One of my favorite ways to make a fast and flavorful spaghetti sauce is to use sausage in place of the usual ground beef. It has all it’s own spices and flavors built right in, which means way less ingredients without compromising on flavor! Normally I just use Italian sausage, but it finally occurred to me to change it up a bit and use andouille sausage instead for a little Creole flavored flair!
While the sauce simmers, you’ll have plenty of time to make the zucchini noodles and do a little kitchen cleanup! I love dinners that are so simple there’s time to clean up as you go. I’m just your typical cook that hates to do dishes, so I’m always looking for ways to make things easier!
To chop up an onion, start by cutting off both ends and peeling away the tough outer layer. Next, cut the onion in half from the top to the bottom. Make two cuts almost all the way to the core but not slicing through, keeping the onion half in tact.
Then, lay the onion half flat side down on the cutting board and make cuts across the rounded top in 1/4″ spacing, once again not cutting all the way through the core end. That little bit at the core end is what holds the onion together while you’re cutting it.
Finally cut across the slices to make a small dice. Once you learn to cut an onion up this way, you won’t believe how much it will speed things up!
I’m currently having a ‘thing’ for fire roasted tomatoes! They add another layer of flavor to the overall dish without any extra effort, which is always a plus! If find it easiest to pour a the can of fire roasted tomatoes into the blender for a quick blend rather than crushing them by hand.
While the sauce simmers, spiralize the zucchini noodles. When the sauce is ready, the zucchini noodles get a quick sauté, and you’re ready to eat!
Even though I love to cook more than most everything else, simple dinners are my number one go-to! The facts are time is always at a premium, and simplicity helps take the load off, especially during the work week.
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Andouille Marinara over Zucchini Noodles
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
Andouille Marinara:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced 1/4″
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 ounce of smoked chicken andouille sausage links, thinly sliced
- 1 – 28 ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes
- Sea salt to taste
Zucchini Noodles:
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds of zucchini
- 1/2 Teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- In a blender, blend the fire roasted tomatoes until mostly smooth with small bits of tomatoes.
- Heat a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and diced onion, sauté until the onion begins to turn translucent. Add the garlic to the pan and sauté until fragrant but not browned, about 30 seconds. Add the smoked sausage and cook until the sausage and onion mixture browns a bit, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the blended tomatoes and bring the sauce to a simmer. Lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes on low heat. The long simmer time really helps develop the flavor of the sauce. You’ll want the final sauce to be fairly thick, a little thicker than you would normally like it for pasta because the zucchini noodles will thin it out a bit later.
- While the sauce simmers, prepare the zucchini noodles. You can make zucchini noodles a number of ways, I prefer to use a spiralizer because it’s the fastest. You can also use a julienne peeler to create zucchini noodles. For either method slice off both ends. For the spirlizer, I use the smallest blade to run the zucchini through. For the julienne peeler, simply drag the peeler over the surface of the zucchini creating ‘noodles’. Rotate the zucchini as you go for the least amount of leftover zucchini. Set the noodles aside until the sauce is almost done.
- Season the sauce to taste before sautéing the zucchini noodles.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, prepared zucchini noodles, and the sea salt to the skillet. Sauté until just tender, 2-3 minutes. I like to use a pair of tongs for turning the noodles while they’re cooking. If you’re comfortables with using high heat, I’d recommend it. I’ve found it’s easier not to over cook zucchini noodles over high heat – it seems to sear them better.
- Serve the sautéed zucchini noodles immediately topped with the andouille marinara sauce!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins