and saute for 30 seconds, then add 1/4 cup gluten-free chicken broth and continue to saute until the sweet potato noodles are al dente (meaning they still have a little bit of a bite.) If you let the noodles cook any longer they’ll start to break up into softer, smaller pieces – which is TOTALLY fine – but if you want to try and keep the noodles intact, take the skillet off the heat while they’re still crisp-tender.
Last step is to remove the skillet from the heat then add 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and the cooked sausage back into the skillet, then toss to combine.
Scoop onto plates then top with more parmesan cheese, and a ton of cracked black pepper, then dig in! I hope you love this healthy and nutritious, seriously easy dish! Enjoy!
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Sausage, Sweet Potato Noodles and Broccoli Skillet
Description
Sausage, Sweet Potato Noodles and Broccoli Skillet is a quick and nutritious gluten-free dinner recipe that's cooked in one skillet and in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4lb ground Italian pork sausage
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, spiralized using thinnest blade, noodles slightly trimmed
- 1 bunch broccoli cut into small florets (8oz florets) OR 8oz broccolette/broccolini, trimmed
- salt and pepper
- pinch red chili pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup gluten-free chicken broth
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions
- Heat 1/2 Tablespoon oil in a large, 12"+ skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage then brown, breaking it up as it cooks. Scoop onto a plate then set aside.
- Turn heat down a touch then add remaining 2 Tablespoons oil to the skillet. Add sweet potato noodles and broccoli then saute, tossing gently with tongs, until the noodles are almost al dente, about 5 minutes. Add garlic then saute until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add chicken broth then continue to saute until noodles are al dente/crisp tender, 1-2 minutes.
- Remove skillet from heat then add parmesan cheese and browned sausage and toss to combine. Scoop onto plates then top with more parmesan cheese, if desired, and serve.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Video
OMG! This looks delicious! I’ve only tried zucchini in my spiralizer. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Yet another soon to be favorite from Iowa Girl Eats!!! My husband requests that I make a double batch of your your Chickpea “Chicken” Salad weekly!! I started growing dill just for that recipe!💕💕
Oh my gosh I LOVE to hear that, Suzanne!! I hope this recipe is a winner for you too!
I’m new here so I apologize if I just don’t see it but, do you have any nutritional information on this?
I hardly ever leave reviews for recipes but this one was so delicious I just have to. I have never even thought about spiralizing a sweet potato but I happened to have all the ingredients so thought I’d give it a try. My family actually had to ask me to stop making yummy noises with each bite. It was THAT good. Try it, you’ll be glad you did!