Can’t find a lower sodium Italian Chicken or Turkey Sausage for the 21 Day Fix or WW? Read on to find out How to Make Homemade Italian Sausage with Ground Chicken or Turkey with my Easy Italian Sausage Seasoning Blend!
I get this question all the time – where can I find Italian Chicken or Turkey Sausage that is lower in sodium?
Turns out, it’s tricky. I am lucky enough to have a Wegman’s near me, and their lean Italian Poultry Sausage happens to be lower in sodium than most brands at about 400mg per serving. Just as a reference, one teaspoon of salt contains 2,300 mg of sodium and we should all try to stick to that amount or less in a day.
If you don’t have a Wegman’s, you can try a butcher shop, or a Whole Foods; they might also have some options for you.
I happen to love Italian Chicken Sausage and I use it in a TON of my recipes because it gives such yummy flavor without a lot of fat. I don’t stress a ton about sodium in a lean, healthy chicken sausage because I don’t eat a lot of packaged, processed food, so my sodium intake is already low. BUT, if you can’t find a poultry sausage with 400mg or less of sodium, or if your body reacts poorly to sodium, you need another option!
So what’s a FIXer to do?
If you can’t find a lower sodium Italian Sausage, you can very easily just make your own!
How to Make Homemade Italian Chicken Sausage or Italian Turkey Sausage
It’s super easy to make your own Italian Sausage! Just start with some lean ground chicken or ground turkey – lately I have been preferring ground chicken in everything. But either works and this would also be yummy with beef! Then, add your seasonings
Italian Sausage Seasonings
1 T minced garlic (fresh!) – the best Italian Sausage has little bites of fresh garlic
1 tsp parsley – it’s ok to grab your dried spices for this unless you have fresh on hand to use
½ tsp oregano – this is a staple in my pantry and I use it in a ton of my recipes
½ tsp basil – again, dried is fine unless you have fresh basil ready to use
½ tsp onion powder – don’t skip this
½ tsp fennel seeds – adding fennel is KEY to making ground chicken taste like Italian Sausage
½ tsp paprika – I use regular, but smoked would be fun, too
¼ tsp red pepper flakes – or more to taste. Omit it if you want a sweeter sausage
½ tsp salt – I love that you can control the amount of sodium in this Italian Sausage Seasonings blend
sprinkle of black pepper – or more to taste – you can add a lot more, I am just not a huge fan
These Italian Sausage Seasonings need to be mixed into your ground meat along with one tsp of olive oil and one tsp of maple syrup or honey.
Then you can cook this Homemade Chicken or Turkey Sausage according to the directions in your recipe! I have been browning it as part of my food prep and either freezing it or portioning it in the fridge to serve in quick bowls and sauces through the week.
Is this Homemade Italian Chicken Sausage a healthy choice?
Yes! This is a much healthier choice than many brands of Italian Poultry Sausage out there, especially those of you who can’t find a lower sodium option at your store or butcher. You will reduce the sodium level by more than half by using this recipe and you will also be able to purchase a leaner cut of meat, as well.
What are some recipes that use Italian Chicken or Turkey Sausage?
Like I said before, I love the flavor in Italian Chicken Sausage, so I have a whole bunch of recipes that you can use this Homemade Italian Chicken Sausage recipe in! Here are some examples!
21 Day Fix Zuppa Toscana (Instant Pot/ Stove Top)
Healthy Instant Pot Lasagna Soup | 21 Day Fix Lasagna Soup [Gluten-free]
Healthy Instant Pot Baked Ziti | 21 Day Fix Instant Pot Baked Ziti [Gluten-free]
Instant Pot Low Carb Stuffed Pepper Soup [21 Day Fix | 2B Mindset]
Instant Pot Sausage and Lentil Soup (21 Day Fix/Stove-top Option)
Instant Pot Sausage Broccoli Pasta (21 Day Fix)
Instant Pot Brown Rice and Sausage Stuffing (21 Day Fix)
Spicy Sausage and Veggies {21 Day Fix}
21 Day Fix Pumpkin Pasta with Spicy Sausage (Gluten Free|Instant Pot Option)
21 Day Fix Stuffed Acorn Squash with Sausage, Spinach, and Feta
How to Make Homemade Italian Sausage with Ground Chicken or Turkey
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Can’t find a lower sodium Italian Chicken or Turkey Sausage for the 21 Day Fix? Read on to find out How to Make Homemade Italian Sausage with Ground Chicken or Turkey!
Ingredients
1 lb lean ground turkey or ground chicken
1 T minced garlic (fresh!)
1 tsp parsley
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp basil
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (or more to taste – or omit if you want a sweeter sausage)
½ tsp salt
sprinkle of black pepper (or more to taste – you can add a lot more, I am just not a huge fan)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp maple syrup (or sub honey)
Instructions
Mix spices together. Taste and adjust spice level if desired.
