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Sausage, Eggplant and Kale Pasta

    Satisfy your carb cravings with this healthy pasta dish filled with flavor-packed Italian sausage, eggplant and kale.

    Sausage, Kale and Eggplant Pasta - The Lemon Bowl

    Last week I gave you a glimpse inside a typical Door to Door Organics order so today I’m sharing a quick and easy recipe that uses a few items from our box. After chatting with several friends, I quickly learned that my family probably eats more fruits and vegetables than the typical American family. Trust me, I get it.

    So, I figured that if I was going to take the time to recommend signing up for a weekly produce delivery service, it only makes sense that I also show you HOW to use up all of those gorgeous fruits and vegetables. After all, the key to being able to maintain long term healthy eating habits is having the tools and knowledge to put those good intentions into actions. 

    Sausage, Kale and Eggplant Pasta by The Lemon Bowl

    Today’s recipe is more of a method than a specific guideline. As always, I encourage you to mix and match with whatever you have on hand. We happened to order spicy organic pork sausage through Door to Door Organics but you are welcome to swap it out with chicken sausage, turkey sausage, you name it. Kale and eggplant work really well in this pasta but so would mushrooms, zucchini, or asparagus.

    Make it your own and have fun getting in the kitchen.

    Your fork is waiting.

    Sausage, Kale and Eggplant Pasta by The Lemon Bowl

    Sausage, Eggplant and Kale Pasta

    4.84 stars average
    Satisfy your carb cravings with this healthy pasta dish filled with flavor-packed Italian sausage, eggplant and kale.
    PREP: 5 mins
    COOK: 20 mins
    TOTAL: 25 mins
    Servings: 4

    Ingredients
     

    • 8 ounces whole wheat pasta (or pasta of choice)
    • 12 ounces uncooked Italian pork sausage (or turkey/chicken sausage)
    • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    • 3 cloves garlic (grated)
    • 1 eggplant (skin on & cubed)
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon chili flakes (optional)
    • 4 cups torn kale (we used purple kale but any type works)
    • ½ cup shredded parmesan
    • ½ cup minced fresh parsley

    Instructions
     

    • Prepare pasta according to package instructions reserving 1 cup of starchy cooking liquid.
    • Heat a large non-stick sauté pan over medium-high and spray with cooking spray. Add sausage and begin to break down with a wooden spoon while it browns, 8-10 minutes. Remove browned sausage from pan and set aside.
    • To the warm pan, add olive oil and garlic. Heat for 30 seconds before adding eggplant. salt and chili flakes. Sauté eggplant until softened, 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
    • Add reserved pasta cooking liquid and use wooden spoon to scrape brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in kale and cook 2-3 minutes or until wilted.
    • Return cooked sausage and pasta to the pan and cook until heated through, 2-3 minutes.
    • Stir in parmesan and parsley before serving. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

    Notes

    To reduce the sodium content, simply omit the added salt or reduce the parmesan cheese

    Nutrition

    Calories: 446kcalCarbohydrates: 56.5gProtein: 19.7gFat: 20.5gSaturated Fat: 6.5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 1039mgFiber: 11.8gSugar: 2.8g

    SHOW AND TELL ON INSTAGRAM!Show me your creation and rate it below! Mention @thelemonbowl or tag #thelemonbowl! I would LOVE to see!
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    Liz DellaCroce

    Liz Della Croce is the creator and author of The Lemon Bowl, a healthy food blog. Since 2010, Liz has been sharing delicious recipes that just so happen to be healthy. By using real ingredients with an emphasis on seasonality, Liz has built a growing audience of loyal readers who crave good food for their families. Click Here To Subscribe to my newsletter:

    60 Comments

    1. Liz,
      Thanks for this recipe! I’ve added it to the Farm Fresh Feasts Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me who love to eat from the farm share.
      I appreciate your help in making this index better!

    2. I have to eat veggies and fruits as I have celiacs,I love the fact
      that they deliver,as sometimes I am so sick it is hard for me
      to get out all of the time.I usually incorporate mushrooms,onions,spinach
      into my rice and tomatoes on my salads with apples, dried cranberries,cucumbers.I just bought fresh strawberries so I make a spinach
      salad with walnuts and pears.
      It is not hard when you learn how to eat so many different things~snacks are
      raw carrots and celery.

    3. Veggies and Fruits make for easy snacks in my house. My daughter loves fresh strawberries and cherry tomatoes.

    4. I make sure a vegetable is the dominant component of my lunches and dinners, and have fruit everyday with breakfast and for dessert!

    5. When I was little my Dad and Mom would have to force feed me veggies,
      now that I have grown up~I can not get enough,and I love to eat them
      raw,especially grn.beans.I love broccoli,and I incorporate
      a lot of my veggies into morning noon and night.I have Celiacs so
      I have to be careful with gluten.It now is just a way of life for me,and
      you just learn to ENJOY.

    6. Our family incorporates fruits and veggies but having plenty on hand to snack on…a full fruit bowl on the counter and crunchy raw veggies cut and ready in the fridge.

    7. We try to eat fruit and veggies at every meal and at snacks. Our favorite is peanut butter and banana ice cream. Those are the only two ingredients and it’s delicious!

    8. We incorporate more veggies and fruits with each meal by buying more fresh stuff. If I have it I will find ways to use it, I love trying new things and I personally eat at least one salad a day as a meal, and there are all kinds of ways to get creative with that :)

    9. This is totally my kind of recipe Liz-simple, one can substitute ingredients one has in, and sounds (and looks) totally delicious! I will definitely be trying it!
      I love to make sauces out of vegetables (Roasted Red Pepper or Cauliflower sauces for example) when I need to use up vegetables or throwing them in pasta, like you’ve done here :)
      Thanks for doing this awesome giveaway, I’d love to win and order a box of wonderful fruits and veggies to be delivered at my moms house in Chicago!

    10. Smoothies are definitely the easiest way to sneak veggies into the kids. Both of my kids love avocados, so if I feel like they haven’t gotten enough veggies one day, I just cut one in half and let them eat it with a spoon.

    11. I am with the comment that my attention was captured as soon as I read eggplant. I suspect I would use spinach instead of kale, but as you noted there are lots of wonderful mix and match choices. I have become quite fond of whole wheat noodles. I tried them for a change of pace only. Then found my preference leaning in that direction.

    12. I mean I could eat fruits and veggies plain and raw all day long, but I love incorporating veggies like kale and spinach in my soups, stews, and pasta dishes, Also, vegan Hawaiian pizza is SO GOOD. Yay for pineapple!

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