Veggie and Sausage Pasta

1.) This pasta dish is made simple by a combination of fresh and already prepared ingredients.

2.) Start by boiling a pot of water for your pasta according to the directions on the box. Heat another small pan on medium high heat, and add a tablespoon of olive oil. In the meantime, chop up your zucchini and mushrooms into equal sized pieces. Add the chopped veggies to the pan with a pinch of salt and pepper.

3.) Once your water has boiled, add 1.5 cups of pasta to it. Next, slice your olives and sausage and add those to the small pan along with the frozen peas.

4.) Once your pasta is cooked, drain out the water.

5.) Add your veggies, pesto, and cheese to the pasta and mix well.

6.) Serve up and enjoy!

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Veggie and Sausage Pasta (Total Time: 25 minutes, Prep Time: 15 minutes, Serves: 2)

For some reason I have neglected to post recipes that I throw together often because I figured they were too basic, but sometime’s basic meals are the best kind and are exactly what you need on a lazy night. This pasta takes more time to make than a pre-made frozen meal, but it’s still a fairly low effort recipe. Buying pre-cooked sausage and pre-made pesto make this recipe even easier. This pasta dish packs about 25g of protein per serving, so it’ll fill you up too! While I didn’t make this recipe gluten free or vegan, it’s pretty easy to alter the recipe to your needs (scroll to the bottom for suggestions).

Ingredients

1 zucchini

1 cup mushrooms

1 pre-cooked chicken sausage

1/2 cup frozen peas

10 kalamata olives

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup pesto of your choice

1.5 cup pasta (penne or fusilli work well)

olive oil, salt, and pepper

Directions

1: Start by boiling salty water according to the instructions on your box of pasta. In another small pan, heat it to medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil.

2: Slice up your zucchini and mushrooms into equal sized pieces and add those to the small pan with a pinch of salt of pepper. Once your water has boiled in the other pot, add your pasta and cook for the instructed time (usually around 10 minutes).

3: Once your zucchini and mushrooms start to become slightly cooked, slice up the sausage and olives and add those to the pan along with the frozen peas. Cook until the veggies and sausage have a light golden brown fry on them.

4: Once your pasta is cooked, strain out the water. Add your veggies, pesto, and grated parmesan to the pasta and mix well.

5: Serve up and enjoy!

Vegan Adaptation

Swap the sausage for vegan sausage, or double/triple the amount of peas in the recipe to replace the protein in the sausage. Substitute the nutritional yeast for the parmesan, and choose a vegan pesto like Trader Joes kale and cashew vegan pesto.

Gluten Free Adaptation

Just swap the regular pasta for a gluten free one, or you could even use rice!