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.
We loved this meal! Thanks so much for sharing it! The leftovers were great too.
Made this recipe tonight in a pinch! I had extra sweet potato noodles from your Thai peanut chicken recipe so thought I would try this! Boy am I glad I did! My favorite recipe thus far! I used store bought sweet potato noodles and frozen broccoli and it was sooooooo easy. Definitely my new go to! Next time I might even dust off my spiralizer ?.
Awesome!! So glad to hear that, Elizabeth! :)
I made this for dinner tonight & it was quick, easy & delicious. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Looks amazing, will def try it! However, my stomy can’t deal with broccoli or Brussels sprouts (and I live in Brussels!!!) – what would you replace them with? Thanks!
Asparagus might be nice in here instead!
Ah, sounds great! Thanks for the tip!!!
I don’t have a spiralizer…yet. Do you think I could microwave and then dice the sweet potatoes into small cubes?
Absolutely!
I want to order one of the spiralizer’s you recommend. Between the two, which one is better and on the Paderno, Amazon offers 4 different one’s. Which one is the one you are recommending? I’m new to this so want to make sure I order the right one :)) Thanks!!
Oooo tough question! I love The Inspiralizer’s counter grip and the fact that all the blades are contained in the unit. That said, I’ve never had an issue with my Paderno 3-blade (http://amzn.to/2cSkHdl) and have owned it longer, so I can confidently say that it holds up well. It’s also $20 cheaper. That’s my $.02! ;)
Thanks Kristin!!
I am not a fan of broccoli, can you recommend another veggie that might go good with this? I just got a spiralizer and want to try it out on this recipe
Sauteed brussels sprouts would be good too!
I have been wanting a spiralizer and you have sent me over the edge. Ordering one now. They haven’t shown up in stores yet in my corner of France.
What an awesome recipe! So satisfying And healthy! I used ground chicken instead of the sausage and added seasoned salt to give it more flavor. Just getting used to my spiralizer so I was excited to try this recipe. Have perhaps a silly question, but did you cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise?
Yay – I’m so glad you loved it, Stacy! Definitely not a silly question – I should have snapped a picture so it was more clear. I cut the potatoes in half widthwise. If you cut them in half lengthwise (so you have two skinny halves) the spiralizer will cut the potato into “half moons” versus noodles. Let me know if that answers your question!
Perfect, thanks!
I am making this tonight for my Iowa husband. I had never heard of a spiralizer and bought the “As Seen on TV” brand today. It worked great. Hoping for a winner here. I have gotten so many of my recipes from you that are in our regular lineup.
Thanks so much for the nice note – I hope you guys liked the dish!
I am going to get the ingredients today. This meal looks so good. I have been looking for new ways to use sweet potatoes. Best wishes to you Iowagirl.
Thank you so much, Judy!
I just love this meal! Sweet potatoes! Looks so colorful and yummy!
Did you order those cinnamon roles from Mariposa?! Because I totally order and ship my bread from them. And sometimes other goodies make it in my order… I totally approve.
Yes! ? They forgot the icing which I was pretty devastated about – but un-iced cinnamon rolls are still cinnamon rolls. ?