Add 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp maple syrup to 1 lb of ground meat. Gently mix in seasonings, being careful not to over handle the meat.
If you have time, allow the meat to sit in the refrigerator for a few minutes or a few hours so the flavors can meld. If you don’t have time, skip this step! I usually skip 🙂
Brown your meat or cook according to your recipe directions!
This recipe freezes well – both cooked and uncooked.
Notes
21 Day Fix Containers – 1 Red, 1/4 tsp
Weight Watchers FS Points: using 93% lean meat – 5pts per serving. using 99% lean meat – 1pt per serving
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of skillet
Pamela Downs says
I have been buying/using the Italian Turkey Sausage from Aldi forever and they recently stopped carrying it. This is the first recipe I tried to make my own and it is outstanding! My husband loved it! Used the exact ingredients/measurements and it was a keeper. Will be making this again and again!
★★★★★
Nancylynn says
YAY!!! And it’s funny bc I haven’t seen it either – now I know why!
Robin says
I just tried your recipe and it was delicious! I used it as a meat base for soup. Thank you for this recipe
★★★★★
Nancylynn says
SO SO Happy!!!!!!
Janet T. says
I have all these herbs in the garden. Could I use them feesh instead of dried?
Nancylynn says
YES!
Joe says
I let sit overnight and had it this AM as breakfast sausage, excellent.
Nancylynn says
What a great idea!!
Claudia says
I wanted to read through this recipe but there’s an ad placed after every 2-3 ingredients, this is not ideal for reading. I tried to click the “print” option to get away from the ads but it was the same story there. I’m a blogger too so I understand this is how you get paid but the ad placement needs to be different and omitted from the print page. Hope this was helpful.
Nancylynn says
It is helpful – I am definitely working to find the right balance and finding the recipe card placement to be an issue, as well!
Janet T. says
Just thought I’d mention that as of Jan 2, 2021 there are no ads at all with the recipe. Not sure why. But I thought you’d like to know. I also really like the recipe. It’s great to use it with many sausage recipes. Thanks
★★★★★
Linda Barufaldi says
How much ground chicken goes with these amounts of seasoning?
Nancylynn says
1 pound
Teresa Carvalho says
Hi. I am picking up the ingredients to make your chicken sausage recipe as soon as I can get to the market. I was wondering if you ever tried to make chicken burgers with this recipe? My daughter will only eat ground chicken and this is such a great recipe without all the salt and additives. I am just not sure if I need to add eggs to hold the meat together?
Your recipes look delicious. I need to make better, healthier choices for myself and your recipes are ones that I find very flavorful and satisfying.
Nancylynn says
Thank you so much for the compliment!
This would work as a burger just fine without egg or any binder- great idea! The cook method would be just like these yummy turkey burgers… https://confessionsofafitfoodie.com/21-day-fix-turkey-burgers-goat-cheese-citrus-maple-dijon/
Monica says
I used to buy turkey sausage at the store, but then they stopped selling it and I can’t find it anywhere else, so this recipe has been so helpful and it tastes great!
★★★★★
Jen says
Wow! I was fooled. It really does taste like sausage! I added all ingredients, mixed and let sit in fridge for a couple hours. Then I used in your linked Stuffed pepper soup recipe! Whole family enjoyed!
★★★★★
Nancylynn says
Yay!! This is amazing, thank you for your comment and for rating the recipe!
Nancy says
Delicious! I wish I made a bigger batch since I used most of it in the Zuppa Toscana soup 🤗
I love the fact I’m in control of the sodium and plan on making this again … and again … and ….
★★★★★
Nancylynn says
YAY! Thank you! Now you know to make more for next time, lol!
Patti says
Wow! Yummy. Made this today for a pizza topping. I’m always looking to make food without extra additives. I did add a half tsp of thyme but I’m sure that didn’t make that much difference. I’m going to try these spices with venison next.
★★★★★
Nancylynn says
Perfect! Thank you for trying it and taking the time to let us know you loved the recipe by giving it a 5 star rating and leaving a comment!
Diane says
Holy Cow! This is absoutely delicious – and I am not usually a fan of ground chicken anything! This recipe tastes pretty close to the real thing! I was making stuffed zucchini boats so I finely chopped and sauted some of the zucchini and a little red peppers before I added the chicken sausage mixture to the same pan to brown. Blown away by how delicious this was! Thank you for sharing!!!!
Nancylynn says
Oooh yum – great idea!
Since you loved the recipe so much, would you mind taking the time to also give it a 5 star rating? It helps other readers (and Google!) know it’s a winner! Thank you in advance!