Sausage, Sweet Potato Noodles and Broccoli Skillet is a nutritious gluten-free dinner recipe that's made in 1 skillet in under 30 minutes!
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!
Watch How to Make It!
Spiralized Sweet Potato Noodle Skillet
Spiralized sweet potatoes are sauted 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.
- Toddler = 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!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 lb 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.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I *just* made this for dinner…it is absolutely delicious. Thank you, Kristin! Okay, back to eating :)
Ahhh, I’m so glad to hear it, Alexa! Thanks so much for the feedback!
Try a chiropractor for the sciatic nerve, one who specializes in OB/Peds. You won’t regret it! http://www.icpa4kids.com has a list of certified chiropractors near your zip code.
Thanks! I haven’t looked into it yet because it only happens when he rolls onto the nerve (which unfortunately is quite often.) I wonder if they can adjust us so that doesn’t happen as often?
That looks delicious! It will be on the menu next week.
Totally making this next week! Question: can Lincoln tolerate Parmesan cheese? My little one has a dairy allergy too, so by default I usually leave it out of recipes, but I’m wondering if hard cheeses are different somehow? Just wanted to see if you know something I don’t, I’m sort of new to all this allergy stuff. ?
I usually mention how I modify a cheesy dish for him but forgot this time! I just scoop out a portion for him before adding the parmesan cheese. :)
Ah, ok thanks! I mean, I was hoping you were going to rock my world with something about how Parmesan has different proteins or something, but such is life, right?! :)
I know – I wish!! ?
Ok eating this right now and it’s soooooo good! I need a little practice on keeping my noodles intact during cooking though ?
OK! I have the Paderno spiralizer and have attempted sweet potato noodles (sweet…potoodles?) once and while it semi-worked…it was HARD. It was so hard to push it through the blade, and I felt like I needed to microwave them to soften them up. Did you experience this at all? This looks so delish!
I have the same problem! I’ve been wondering if I’m doing something wrong.
I *think* there are some varieties of sweet potatoes and/or yams (I know they’re not the same thing but for the recipes I use them in….they are,) that are harder than others. I believe I usually buy jewel yams which I’ve never had a problem spiralizing with my Paderno. Let me know if you’re trying a different variety of sweet potato/yam!
Made this last night with orange yams I picked up at the store…WINNER! Way easier going through the spiralizer, and it was so good! Thanks! :)
Thanks for this recipe. I will be trying it soon. I am planning/prepping for a Whole 30 come this Monday and, minus the cheese, this is a compliant meal! Yay!
Good luck! I hope to do one some day!
Just bought my spiralizer from your suggested one, and this is going to my first meal to make with it! Loving the colors!
Thanks for saving my butt! I was trying to figure out what I was going to make my husband and I for lunch today – this is it! Simple but delicious looking – and I have had such an easy time adapting your recipes to paleo because they’re already gluten free and have very little dairy (I’ll just leave the cheese off)! Thanks for the inspiration!
You bet, Jen, I hope you guys love it!
When I read your comment about the cinnamon rolls from SF, I thought to myself, “I must have missed the post about her trip to San Fran…” Bahaha LOVE that you had them flown in! Talk about a pregnancy craving satisfied! :D
Truly a low/high moment for me ?
LOVE THIS! I think this would be the only way I can get Mr. Hungry to eat a Sweet Potato.
Looks like an awesome recipe! How many days do you think leftovers would keep in the fridge? I think this might make a great meal prep for lunches throughout the week.
Yes! The leftovers reheat really well! The noodles will fall apart slightly, but the taste is the same.
I just got my Inspiralizer in the mail two days ago. This meal is happening next week. Thanks for sharing!
Yay! So exciting – I hope you love it!
Roden and Fields Reverse! I used it after my tiny lemon drop was born and left me with brown spots! I don’t sell it, I just buy it and use it religiously! You will be amazed! Worth every penny and your skin will feel amazing!!
I actually *just* heard about that product yesterday! I had this condition on my nose when I was pregnant with my first and it went away pretty quickly after he was born, but if that isn’t the case with this one I’ll definitely look more into it. Thanks for the tip!