High-Protein Italian Drunken Noodles
Low carb, sugar-free and ready in 25 minutes — wide low-carb noodles tossed with spicy Italian sausage, burst tomatoes and basil in a cast iron skillet
These high-protein Italian drunken noodles keep every promise on the cover: low carb, sugar-free, ready in 25 minutes — with 28g protein, 8g net carbs and 320 calories per serving. Wide low-carb pappardelle-style noodles are tossed through a cast-iron skillet of well-browned Italian sausage, burst cherry tomatoes, peppers and fresh basil.
Per serving: 320 calories, 28g protein and 8g net carbs. Ready in 25 minutes.
Why you’ll love these drunken noodles
- 28g protein per serving for just 320 calories
- Low carb and sugar-free — exactly as promised on the cover
- On the table in a genuine 25 minutes, one skillet
- Wide, silky noodles that drink up the sausage sauce
- Burst cherry tomatoes and sweet peppers for colour
- Fresh basil torn over the top, straight from the pan
Health notes
- Low-carb noodles: Lupin-flour or similar pappardelle keeps this at 8g net carbs where wheat pasta would be ten times that.
- Italian sausage: Choose a no-added-sugar brand — many hide sugar or dextrose — or use ground turkey with Italian seasoning.
- Tomatoes and peppers: Real vegetable flavour and sweetness, no sugary sauce needed.
- One-skillet finish: The noodles are tossed through the sausage pan so every ribbon is coated, no heavy cream required.
- Locked from the cover: The photo supplied the title, claims, time and macros, so they are kept consistent throughout the block.
Key element — brown the sausage hard, toss the noodles last
Cook the sausage until it is deeply browned and a little crisp at the edges before anything else joins the pan — that fond is the flavour of the whole dish. The noodles go in at the very end, tossed for just a minute with a splash of starchy pasta water so they gloss up like the skillet in the photo.
Ingredients
Drunken noodles
- 8 oz low-carb pappardelle or fettuccine (lupin-flour style)
- 1 lb sugar-free Italian turkey sausage, casings removed (or no-added-sugar pork sausage)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 red pepper and 1 yellow pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup chicken stock (no added sugar)
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn, plus more to serve
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan, to serve
Swaps
- Shirataki noodles: Rinse well and dry-fry first; carbs drop even lower.
- Chicken version: Diced chicken breast with Italian seasoning instead of sausage.
- Spicier: Hot Italian sausage and an extra pinch of chilli flakes.
- Cheesy finish: Stir a handful of mozzarella through at the end for a melty top.
Instructions
| 1 | Cook the noodles. Boil the low-carb noodles in well-salted water until just al dente, following the package time. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy cooking water, then drain. Do not rinse. |
| 2 | Brown the sausage. Heat the olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage for 7–8 minutes, breaking it into crumbles, until deeply browned with crisp edges. Lift out with a slotted spoon. |
| 3 | Soften the vegetables. In the same skillet, cook the onion and peppers for 4–5 minutes until softened and lightly charred at the edges. Add the cherry tomatoes, garlic, chilli flakes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper for 2 minutes until the tomatoes burst. |
| 4 | Deglaze. Pour in the stock and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Simmer for 1–2 minutes until slightly reduced. |
| 5 | Toss it together. Return the sausage to the skillet with the drained noodles. Toss for 1–2 minutes with a splash of the reserved pasta water until every ribbon is glossy and coated. Use tongs for a proper lift-and-turn. |
| 6 | Basil and serve. Turn off the heat and tear the basil straight over the skillet. Toss once, then serve from the pan with Parmesan and extra basil on top. |
Pro tips
- Low-carb pasta overcooks fast — taste it a minute before the package says.
- Do not skip the starchy pasta water; it is what makes the sauce cling to the noodles.
- Sausage labels matter — sugar and dextrose sneak into many Italian sausages.
- Basil goes on off the heat so it stays green and fragrant.
- Leftovers are excellent cold or reheated with a splash of stock.
Nutrition
| Nutrient | Per serving |
|---|---|
| Calories | 320 |
| Protein | 28g |
| Net carbohydrates | 8g |
| Total carbohydrates | 11g |
| Fiber | 3g |
| Total fat | 14g |
| Sodium | 720mg |
Per serving (4 servings), locked from the cover: 28g protein, 8g net carbs, 320 calories. Exact macros vary slightly with sausage brand and the low-carb noodle you use.
Variations
Creamy drunken noodles
Stir ¼ cup of cream through the sauce before the noodles go in.
Vodka-sauce style
Add ¼ cup of sugar-free marinara with the stock for a pinker sauce.
Shrimp version
Large shrimp seared 1–2 minutes per side instead of sausage.
Garden loaded
Mushrooms, courgette and spinach folded in with the peppers.
Storage
| Method | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | Up to 4 days | Airtight container; the noodles soak up flavour overnight |
| Freezer | Up to 2 months | Freeze in portions; low-carb pasta can soften slightly on thawing |
| Reheat | — | Skillet over medium heat with a splash of stock until hot through |
