Zucchini noodles with sausage, cherries and ricotta is a healthier way to get your pasta fix in the summer. A delicious combination of savory and sweet.
Things I love:
#1 – Sausage.
Save the the twss comment, I know. And I’m talking real sausage, not the chicken kind.
I eat that too but greasy, pork sausage just can’t be beat.
Especially air fryer sausage. Omg, it’s just SO good. The texture is spot on.
On pizza? Best topping ever.
2- Ricotta.
It’s my most recent obsession documented in this grilled zucchini stack and I’ve eaten it for breakfast for the past 5 days straight. I also can’t get enough of it in this lemon ricotta pasta which is absolute summer perfection but decided to switch things up a little today with another “pasta” type recipe.
3- my zucchini spiralizer/julienne thingy.
Because zucchini noodles are fun.
4- Cherries!
Now that they’re reasonably priced, I’m buying obscene amounts of them.
I thought I had every kitchen gadget I could possibly need but a cherry pitter might be worth the $12.99 price tag even if it only gets used for 1 month out of the entire year.
Those pits are a bitch when you’re using a knife.
So…I combined them all into a “pasta”.
The other night, Ulysses was tasked with getting dinner together.
He was off and I was working out, so I left it in his hands.
I should’ve known better than to expect anything other than whatever freezer to meal food we had on hand.
I got a plate of cooked (frozen) cauliflower + lettuce + cherry tomatoes + frozen tortellini.
He called it “cauliflower pasta” when I walked in the door and asked what he had made.
For a split second I actually thought he somehow managed to make pasta out of cauliflower. Or maybe some baked cauliflower gnocchi recipe.
Clearly, the 16 minutes of tabata I had just done messed with my brain.
Then when I told him what was for dinner the following day and said “zucchini pasta” in reference to this meal he looked at me and said “but where’s the pasta?”
Guess we’re even.
I’m a big fan of zucchini noodles.
Zucchini noodles with avocado cream sauce was the first recipe I tried them in and I’ve been hooked ever since, even recreating them in this zucchini noodles with creamy roasted tomato basil sauce the following year.
Why I Love Zucchini Noodles
They’re the perfect way to still get the “feel” of a traditional pasta dish with lot less calories and some extra vegetable nutrition.
Swap out rice noodles or wheat pasta for zucchini noodles and then adding delicious Italian sausage and creamy homemade ricotta to a meal like this one comes with zero guilt.
Spiralizer vs. Julienne Peeler
You can make zucchini noodles like I did here in this recipe with a julienne peeler or, you can use a spiralizer. Each have their pros and cons which I talk about in this zucchini noodle recipe if you’re interested.
The
The
Either option is great and the perfect way to get these zucchini noodles with sausage, cherries and ricotta on your table!
Try Chinese chicken zoodles or Thai chicken zucchini noodles too!
Zucchini Noodles with Sausage, Cherries and Ricotta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips or turned into pasta using a spiralizer or julienne peeler.
- 1/2 lb. sweet Italian pork sausage
- 1/4 small bulb of fennel, sliced thinly
- 1 tablespoon basil leaves, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh cherries, pitted & quartered
- 1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Remove sausage from casing and cook in skillet, breaking into smaller pieces with a spatula or wooden spoon. Cook until no longer pink, set aside.
- Combine zucchini, fennel and basil in a large bowl.
- Whisk together the olive oil, honey & lemon juice and pour over the zucchini mixture. Toss to coat thoroughly.
- Plate the zucchini mixture, add the sausage and cherries and top with a few dollops of ricotta.
- Season with salt & pepper to taste
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I bought the cheapest zucchini spiraliser and it so didn’t work at all. I’m going to check out the one you recommended!
Your recipe looks delicious!
Can you come make this for me stat?! It looks amazing. Also LOOOOOOVE the new site! Your new logo is awesome!
G’day! Love the ease and simplicity, versatility too!
Love your photo and flavor combination today, true!
Cheers! Joanne
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Oh wow this sure looks great. I have never used veggies in this manner but they sure look awesome and super refreshing and healthy :-) What a great dish.
I love this pasta! Those zucchini noodles are so fun.
This is a great idea to sneak in more veggies! Also, ricotta is definitely underused in my house, going to have to get some and rekindle the ricotta love :)
This is my kind of recipe! I have been making zucchini pasta a ton this summer. Usually, I just top it with spaghetti sauce, but I love your fresh version. Ricotta and good quality sausage is a winning combo! It reminds me of some calzones I used to eat all the time growing up.
I love every single ingredient in this recipe and I never would have put them together. Cannot wait to try this. I even have the zucchini spiralizer/julienne thingy AND a cherry pitter!
I love my zucchini peeler too, but I’m not sure I’m using it effectively. Do you try to julienne down the entire zuke? And do you peel all the way in? I feel like when I get to the seedy section it’s just a mess and I move along to a new zucchini. Thoughts?
Yeah, I do the whole thing. When I get to the seedy part, the strips tend to break a bit but I just power through ;) There’s always a bit left at the end that is too difficult to get with the peeler so I just julienne it with a chef’s knife. I find using the peeler on each side of the zuke (like making a square out of it) is the easiest/most efficient way. It’s never perfect though.
I have yet to try zucchini pasta. I really want to though, so hopefully I’ll get around to it this summer while they’re still in season. They’re still in season, right?!? :) Happy Friday!
Haha, totally still in season! You’ve got like 2 months left :)