Sausage, Sauerkraut & Mushroom Pasta > Life Simply Reimagined

Living low carb is a rewarding lifestyle, at least for me but it comes with a few sacrifices and pasta is one of them. Now, I’m not a big pasta fan, but every once in a while, it just hits the spot!

This low carb pasta dish is a spin on a recipe, called lazy pierogi, that I was introduced to in my early twenties after my mother married into a polish family. I loved the combination of flavors in this light dish complete with smoked sausage (or chicken), sauerkraut, mushrooms and pasta. It has a very light sauce that I only later found out was cream of mushroom. Yum!

Now for those you who want to tell me that pasta has no place in polishes dishes, I get it! I can only tell you that this was how I was introduced to this delicious recipe.

Challenges with creating this low carb pasta dish

There were two challenges with recreating this dish. The first was the pasta, of course! While I cook quite a bit, my day job doesn’t typically allow for the time it takes to makes a good, homemade low carb pasta. How did I solve for this? I discovered the Explore Cuisine line of whole food pastas. I wouldn’t consider all them to be “low carb” but the black bean product is only 10 net carbs for a 2 oz serving and is AMAZING! By the way, 2 oz is a very large serving, in my opinion. It has a very mild taste. I even tested it on my mother, who hates black beans and she loved it!

Overcoming the second hurdle was a bit more challenging. It’s not hard to make a good low carb, gluten free (which is a must in my house) mushroom sauce, but, again, time is not always on my side. After reviewing and testing several packaged options I landed on Pioneer’s gluten free brown gravy thinking that by adding a good organic sour cream, I would lighten the flavor to make it come out more like a mushroom sauce. I hit the jackpot and the rest, as they say, is history!

Sausage, sauerkraut & mushroom low carb pasta dish

There are so many options for enhancing the flavor of this low carb pasta dish including adding onion, garlic and a multitude of veggies like green beans or spinach. Feel free to experiment while keeping in that modifying the recipe will change it’s nutritional content.

Let’s get started!

You will need:

Polish kielbasa - 2, 16 oz packages. I use Simple Truth brand
Explore Cuisine Black Bean Pasta - 4 oz (½ box)
Brown gravy mix - 1 ⅛ cup prepared - I use Pioneer brand
Fresh mushrooms sliced - 8 oz package
Sauerkraut - 14 fluid oz - I use Silver Fleece
Grass fed butter - 2 Tbsp
Organic sour cream - ¾ cup
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Pasta:

Bring medium pot of water to boil
Add black bean pasta and cook according to the package directions (5-7) minutes.
Drain pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process

Sausage, mushrooms & sauerkraut:

Slice polish sausage into ½ pieces
Melt butter in large saute pan on medium heat
Lightly rinse sauerkraut, if desired
Add sausage to butter over medium to high heat until browned to taste
Rinse & dry mushrooms
Add sauerkraut to the sausage and brown
Include mushrooms towards the end to cook down slightly
Remove from heat

Sauce:

In separate pan prepare the brown gravy mix
Stir in sour cream

Putting it all together:

In large casserole or pan stir together pasta & sausage mixture
Pour sauce over the combination, stirring gently to blend until creamy
Salt and pepper to taste

Makes 8 servings.

Nutritional Facts:

These nutritional facts are estimated based on the specific ingredients I used and will vary if any are substituted. I like to use the MyFitnessPal app to get an accurate reading on macro and calorie count. I have dozens of recipes created with this information. What a great tool!

Check out another fan favorite, the best low carb sugar cookie recipe.

Enjoy!

If you are new to Keto or are looking for a great support program, I invite you check out Fat Fueled. A program developed by Leanne Vogel. She is an amazing nutritionist that has helped thousands of people embrace a low carb, high fat lifestyle. Check it out here.

Take care and, as always, stay healthy!