Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Penne Pasta with Italian Zucchini "Sauce" & Chicken Sausage
This simple and delicious rustic Italian zucchini "sauce" with pasta is the first recipe from The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks (affiliate link), a wonderful book that jumped off the shelf to me during a visit to Powell's Books in Portland several weeks ago.
Pasta with Zucchini and Sausage
Written by Kathleen Flinn, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, it's the story of her experience providing cooking lessons to a diverse group of nine volunteers—who all feel intimidated in the kitchen.
By the end of a series of basic cooking and tasting classes each woman is transformed, gaining both confidence in the kitchen and in herself.
For anyone interested in home cooking, it's a fun, inspirational, and educational read, with recipes for several delicious-sounding dishes.
Italian Zucchini "Sauce" with Penne Pasta & Sausage Recipe Notes
Based on a southern Italian farmhouse dish, Kathleen explains that, "the slow-cooked zucchini takes on a nutty, earthy flavor and the pasta water 'melts' the vegetables in a sort of thick sauce." She also includes suggestions for variations: adding caramelized onions, cooked Italian sausage, fresh basil and/or pine nuts.
I adapted the recipe slightly: beginning with thinly sliced onions (instead of caramelizing them separately), adding the chopped zucchini and then stirring in sliced grilled Italian chicken sausage at the end.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Pasta Dish?
According to my calculations, each serving has about 351 calories and:
8 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
8 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
4 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
9 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
We all thought this simple rustic Italian pasta dish was satisfying and delicious; a definite do-over. Enjoy!
If you like this Rustic Italian Pasta with Sausage & Zucchini, be sure to check out my other Weight Watchers Friendly recipes including Light and Creamy One Pot Pasta, Mediterranean Chicken & Pasta, Skinny Sausage Pasta with Veggies, Artichoke Spinach Baked Pasta Made Lighter and WW Pasta with Italian Sausage, Peppers, Onions & Mushrooms
Are You Ready To Firmly Plant Yourself
On The Path To Lasting Weight Loss Success?
If you've made this Italian Zucchini Pasta Dish, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Rustic Italian Zucchini "Sauce" with Penne & Chicken Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced into half moons
- 3 pounds zucchini, chopped into ½-inch pieces
- 6 ounces whole wheat pasta, such as penne
- 2 links cooked Italian chicken sausage, thinly sliced
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften.
- Add the zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until the zucchini browns and starts to fall apart. This should take about 15 to 25 minutes, depending on your pan, the heat level, and the size of the zucchini pieces.
- Meanwhile, add the pasta to boiling salted water. Cook 2 minutes less than the package instructs. Before draining, carefully scoop out 3 cups of the hot pasta water.
- Add 1 cup of the pasta water to the browned zucchini. Bring to a gentle simmer, adjusting the heat if necessary, and stirring to scrape up any browned bits.
- Add another half cup of the pasta water and repeat the process until the zucchini takes on a thick, almost creamy consistency.
- Add the cooked pasta to the zucchini mixture, along with a couple large pinches of coarse salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
- Cook, for a couple of minutes, until the pasta softens. Stir in the sliced sausage.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and taste again to see if the dish needs salt or pepper before serving.
Recipe Notes
Source: Adapted from The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks (affiliate link) by Kathleen Flinn
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
More Weight Watchers Friendly Pasta Recipes
- Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage & Kale (Simple-Nourished-Living)
- Angel Hair with Zucchini and Tomatoes (SkinnyTaste)
- Creamy Zucchini Pesto Pasta with Chicken (Slender Kitchen)
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
Subscribe to Get: Top 10 Reader Favorite Recipes
The Top 10 Most Popular Recipes (PDF) on Simple Nourished Living + Weekly Support Emails with Tips & Easy Healthy Recipes Not Found Anywhere Else!
Kalenaka
I am listening to the audio book Kitchen Counter Cooking School and I wanted to make this recipe, I googled it and found it here! Thank you for posting this and I especially like the extremely easy option of adjusting the recipe to accommodate more or less servings. Thank you! It turned out great and will now be a "go to" in my cooking arsenal! ?