This quick and easy family-friendly keto meal is made with just 8 ingredients and takes less then 30 minutes from start to finish!
The savory spices in the scrumptious Italian sausage once cooked creates an amazing juice to then cook your veggies in, all in one pan. It's a win win using one skillet, not only for all the amazing the flavors that it creates but for the ease of cleaning up!
When it's summer and zucchini is abundant, having some quick and easy meals using up your zucchini in a variety of ways is essential. Our meal today is all about not only using up the zucchini, but also in providing a delicious, nutritious low carb meal the whole family will love.
Even my picky kids actually ate the zucchini, because, yes this recipe is THAT good!
QUICK SKILLET ONE PAN MEALS
The beauty of one pan meals is that you have the easiest clean up, just one single pan! Once you cook up your protein in a large skillet, you remove it to add the veggies so they have time to cook and get nice and tender.
When you remove your sausage, simply place it into a covered glass dish that you will use for left overs anyway. That way you can keep your sausage warm while you cook the veggies.
Once your veggies are tender, add the sausage back to the skillet, add optional mozzarella cheese and make sure to allow it to melt. Stir it all together and you are done! Top with fresh chopped parsley if desired.
CAN I SWAP THE ZUCCHINI?
Zucchini is a fabulous, super versatile, low carb veggie when you are on a keto diet or low carb diet. It has just 3.5 grams of carbs in 1 cup of raw or cooked sliced zucchini. It's an abundant crop in the summer and a great source of vitamin B6 and folate.
As an Italian, my family have used zucchini for years and years and none of my family are even low carb. We've used it for frittatas weekly and just sautéed it in olive oil when my father grew the zucchini in his backyard garden and we were overloaded.
One of my most popular zucchini recipes is my Cheesy Bacon Hasselback Zucchini. Another super popular recipe is my Salt & Vinegar Zucchini Chips! If you really are not a fan of zucchini you can certainly swap it out. I'd suggest cauliflower, broccoli or even eggplant.
WHAT IF I DON'T USE SEASONED ITALIAN SAUSAGE
Growing up as a Sicilian Italian, we used sweet and hot Italian sausage all the time. But I totally understand if you're not a fan. You could definitely swap out the ground Italian sausage with ground beef, or ground chicken or even ground turkey.
Sweet and hot Italian sausage, like the kind I get from Butcherbox is pre-seasoned with salt, paprika, fennel and pepper. So if you choose not to use Italian sausage, and swap it with something else, you will want to cook your ground meat with at least 1-2 teaspoons of that combination of spices listed above.
KETO SIDES WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE SKILLET
This quick sausage zucchini skillet is a one pan meal that doesn't even needs sides, and can be easily made in under 30 minutes on a busy weeknight.
If you have a bit more time and are looking for some sides with this quick skillet meal, I've got some great suggestions for you.
LOW CARB KETO MEAL PLANNING
You can choose from Three Meal Plan Options:
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Low Carb Meal Plan includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks with 40 net grams of carbs or less per day.
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Keto Meal Plan includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks with 20 net grams of carbs or less per day.
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Intermittent Fasting Keto Meal Plan includes 2 meals per day plus one protein/fat rich snack daily with no more than 20 TOTAL carbs per day.
TRY OUR FREE SAMPLE MEAL PLANS
QUICK KETO ITALIAN SAUSAGE ZUCCHINI SKILLET
Quick Keto Italian Sausage Zucchini Skillet (One Pan Meal)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground Italian sausage (I used sweet Italian sausage from Butcherbox) See notes above re:spices*
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3 cups quartered zucchini or 2 large zucchini
- 2 teaspoons Bell seasoning or a mix of oregano, parsley, rosemary, pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- red pepper flakes optional
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded, optional
Instructions
- Pour the oil into a large skillet on medium high heat then add the ground sausage. Cook sausage until browned. Remove from skillet into a covered dish to keep warm.
- Add the onions and zucchini into the same skillet. Add seasonings, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper if using. Cook until onions are translucent and zucchini is fork tender. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
- Add sausage back in the skillet and toss together. Sprinkle in mozzarella cheese if using and toss to combine and cook on low until cheese is melted.
- Top with fresh chopped parsley and serve.
- Store left overs in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Catherine White Haskins FNP-BC
Thank you for sharing!! I made this dish! Outstanding! A few mild tweaks … I used lard to brown the sausage, and I added yellow, green, orange and red bell peppers. It was incredible! Hubby loved it too . I have been doing keto since June 2024 and this is by far my fav recipe thus far! TFS!
Brenda Bennett
Thank you so much!
Isabella
Delicious! Thank you for this easy, hearty, keto recipe. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Brenda
Thank you so much!
Anna Sierra
I am so thankful for you recipes. I have a diabetic mom and these recipes are easy and very tasty. They are healthy for all of us!
Jan
Why do the recipes not print? I click on print and nothing happens!!
Brenda
I'm sorry but it's working and my tech support said she's found no issues with print button.
Bryson Fico
Delicious and completely aligned with the Keto Diet. We love d the hint of rosemary in your Zucchini-Italian Sausage Skillet.
Mary
I made this yesterday and I loved it! I usually saute zucchini, onions and mushrooms but I've never added meat. I will be making it many times. Thanks for another great recipe!