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Zucchini and Italian chicken sausage stew is summer goodness in a pan. It is loaded with fresh zucchini, bell peppers and basil from the garden along with onion, mushrooms and slices of sausage. Dish it up and serve with a slice of crusty bread and you have a satisfying dinner.
When I first started making this dish back in the ’70s, I always made it tomato based and melted mozzarella over the top before serving it. Now that there are just the two of us, I cook everything together and store it in a large Tupperware bowl. Just before serving it, I add either marinara or Al Fredo sauce depending on which flavor profile strikes our fancy. Sprinkle some romano cheese on top and you have a bowl of deliciousness for dinner.
Please see the recipe card below for exact amounts and directions.
Ingredient Round Up
- War club sized zucchini or 3 – 4 medium sized ones
- Bell pepper
- Onion
- Mushrooms
- Italian chicken sausage
- Fresh basil
- Garlic cloves
- Olive oil
- Romano cheese
- Marinara or Al Fredo sauce
Making the Zucchini Stew
- I grow war club sized zucchini in my garden for this dish. Cut the neck of the zucchini into slices. For the body of the zucchini, slice it lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Then cut the zucchini into thick slices and then into chunks. Set aside for the time being. Smaller zucchini do not need to have the seeds or pulp removed.
- Cut the bell pepper in half and remove the seeds and core. First slice it into strips and then cut the strips into thirds. Slice the onion and then cut the slices into quarters.
- Clean and slice the mushrooms. Run the garlic cloves through a garlic press. Stack the basil leaves, roll them lengthwise and cut into thin slices (chiffonade).
- Saute the onions and peppers in olive oil until they are soft and the onion is translucent.
- Add the mushrooms to the skillet and saute them.
- When they are soft, add the garlic and sliced basil and saute for a few seconds until it is aromatic. Transfer these vegetables to a bowl and set aside.
- Add the zucchini chunks to the skillet and add a small amount of water to start the cooking process.
- Cook the zucchini and stir it often. Ideally, it will start to caramelize as it softens.
- As the zucchini cooks, some chunks will be brown and cooked before others. Use a slotted spoon and transfer the done chunks to another bowl or pan.
- Continue cooking until all the chunks are done and have been transferred to the pan with the rest of the zucchini.
- Add the sauteed onion, peppers, mushroom and garlic to the zucchini and stir it together. Stir in chopped basil.
- The Italian chicken sausage comes already cooked. I put it in a skillet with a very small amount of water and heated it until it was brown. Remove it from the skillet and slice it.
- Add the sliced sausage to the pan with the rest of the vegetables and mix it in. Taste and add salt if needed. If the garlic flavor isn’t strong enough to suit you, add some garlic powder to taste. Transfer the finished stew to a storage bowl (Tupperware or equivalent).
- Dish up a serving of the stew and mix in a couple of tablespoons of marinara or Al Fredo sauce depending on your preference and sprinkle some grated romano cheese on top.
- Refrigerate the leftovers.
Serving Ideas
- The zucchini stew can be served by itself with a slice of crusty Italian bread or garlic bread for dinner.
- It can be served over your favorite pasta for a satisfying meal.
- For those who need to watch their glucose intake, barley has a low glycemic index and is a great substitute for pasta.
- Zucchini stew can be served as a side dish at a summer barbecue or potluck dinner.
WW 3 pt per 2 c; 3 pt with Prego; 4 pt with Al Fredo sauce
Servings: 5 2 c servings
Calories: 172kcal
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Chef knife
- garlic press
Ingredients
- 1 war club size zucchini or 3-4 medium sized ones
- 1 medium onion
- 1 medium bell pepper, I used an orange one
- 8 oz mushrooms
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 pkg Italian chicken sausage
- 2 tbsp grated romano cheese
- 3 basil leaves
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 pinches black pepper
- salt to taste, ¼ tsp at a time, you may not need any
- water
- 2 tbsp Prego (no sugar added) or Al Fredo sauce (Priano)
Instructions
- For war club sized zucchini, cut the neck into ¾" slices and then quarter them. Cut the rest of the zucchini lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Then cut the rest of the zucchin into ¾" slices and cut the slices into chunks. If you use small to medium zucchini, cut them into slices and then quarters. You do not need to remove the seeds or pulp in them. Set aside.
- Slice the onion and then cut the slices into quarters.
- Slice the bell pepper in halk and remove the core and seeds. Cut the pepper into strips and then cut the strips into thirds.
- Clean and slice the mushrooms.
- Peel the garlic gloves and run them through the garlic press or finely mince them.
- Stack the basil leaves and roll them up lengthwise and cut them into thin strips (chiffonade).
- Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet. Add the onions and bell peppers and saute until tender.
- Add the mushrooms to the skillet with the onion and peppers and saute until tender. Then add the pressed garlic and sliced basil and saute another 30 sec until it becomes aromatic. Transfer the contents of the skillet to another large bowl or large pot and set aside.
- Add the zucchini to the skillet with ¼ - ½ c of water. Cover the skillet and cook until the zucchini is fork tender. Stir the zucchini often moving it around the skillet. The water will evaporate and the zucchini will begin to caramelize. If necessary, add a bit more water. Some chunks will cook before others. Use a slotted spoon to remove any cooked zucchini and transfer it to the vessel with the mushrooms, onions and garlic. Continue to cook the zucchini and transfer it to the vessel until it is all cooked.
- When you begin to cook the zucchini, place the Italian chicken sausage into another skillet with a couple of tbsp of water and brown it until it is heated through. When it is done, transfer it to a plate and cut it into slices.
- Toss the zucchini chunks with the mushrooms, peppers and onions.
- Add the grated romano cheese to all the vegetables and toss again.
- Add the slice Italian chicken sausage to the vegetables and toss it again. Taste. Add salt to taste if needed. Also if the garlic taste is not strong enough to suit you, add garlic powder to boost it.
- Transfer everything to a storage bowl that can be covered and stored in the refrigerator.
- To serve, put 2 c of the zucchini stew into a soup bowl and add either 2 tbsp of Prego (or your favorite brand) or Al Fredo sauce on top of the stew and mix it in. If needed put into the microwave to heat it up and garnish with a sprinkle of grated romano cheese.
- Store the leftovers in the refrigerator.
Notes
The war club sized zucchini I used along with the other cooked vegetables and sliced sausage yielded 10¼ c of stew.
When I figured the nutritional info for a serving, I based it on 2 c or 1/5 of the recipe.
The recipe is low in points and saturated fat. You may need to recalculate points based on how much the recipe yields in your hands. The points comes from the olive oil, romano cheese and sausage and the type of sauces you used. I calculated the nutritional info based on the brands and amounts of the ingredients I used ingredients.
Also note, the nutritional info does NOT include the Prego or Al Fredo sauce. However, up above in the body of the recipe post, I included the points for just the stew, the stew plus the Prego and the stew plus the Al Fredo sauce.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 12.9g | Protein: 14.3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1.6g | Sodium: 500mg | Fiber: 3.1g | Sugar: 7.9g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
