Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Macaroni Soup (with low-carb pasta)
Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Macaroni Soup is something I’ve made for years for Denny family parties and it’s always a hit! And we’ve updated this recipe to use Fiber Gourmet Light Elbows with lots of lower carb ingredients, which makes this soup only about 9 net carbs per serving!
PIN the Italian Sausage Soup so you can make it later!
This Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Macaroni Soup is long-time favorite soup recipe, and I’ve made it many times for family get-togethers, or for my annual New Year’s Day soup party. It’s perfect for the time of year when the nights are getting cooler, but there’s still zucchini from the garden, but this is also a recipe that’s worth buying a couple of small zucchinis!
And when we wanted to update the photos for this soup, Kara and I decided to experiment with using Fiber Gourmet Light Elbows (affiliate link) for the macaroni in the soup! We also used a little more ground Italian Sausage, and those changes brought the carb count down to about 9 net carbs per serving, which I bet is going to make this soup a lot more appealing to lots of you.
And you know how I am about slightly improving the recipe when I update the photos; I just can’t help myself. We also added a bit more spices and used a bit more chicken broth to make 8 generous servings. But if anyone was a fan of the original version that used links of Italian sausage and whole wheat macaroni, you can find that at the end of the actual recipe, in the section called NOTES.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- onion
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link), or chopped fresh garlic
- pork or turkey Italian Sausage
- Dried Oregano (affiliate link)
- Dried Basil (affiliate link)
- Spike Seasoning (affiliate link)
- Ground Fennel (affiliate link)
- black pepper
- canned chicken broth (affiliate link), or use homemade chicken stock if you have some
- canned petite dice tomatoes
- water
- zucchini
- Fiber Gourmet Light Elbows (affiliate link) for low-carbs, or use other macaroni of your choice if you don’t care about that
- Basil Pesto (affiliate link), chopped fresh basil, or frozen basil
- Parmesan cheese for serving soup
More about the Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta that’s low in carbs:
Both Kara and I are quite smitten with the Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta! This is a high-fiber pasta made in Italy and it comes in Penne, Rotini, Spaghetti, and Elbows. This tastes absolutely the same as regular high-carb pasta made with wheat. The only bad news about this pasta is the price. I haven’t found it in any stores near me, but when I order from Amazon I am careful not to choose the option for only two boxes of pasta; that makes it almost $10 a box. If you get the pack with six boxes it comes out to about $6.66 per box, still pricey but worth it for me when I am craving pasta and don’t want carbs. We’re making more recipes all the time with this exciting new pasta option, just search “Fiber Gourmet” on the website to find other recipes where we have used it.
How to make Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta more affordable and reduce the carbs:
Even though the Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta varieties are all much lower in carbs than other pastas made from wheat, I like to make the carbs even lower by using this pasta in recipes with lots of other low-carb ingredients. So for this recipe, one cup of the elbows makes eight servings of soup. That makes the carb count much lower and makes the pasta much more affordable.
Can you make this soup with fresh basil?
I would definitely use fresh basil or my frozen chopped basil in this soup if I had some. But it will also be delicious with purchased basil pesto.
Want an even lower-carb and gluten-free version of this soup?
We lowered the carbs in this soup quite a bit by using Fiber Gourmet Light Elbows (affiliate link) and using a bit more sausage than the original recipe. But if you want a version of the recipe that’s even lower in carbs (and also gluten-free) just skip the macaroni and use more diced zucchini.
More Low-Carb Soups and Stews with Italian Sausage:
- Italian Sausage Soup with Tomatoes and Zucchini Noodles
- Italian Sausage, Tomato, and Pesto Soup
- Instant Pot Sausage Soup with Pesto
- Low-Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Instant Pot (or Stovetop) Low-Carb Zuppa Toscana Soup
How to Make Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Macaroni Soup:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium-high heat and cook onion a few minutes. Add minced garlic and cook a few minutes more.
- Then add ground sausage and cook until it’s nicely browned, breaking it apart with a turner or Hamburger Meat Chopper (affiliate link).
- When sausage is browned, add oregano, basil, Spike Seasoning, Fennel, and black pepper.
- Then add chicken broth and petite diced tomatoes, with the liquid.
