Pasta Salad with Sausage, Zucchini, Olives, and Peppers

We made Pasta Salad with Sausage, Zucchini, Olives, and Peppers with Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta for lower carbs. You can also use Carbe Diem lower-carb penne if you find that in your store. And this type of pasta salad with sausage is a big favorite in my extended family!

PIN the Pasta Salad with Sausage to try it later!

If you’re wondering why Pasta Salad with Sausage, Zucchini, Olives, and Peppers is on my carb-conscious recipe blog, read on! For a while now my cooking assistant Kara and I have been obsessed with lower-carb Fiber Gourmet Pasta. That delicious wheat pasta from Italy has fiber to reduce the net carbs.

We loved this recipe made with Fiber Gourmet Light Penne! And this is a salad made with lots of sausage, zucchini, olives, and roasted red peppers, and only 8 ounces of pasta. But the Fiber Gourmet pasta is a pricey ingredient for many people. And it was hard to find in stores.

But now there are several brands of high-fiber lower-carb pastas on the market! Some haven’t impressed me in the flavor department. But I really like Carbe Diem Pasta, which is also high in fiber. And it’s less expensive, and is sold in grocery stores. And using Carbe Diem Pasta in this salad will also give the same lower-carb benefits!

I’m excited to remind you about this pasta salad that’s such a favorite in my extended family. I hope you try it with these lower-carb pasta options! And of course you can make this delicious salad with regular penne pasta if you prefer.

I think this pasta salad is perfect for summer. But it’s a year-round dish, because it’s also great for game-day food or movie night. I bet this pasta salad recipe will be a hit for anyone you make it for!

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.)

• zucchini
• turkey or pork Italian sausage 
• Fiber Gourmet Light Penne (affiliate link) or Carbe Diem Penne (affiliate link), or use another pasta of your choice
• sliced black olives
• Roasted Red Peppers in a jar (affiliate link)
• coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
• Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) or other low-sugar vinaigrette
• basil pesto or chopped fresh basil

Why we love these high fiber pastas so much:

Both Kara and I are carb-conscious eaters, and the food that both of us missed the most was pasta. When we tried the Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta, we were amazed to discover that it tastes just like regular pasta, with half the carbs! And the Carbe Diem Pasta is also very tasty. And if you use these pastas in a recipe with less pasta and more low-carb ingredients like we did in this salad, that makes the carb counts even lower for a serving. For this recipe, eight ounces of high-fiber pasta makes 8 side-dish servings of salad.

What pasta can you use for this pasta salad recipe?

• You can make the Pasta Salad with Sausage, Zucchini, Olives, and Peppers with one 8 ounce box of Fiber Gourmet Light Penne (affiliate link), which is what we used for this recipe. The pasta is less expensive on the Fiber Gourmet site, and in some parts of the country it’s sold in stores.
• If you make the salad with Carbe Diem Penne (affiliate link) it comes in a 12 0z. box, so only use 8 ounces for this recipe (slightly over 2 cups of dried pasta). The carb content for Carbe Diem will be just slightly less. (The nutritional info for the two types of pasta are very similar but Carbe Diem is just slightly lower in carbs and higher in protein.)
• If you don’t care so much about carbs, you can make this salad with whole wheat penne, which will be higher in carbs (depending on the pasta you use) but still probably not super high if you use the small amount of pasta and more low-carb ingredients like we did.

What adds flavor to the dressing for this salad?

We used basil pesto to make the dressing to make it a more year-round recipe, but if I was making this when it was fresh basil season, I’d use a bunch of finely chopped fresh basil.

What if you don’t want to use all these ingredients?

My family loves this pasta salad that’s loaded with good flavors from Italian sausage, marinated zucchini, black olives, and roasted red pepper. But if you don’t have (or don’t enjoy) some of those ingredients, you can definitely still make a very delicious pasta salad with only some of them.

How low in carbs is the Pasta Salad with Sausage, Zucchini, Olives, and Peppers?

This salad has a lot of low-carb sausage, zucchini, olives, and peppers and only one ounce of lower-carb Fiber Gourmet Light Penne or Carb Diem Penne per serving. With both of those options, the salad has about 19.2 net carbs per serving with 16.5 grams of protein. (Carbe Diem is very slightly lower in carbs and higher in protein, but the two are almost identical.)

Want more lower-carb ideas for pasta salad?

Check out No-Pasta Salad with Zucchini and Italian Sausage for a low-carb and gluten-free salad with similar flavors to this one.

How to Make Pasta Salad with Sausage, Zucchini, Olives, and Peppers:

(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.)

