Pizzeria flavor without the "pizza hangover."
I love a good pizza pie! That said, I don’t always love the way heavy pizza dough and gooey cheese makes me feel after I eat it. The solution? This Turkey Sausage and Quinoa Pizza Bowl. It satisfies my pizza cravings with all of the flavors of Italian sausage pizza without making me feel stuffed and uncomfortable. Avoid a “pizza hangover” and try our skinny pizza quinoa the next time those cravings strike!
This Pizza Bowl is Full of Nutrients and Flavor
Make a healthier version of an Italian sausage pizza by using nutrient powerhouse quinoa instead of pizza dough. After the quinoa is cooked, toss in a blend of vitamin-packed vegetables. Finally, top it off with Parmesan cheese and give it some heat with red chili flakes. Just like that: You’re ready to enjoy hot pizzeria flavors in a bowl!
Feel Free to Modify this Recipe
If you don’t like turkey sausage, no problem! You can make some simple changes to this basic recipe to replicate the flavors of your favorite pizza.
First, if you prefer chicken, you can use cooked, shredded chicken and your favorite sugar-free BBQ sauce to make a BBQ Chicken Pizza bowl. Or use our SkinnyMs Taco Seasoning and salsa to make a Chicken Taco Pizza Bowl.
Alternately, if vegetarian pizza is more to your liking, skip the meat altogether. Add some roasted peppers, zucchini, broccoli, or any of your other favorite veggies. You can switch out the cheese too. Use your favorite shredded cheese, goat cheese, or feta. To make it a plant-based, vegan, or dairy-free pizza, leave the cheese out or use our homemade dairy-free Parmesan.
Finally, do you want to go Paleo or grain-free? Instead of quinoa, use cauliflower rice. Skip the steps to prepare quinoa and add the cauliflower rice directly to the skillet when you add the spinach & tomatoes. Done!
Whether you make it our way or make it your own way, we think you’re going to love this Turkey Sausage and Quinoa Pizza Bowl!
Turkey Sausage and Quinoa Pizza Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 cups quinoa pre-cooked
- 1 pound ground turkey sausage
- 1 onion diced small
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach chopped
- 15 ounces parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes
Instructions
- In a skillet on medium heat, crumble sausage and cook until browned and almost cooked, about 5-8 minutes, turning occasionally to ensure even browning. Drain excess oil, if needed.
- Add onions, mushrooms, italian seasoning, salt and tomato paste. Cook another 5-6 minutes, until onions are softened and mushrooms are cooked through.
- Toss in chopped spinach and diced tomatoes. Stir and allow to come to a simmer. Cover and cook another 2-3 minutes, until spinach is wilted and everything is heated through.
- Pour in cooked quinoa and combine thoroughly. Divide into bowls and top with cheese and pepper flakes.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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These look fantastic, however the sodium level is almost the daily recommendation for the whole day!
Karen, As with all of our recipes, feel free to adjust or eliminate the salt. 🙂
Shouldn’t this include some sort of liquid in the ingredients? I had to add water when adding the paste; otherwise, it would’ve been a crusty mess in the skillet. The picture shown looks like there was liquid added. Anyway… with my addition of the water… it was really good. Besides everything called for here, I also added some diced bell pepper. To my leftovers, I think I’ll add some sliced green olives too.
Hi Kelly,
Keep in mind the quinoa is precooked and the can of diced tomatoes does have liquid. Adding a little more water is fine if preferred. 🙂
This was amazing and so filling! I don’t like mushrooms so did add in a little water and about a cup of diced yellow, red and orange bell peppers. It ended up making closer to 8 cups in the end.
Hi Leslie, Great! Thanks so much for the feedback.
We loved this!! Are you able to freeze it? I don’t know if I’ve ever tried freezing quinoa or not.
Jenn, Yes this recipe can be frozen then thawed in the fridge prior to reheating. 🙂