- Turn stove to low and let it simmer about 30 minutes.
- While soup simmers, dice up enough zucchini to make about 2 cups of diced zucchini.
- Add zucchini to the soup and simmer 15 minutes on low.
- Then add macaroni (plus another cup of water if needed.)
- If you’d like an even lower-carb and gluten-free version of this soup, use a little more zucchini and skip the macaroni.
- Simmer soup about 15 minutes more, or until macaroni is done.
- Then stir in basil pesto, chopped fresh basil or frozen chopped basil and cook about 5 minutes more.
- Taste to see if you want to add salt or more fresh-ground black pepper.
- Serve soup hot, with freshly grated Parmesan to add at the table.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
Serve Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Macaroni Soup with Savory Almond Flour Bread, Low Carb-High Fiber Savory Muffins, or Olive Bread for a delicious low-carb meal.
Find More Low-Carb Soup Recipes:
- Keto Cauliflower Soup Recipes
- The Top Ten Low-Carb Soup Recipes
- 50 Low-Carb Instant Pot Soup Recipes
- Low-Carb and Keto Instant Pot Soups
- Spectacular Low-Carb Soups with Zucchini
Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Macaroni Soup
Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Macaroni Soup is a hearty soup that's great to serve at a party! And this recipe can now be made with Fiber Gourmet Light Elbows, which gives it an option to be quite low in carbs!
Ingredients
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 T minced garlic (or finely chopped fresh garlic)
- 2 lbs. ground spicy turkey Italian Sausage (see notes)
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 2 tsp. dried basil
- 2 tsp. Spike Seasoning
- 2 tsp. ground fennel
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 8 cups chicken broth (see notes)
- 2 14.5 oz. cans petite diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water (or more, as needed)
- 2 cups diced zucchini (see notes)
- 1 cup Fiber Gourmet Light Elbows (see notes)
- 2-3 T basil pesto, or use chopped fresh basil or frozen basil if you have some
- freshly-grated Parmesan cheese for serving, optional
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a big soup pot over medium-high heat and cook the onion a few minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook a few minutes more.
- Then add the ground sausage and cook until it's nicely browned, breaking it apart with a turner or Hamburger Meat Chopper while it cooks. (Don't rush this step, the browning adds flavor)
- When the sausage is well browned, add the oregano, basil, Spike Seasoning, Fennel, and black pepper and stir it into the sausage
- Then add the chicken broth (or homemade chicken stock) and petite diced tomatoes, with the liquid from the can
- Turn the stove down to low and let the mixture simmer for about 30 minutes
- While the soup simmers, cut ends off zucchini, cut into four strips and then cut into small cubes, cutting up enough for about 2 cups of zucchini, or a little more zucchini won't hurt.
- Add zucchini to the soup and simmer 15 minutes, still keeping the temperature on low.
- Then add the macaroni (plus another cup of water if it seems like quite a bit of the liquid has evaporated. If your stove cooks hot you may need even more than 1 cup extra water.)
- If you'd like an even lower-carb and gluten-free version of this soup, use a little more zucchini and skip the macaroni
- Simmer soup about 15 minutes more, or until the macaroni is done
- Then stir in the basil pesto, chopped fresh basil or frozen chopped basil and cook about 5 minutes more
- Taste soup to see if you want to add salt or more fresh-ground black pepper
- Serve soup hot, with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan for people to add at the table.
Notes
I used turkey Italian sauage, but pork sausage will also work if you don't mind a soup with more fat.
If you have homemade chicken stock that will be amazing in this soup.
Nutritional information for the soup has been re-calculated using Fiber Gourmet Light Elbows, so if you use a different type of pasta it will be higher in carbs. For an even lower-carb and gluten-free soup skip the macaroni and use more zucchini.
ORIGINAL RECIPE WITH WHOLE WHEAT PASTA AND LINK SAUSAGE:
- 5 links hot Italian Sausage, cut into 3/8 inch slices
- 2 tsp. olive oil, for browning sausage
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 T finely chopped fresh garlic (or garlic puree)
- 2 cups diced zucchini
- 6 cups homemade chicken stock (see notes)
- twoย 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes (or use a smaller amount of slow roasted tomatoes)
- 2 cups water
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 2 tsp. dried basil
- 1 cup whole wheat macaroni (see notes)
- 3 T minced fresh basil (optional, or you can useย frozen basil)
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving soup
(Instructions for the recipe are the same, other than the option to brown the links of sausage and cut them into slices or half slices.)