1. Start a big pot of salted water boiling. When water boils, add pasta, reduce heat, and cook until pasta is al dente. (Check the package on the brand of pasta you’re using. In Utah where the altitude is high I have to cook both these pastas longer than it says on the package.)
2. Cut up zucchini, then cook about 3-5 minutes in barely simmering water and drain well.
3. While the zucchini cooks mix the basil pesto into the dressing.
4. Marinate zucchini in 1/4 cup of the dressing. Marinate at least 20-30 minutes if you can to add flavor.
5. Brown sausage well until it’s fully cooked.
6. Drain red peppers, then chop up peppers into bite-sized pieces.
7. Drain olives, then cut into halves or slices.
8. When the sausage is well browned, let it cool enough to handle. Then cut into slices about 3/8 inch thick. 
9. As soon as it’s al dente, drain pasta well. Let pasta cool for a few minutes.
10. Then mix together drained pasta, cooled sausage, diced red peppers, and sliced olives.
11. Stir in the marinated zucchini with any dressing that’s in the bag.
12. Gently mix in the rest of the dressing (or as much as you prefer), and Parmesan cheese.
13. This Pasta Salad with Sausage, Zucchini, Olives, and Peppers is best when it chills in the fridge for at least an hour.
14. Leftovers will stay good in the fridge for quite a few days.

Make it for a Carb-Conscious Meal:

This pasta salad with sausage is a side dish, and if you wanted to serve it as part of a meal it would be great with any of these other salads:

• Spicy Lime Coleslaw
• Spicy Cabbage Puerto Rican Salad
• Jicama Carrot Radish Slaw
• Heart of Palm and Avocado Salad
• No Mayo Vinegar Coleslaw

Want More Pasta Dishes to try with Lower-Carb Pasta?

You can find more dishes to try with Carbe Diem Pasta or Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta in the category for Pasta Recipes. (Recipes in that category have been made with a variety of pasta options. It will take me a long time to re-test the recipes and update them with more choices for these newer types of pasta. But I am working on it!)

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4.8 Stars (14 Reviews)

Yield: 8 servings

Pasta Salad with Sausage, Zucchini, Olives, and Peppers

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 2 hours

This pasta salad recipe has Italian Sausage, zucchini, olives, and roasted red peppers, and this is a big hit at Denny family parties! And we loved this salad made with the new Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta for a lower-carb version.

Ingredients

• 3 small zucchini, cut in fourths lengthwise, then cut into pieces
• 5 links turkey or pork Italian Sausage
• 8 oz. Fiber Gourmet Light Penne or Carbe Diem Penne (see notes)
• one 6 oz. can black olives
• one 12 oz. jar roasted red bell peppers
• 1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for adding at the table

Dressing Ingredients:

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 cup Newman’s Own Classic Oil and Vinegar salad dressing (see notes)
• 1/4 cup basil pesto (see notes)

Instructions

1. Start a large pot of salted water boiling to cook the pasta.
2. When water boils, add pasta, stir, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until pasta is al dente.
3. Cut ends off zucchini, cut into fourths, and then cut the strips into pieces. Cook zucchini just 3-5 minutes in barely simmering water; then drain well.
4. While zucchini cooks mix the basil pesto into the salad dressing.
5. Marinate the drained zucchini in about 1/4 cup of the dressing. Marinate it for an hour or so if you can, but even 20-30 minutes marinating time will add flavor.
6. Brown the sausage well on all sides until it's fully cooked. When it's brown, let sausage cool until it's cool enough to cut.
7. Drain roasted red peppers, then chop into bite-sized pieces.
8. Drain the can of olives, then cut olives in half (or in slices.)
9. When sausage is cool, cut into slices about 3/8 inch thick.
10. As soon as it is done to al dente, drain the pasta in a colander placed in the sink. Let pasta cool a few minutes.
11. Then mix together the drained pasta, sausage slices, diced red pepper, and olives.
12. Then mix in the marinated zucchini and any dressing in the bag. Mix in the rest of the dressing (or as much as you prefer) and the Parmesan cheese.
13. The salad is best when it chills in the fridge for at least an hour.
14. Leftovers will stay good in the fridge for quite a few days.

Notes

Eight ounces of penne pasta is just slightly over 2 cups of dried pasta. Carb Diem Penne and Fiber Gourmet Light Penne are almost identical in nutritional info, with Carbe Diem being just very slightly lower in carbs and higher in protein.

I use Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) because it's low in sugar; use any low-sugar vinaigrette you prefer.

If you're making it in the summer months when fresh basil is plentiful you could substitute 1/4 cup (or more) fresh-chopped basil for the pesto mixed into the dressing.

This salad is great with roasted peppers from a jar, but if you want to bump up the flavor with freshly roasted red peppers, here is How to Roast Red Bell Peppers on a Barbecue Grill.

This recipe created by Kalyn many years ago to make a pasta salad with favorite ingredients.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 529Total Fat 37gSaturated Fat 9.1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 28.3gCholesterol 35mgSodium 747mgCarbohydrates 32gFiber 12.8gSugar 6.1gProtein 16.5g

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.

Did you make this recipe?

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
When made with the Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta or Carbe Diem Penne, this pasta salad recipe would work for low-carb diets, but not Keto. Using whole-grain pasta and turkey Italian Sausage could make this a personal choice for phase two or three of the original South Beach Diet. It’s still probably a “once in a while treat” for South Beach if you’re actively dieting, due to the amount of cheese and the fat content. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes for 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 Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2007! The photos were updated in 2013, when I accidentally made the salad a week early for a family party. The post was last updated with more information and the choice of two different lower-carb higher-pasta options in 2026.