Zucchini Noodles with Sausage Tomato Cream Sauce {Paleo, Whole30}

Ingredients

4 medium zucchini spiralized
1 tsp sea salt to “sweat” the zucchini noodles
1 Tbsp organic ghee or coconut oil
3/4 lb spicy Italian sausage you can also use sweet Italian and add more red pepper flakes!
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 medium onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
16 oz can diced tomatoes completely drained*
1/2 cup coconut cream or full fat coconut milk
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning or 1-2 tbsp fresh Italian herbs, chopped
Parsley for garnish
Extra red pepper flakes to suit your taste

Instructions

First, “sweat” the zucchini noodles:

Place zoodles in a collander over a large bowl. Sprinkle the 1 tsp salt all over evenly and allow it to sit for 30 minutes to allow the salt to draw out water.
After 30 minutes, use paper towels to squeeze the zucchini thoroughly to remove water. Much of the salt will come out with the water, though if you’re sensitive to saltiness, you can rinse the zoodles prior to squeezing water out.
Once zoodles are squeezed, set them on paper towels while you prepare the sauce.

Then, make the spicy sausage tomato cream sauce:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, once heated, add the cooking fat.
Remove casings from sausage and crumble into the skillet, then sprinkle red pepper flakes over sausage. Use a spatula to break apart the sausage as it cooks. Cook 2-3 mins or until browned and crumbled.
Once sausage is browned, add onions and stir, cook about 2 minutes until softened, then add garlic and continue to cook another minute, stirring.
Once garlic is softened, add in the tomatoes, coconut cream or milk, salt and Italian seasoning or fresh herbs. Stir to combine everything, then bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow mixture to simmer 2-3 minutes.

Toss with zoodles:

For “al dente” zucchini noodles, toss in your zucchini noodles with the sauce and allow to simmer for no more than a minute. You can also saute the zoodles separately for about 1 minute if desired, and then toss with the cooked sauce.
Serve hot and enjoy! See notes for make-ahead options.

Recipe Notes

*After draining, I placed mine in a paper-towel lined bowl to soak up excess water. When dealing with zoodles, eliminating water at every step helps! **To make this recipe ahead of time, prepare the zoodles and sauce and store them separately in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Then, reheat the sauce and zoodles separately and toss together once hot.

Nutrition

Calories: 306kcal

Carbohydrates: 10g

Protein: 11g

Fat: 25g

Saturated Fat: 12g

Cholesterol: 47mg

Sodium: 477mg

Potassium: 723mg

Fiber: 2g

Sugar: 5g

Vitamin A: 390IU

Vitamin C: 33.3mg

Calcium: 64mg

Iron: 2.5mg