Hi everyone! Today I'm going to be sharing my recipe for super simple lower calorie One-Pot Italian Spaghetti. It is perfect as a substitute for comfort food and is just as tasty as the higher calorie stuff! It is also great because you can make large quantities and have meals for days which will lower the amount you have to cook or you can feed your family!
I don’t want to bore you with the lame backstory of this recipe, but I just thought I should let you all know how I came up with it. I was scrolling through Pinterest while I was craving pasta (Pinterest and cravings are never a good mix), when I came across a recipe for one pot Italian pasta. Naturally I clicked on it and I was sad to see that the sauce was full of heavy cream and was using a slightly unhealthy type of sausage. At that point I was really excited for the pasta and I wanted it! So I decided to modify the recipe to fit a more indulgence worthy meal!
I start by preparing the garlic, basil and the rest of the spices/herbs. I cut up the sausages so they’re ready to be thrown in. I get out the rest of the ingredients as well so I’m not scrambling later (except for the water).
(Not photographed: I also added oregano, garlic salt/powder)
I put enough olive oil to cover to bottom of the pot, turn the heat to medium, and add the garlic to sautée.
One the garlic is slightly brown, I add the sausage and stir that with a spatula until the sausage is browned as well.
After that I put in the dry pasta tomato sauce, water, and my secret ingredient! I mix it all together, and turn the stove on high and wait!
My secret ingredient is Italian dressing! I add a little bit of that and it adds so much flavour! I added this my first time making it when I felt it tasted far too watery and it gave it that added boost it needed. My personal favourite type of italian dressing to use is the olive garden type (sold at costco), but any type that you like should work fine. The amount to use may differ depending on the brand. The olive garden brand was fine with two tablespoons, but the one pictured I found needed about 3.
Once the pasta is boiled add the fresh basil and spices/herbs, mix it in and put a lid on it for a few moments to let the pasta absorb the sauce.
It is alright if the pasta does not absorb the majority of the sauce because if you're planning on packing it up and eating it later it will absorb more.
There you go! Super easy and quick!
Why turkey sausage is better for you than pork: Turkey sausage has higher protein than your average pork sausage, and is also lower calorie and fat. It also has a higher amount of vitamins and minerals such as Vitamins A, C, E, B-6, B-12 as well as folate, and thiamine. Although if you are on a low sodium or cholesterol diet I would suggest chicken sausage as an even healthier sausage as it is the leanest of the three meats.
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
•1 tablespoon olive oil (more depending on the size of your pot)
•4 cloves of garlic, minced.
•Approx. 12 turkey sausages, sliced thinly (mine were quite small, so i would cut it down to 8-10 if you have large ones)
•¾ of a box of spaghetti
•2 ½ - 3 cups of water (I would follow this step loosely, if it appears like there is not enough water in the pot add more because you don’t want to burn your pasta)
•1 ½ cups thick tomato sauce
•2 tablespoons of italian dressing (or more to taste)
•Fresh basil & parsley, thinly sliced, to taste
•Salt & pepper to taste
•Oregano to taste
•Garlic salt/powder to taste
•Parmesan (for garnish)
Instructions:
- In a large pot, over medium heat, warm the olive oil and sauté the garlic until lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add sausage, stir with spatula and cook until browned.
- Add water, tomato sauce, italian dressing and stir. Add spaghetti, and bring water to a boil on high heat. Stir often to ensure pasta doesn't stick to the bottom.
- Once pasta is mostly cooked, turn the heat down to medium, add herbs/spices, cover the pot and wait about 10-15 minutes for the pasta to absorb more of the sauce. The sauce will thicken a bit. Since the sauce is water based it will not be quite as creamy as cream based sauces.
- Once pasta is tender and has absorbed some of the sauce, serve with parmesan as garnish and enjoy!
This recipe was inspired by Olivia’s Cuisine at oliviascuisine.com
If you have any questions about the recipe please comment and I will try my hardest to answer all of them!