Recipe created by Kalyn, and served at many Denny family parties.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 325Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 3.3gUnsaturated Fat 9.6gCholesterol 110mgSodium 2049mgCarbohydrates 16.5gFiber 7.6gSugar 3.9gProtein 31.5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
The updated Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Macaroni Soup recipe here made with Fiber Gourmet Light Elbows and more sausage is low enough in carbs for low-carb diet plans, but probably not Keto. If you use turkey Italian Sausage and Fiber Gourmet or whole wheat pasta, and only a moderate amount of Parmesan cheese, this would be a great choice for phase two or three of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup Recipes to find more recipes like this one.Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalynโs Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes Iโm sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was posted in 2005! I made it for years for Denny family parties, and the photos were first updated in 2015. In 2023 the recipe was updated with better photos and the option to use Fiber Gourmet Light Elbows, which makes it a low-carb soup!
53 Comments on “Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Macaroni Soup (with low-carb pasta)”
Excellent soup to use up zucchini from the garden. Easy to make . 5 stars
Thanks, so glad you enjoyed it!
Pingback: Skinny Curried Zucchini Soup Recipe | Simple Nourished Living
Can I slow cook this just adding noodles last 15-20 minutes? Thank you!ย
I haven’t made this in a slow cooker, so I can’t tell you exactly how to adapt it. But I think it would work. I would use a bit less liquid for the slow cooker, since it will create more liquid as it cooks. And I think the pasta might need more than 15-20 minutes, unless you’re going to pre-cook them. I’d love to hear what works if you try it!
Pingback: 5 reasons why soup is healthy | This Mama Cooks! On a Dietโข
Since I am a vegetarian, I made a vegan (vegetarian, if you use the cheese) version using Field Roast Italian style grain sausage and swapping veggie broth for the chicken stock. Probably not as low carb but it came out great. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Tami, so glad you're enjoying the recipes!
My husband and I just love this soup, I made it tonight, he cooked the italian sausages on the grill. One last grilling before the winter sets in here in Wisconsin. He requests this soup all the time. I follow all of your recipes and tell a lot of people about your site and that you are on facebook. I use south beach recipes and weigh in at weight watchers since I need to be accountable. Thank you for all you do! I am have been a fan since 2011!
Ellen, the tomatoes do smell heavenly when they're roasting. If you're using them in soup, I would chop them up for sure. I don't think it matters if you chop before or after freezing, but I usually freeze them whole.
I have a slow roasted tomato ? – I happened to run across some pretty yellow/orange roma's at the farmers market Saturday and have been interested in this (soup) recipe and the tomato recipe. I bought a batch and made them last night. My ?…when you prep them for the freezer do you leave them whole as when they were roasted? If so…do you chop them when you prepare the recipe? I was making these and crockpot applesauce …my house smelled yummy all night long.
Thanks Pam. I need to make it again and invite you over!
Absolutely my favorite soup!
Thanks Kelley, so glad you like it!
This looks great, Kalyn. The exact kind of soup I want to make on a cold day. I love making soups and eating it for lunch through the week. This is definitely going on the rotation!
Lydia, love that name!
In my house, we call these "big soups", the ones that have a little bit of everything in them. They are my favorites!
I just found your blog and have spent the better part of two days reading it. I just made this soup for dinner. I had a zucchini in the fridge that needed to be used. I opted to use white beans and added some red pepper flakes. We like things with a kick. Serving with whole wheat corn bread. Delish!
Julie Anne, glad you enjoyed the soup.
Yum….made this soup a few nights ago and every night it just gets better and better. Thanks Kalyn!
Another winner Kalyn! Everybody coming in my house wanted to know what smelled so good! Loved it! Thanks!
Gotcha! That makes sense. Thank you! I'm heading out now and will let you know how it comes out. I have some homemade stock I froze last week when I made chicken soup and will be using that in this soup. Yum!
Linda, you can slice the zucchini and use it all if you prefer, but the inner white part of the zucchini releases a lot of water and just gets "mushy" in soup, so I like to trim that part away. Either way will work though.
