Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal

Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal is quick and delicious and this is a perfect way to use zucchini in an easy one-pan dinner! And everyone who likes sausage and zucchini will love this tasty summer dinner idea!

PIN the Sausage and Zucchini Skillet to try it later!

Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal will be a hit with everyone who loves Italian Sausage and is looking for ways to use zucchini! The recipe is a variation of a very old recipe for pasta sauce that was one of my favorites when I used to eat whole wheat pasta more often. 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 that’s made quickly in one skillet. I bet everyone likes the sound of that, right?

The original version had fresh sage, 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, and I’m guessing basil a bit more readily available. We also increased the amount of zucchini to make it a complete meal that makes six servings. I hope you enjoy trying this recipe; 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 with ingredient amounts.)

• 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 Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal?

We used spicy hot Italian sausage for this skillet meal, but use any Italian sausage you prefer, either turkey, chicken, or pork.

What is a Skillet Meal?

On my site I have a category called Skillet Meals where you’ll find one-pan meals that are main dishes made in one skillet.

How low in carbs is the Sausage and Zucchini Skillet?

This easy skillet meal recipe has only 10 net carbs and 7 grams of protein! (You could add more sausage if you wanted to make it lower in carbs and higher in protein.)

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.)

1. Chop zucchini, onions, and fresh basil, and measure out the Parmesan Cheese.
2. Heat olive oil, add onion and cook about 2 minutes.
3. Add Minced Garlic (affiliate link) and Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link) and cook for another minute.
4. Add sausage, and cook until it’s well browned, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks. Move cooked sausage to a bowl.
5. Add more olive oil and heat the oil, the add zucchini and yellow squash pieces.
6. Cook squash, turning every few minutes, until the yellow squash and zucchini is starting to lightly brown.
7. Season squash with salt to taste and some fresh-ground black pepper.
8. Add the cooked sausage back into the skillet with the chicken stock.
9. 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.)
10. Add the chopped fresh basil and gently stir to combine.
11. Sprinkle the sausage and zucchini skillet meal with Parmesan cheese and serve!

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

This easy Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal could certainly be served as a summer one-dish meal. But if you wanted to add something else, it would be great with any of these low-carb salads:

• Caesar Salad with Kale, Romaine, and Shaved Parmesan
• Al’s Famous Hungarian Cucumber Salad 
• Kalyn’s Favorite Baby Arugula Salad
• Fattoush Lebanese Salad
• Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

Want More Recipes Using Zucchini:

Check out my collection of 50 Amazing Zucchini Recipes for lots more ideas for using zucchini if it’s a bit too abundant at your house!

Print

Yield: 6 servings

Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

When you have zucchini that needs to be used, this Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal is a tasty low-carb dinner that only uses one pan!

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

1. Cut stem and blossom ends off squash, cut lengthwise into quarters, and then slice into pieces about 1/2 inch thick.
2. 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.)
3. Heat olive oil, add chopped onion and cook over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes.
4. Add minced garlic and Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link) and cook for another minute.
5. 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.
6. Add the rest of the olive oil and heat the oil, the add diced zucchini and yellow squash pieces.
7. Cook over medium heat, turning every few minutes, until the yellow squash and zucchini is starting to lightly brown.
8. Season squash with salt to taste and some fresh-ground black pepper.
9. Add the cooked sausage back into the skillet with the browned zucchini and add the chicken stock.
10. 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.
11. Add the chopped fresh basil and gently stir to combine.
12. Sprinkle the Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal with Parmesan cheese and serve!

Notes

I used the hot sausage version of my favorite turkey Italian sausage, but use turkey, chicken, 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

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 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.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

© Kalyn Denny

Category: Skillet Meals

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Sausage and Zucchini Skillet would be suitable for low-carb or Keto diets, or for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. You could add more sausage if you wanted it to be even lower in carbs for Keto! 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 for Italian Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Meal 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 2025. (You can still find the printer-friendly version of the original Rustic Pasta Sauce recipe on my site if you’d like to see it.)