Hey Kalyn,
I'm so enjoying making a big pot of soup every Sunday that I can enjoy all week. So today I have some turkey sausage in the fridge and this soup is on the menu as soon as I head out to buy the zucchini. I am not clear, however, from the instructions on what I'm supposed to do with the zucchini. The 3/8 inch stuff is confusing me. Can't just slice it up and use the whole thing? Thanks!
kpross, thanks! So glad you like it. This is one of my own favorites too, but my nieces husband Ryan is the one in our family who LOVES this and will ask me to make it for every family party.
We love this soup!! It is so hearty and delicious. We made a double batch on Sunday and took it to work all week – this will be our new routine. Thanks, Kalyn!!
Basil is what is considered a “soft herb” and the flavor will disappear with long cooking time. There’s a good piece at Beyond Salmon about the difference between hard and soft herbs
How come you put fresh basil in at the end? Why not fresh basil and oregano at the beginning?
Christine, Julie, Kevin, and TW, thanks. I love it when my favorite bloggers like the sound of a recipe.
Maggiesmeats, love the idea of black-eyed-peas in this!
I made this last night with black eyed peas and it was fantastic! Thank you so much for your great blog.
What a great combination – I’m ready for those autumn soups, and I’m in love with any recipe that continues the summer zucchini festival!
This looks really yummy. Unfortunately it’s not getting to cool here in Phoenix yet, but I’ll save this for when it does!
That soup looks nice and tasty! I like using Italian sausage in soups like this as they add so much flavour.
Great looking soup, Kalyn. I love turkey Italian sausage, both the mild and the hotter version. The weather is definitely turning where I live; rain is forecast for Thursday. Soup weather.
Lauren, definitely you could reduce the amount of tomatoes, especially if you were leaving out the macaroni. You might need a bit more chicken stock, but maybe not without macaroni. Let me know how it turns out. Glad to hear you like the egg muffins too.
Do you think I could cut back on one of the cans of tomatoes to reduce the carb content? I’d have to leave out the noodles, too (wheat intolerance). It looks so scrumptious! Just perfect for warming up on a cold fall night.
Just wanted to let you know I’m a huge fan of your egg muffin recipe as a quick breakfast. Thanks, Kalyn!
This looks absolutly delicious. Will definatly have to try.
That looks fantastic.
I recommended your site to my wife. She prepared this soup, turned out to be delicious.
Thanks.
Thanks for the nice feedback about the soup everyone!
Becca, how about next time Ryan is in town you guys (and the KIDS of course!) come over and I’ll make it for him? That would be fun! (Blog readers: Ryan and Becca have the most adorable kids ever.)
Kalyn, I love the combination of sausage and zucchini! That soup looks so hearty and delicious that I’m craving it right now even though it’s only 7:30 in the morning!! ๐
You are absolutely right, Ryan does love this soup and how nice of you to remember something like that! I bet he wishes he could have some!
Becca
This soup sounds great, I will give it a try.
I never would think of combining zucchini and sausages in a macaroni soup but it sounds very delicious and easy to make.
i can imagine how good this tastes – i like to add sausage to a pumpkin soup
Yum!! I used Chicken sausage and deliberately undercooked the zucchini so I could reheat the batch one dish at a time. I also used beans instead of macaroni and found canned fire roasted tomatoes. mmm. I will be making this again, and there are many options to tweak it with all the sausage choices out there. Thanks!
Carolyn, glad to hear it. It’s a big hit with all my nieces and nephews, even the small ones.
I made this soup last night and it was delicious! My 4 year old ate every bite and my husband was super happy. Thank you!
Beans would be great in this. As far as the carbs, I say, carbs or less carbs, it’s your choice. I’m not one of those radical “everyone must choose what choose” kind of people. (At least not on that topic.)
I’m not worried about the carbs… in fact, I’d put more in – like beans! The soup looks great. Will give it a go sometime.
Promise?
Adam, the turkey Italian sausage is delicious. You have got to trust me on this!! Get that and some Dreamfield’s pasta!! You will love it.
Kalyn,
Turkey sausage–tastes okay? Edible?
Adam;-)