Spaghetti bolognese, without pasta? That’s right! You can create a low-carb courgetti bolognese that tastes just as good, packs in more good-for-you nutrients and contains way fewer carbs.
The neutral taste and smooth texture of courgettes makes a great low-carb swap for spaghetti, with the added benefit of bringing extra gut-healthy fibre onto your evening plate. Top it with tour rich and satisfying beef bolognese recipe (or use your own!) for a healthy low-carb meal for the whole family.
If you don’t have a spiralizer, just use a julienne peeler to create thin spaghetti-like strands.
Low-carb courgetti bolognese recipe
Enough for: 2–3 | Takes: 30–40 minutes
Bolognese ingredients
- 500g x beef mince
- 4 x fresh vine tomatoes, chopped
- 1 x large onion, finely chopped
- 1 x carrot, finely chopped
- 1 x celery stick, finely chopped
- 1 x clove of garlic, grated/ crushed
- 1 tbsp x tomato puree
- 1 heaped tsp x dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 x glass of red or white wine (whatever you have open)
- 1 x Kallo organic beef stock cube
- 1 tbsp x balsamic vinegar (optional)
How to make the bolognese
- Take a large frying pan/wok and gently fry the onion, carrot & celery until soft. It should take around 8-10 minutes, over a medium heat.
- Add the grated garlic and oregano and stir. Remove from pan and place to the side until needed.
- Turn up the heat a little, now medium to high, and brown the beef mince.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, carrot and celery mix to the pan and stir well.
- Add the tomato puree and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring well.
- Add the fresh tomatoes, wine and stock cube (and balsamic vinegar if using), bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Allow to cook for at least 20/30 minutes to allow flavours to combine.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
How to make courgetti
- Allow 1 large or 2 small courgettes per person.
- Wash and top and tail the courgettes.
- Create thin ‘spaghetti-like’ strands using a spiralizer or julienne peeler.
- These can be eaten raw or warmed through in a pan with a little boiling water or garlic butter—just steam for 1-2 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
To serve:
Pile up the courgetti and top with the bolognese sauce. Serve with some grated Parmesan cheese & fresh basil leaves.
Courgetti bolognese swaps & tips
Swap it out?
You could use turkey mince in this recipe if you’d prefer, while lentils make for a protein-packed vegan mince swap.
Busy evening? You could just swap out the mince for a pack or two of meatballs—no one has to know! Simply brown the meatballs and allow to simmer in the tomato sauce to cook through.
No fresh tomatoes? Swap for ½ tin of tinned or use a couple of handfuls of cherry tomatoes. No wine? Sub it for water.
Out of courgettes?
No worries—you can use any green veggies! Sliced cabbage, broccoli florets, they all work just fine. Choose your favourite (or just use whatever you have in the fridge), cook them up like you normally would and load your spaghetti sauce on top. Easy, delicious, nutritious.
Waste not, want not!
Any leftover sauce can be frozen for another time or made into something else—a great one to batch cook for the freezer. Turn any remaining bolognese sauce into lasagna using cauliflower puree (pureed boiled & salted cauliflower) and layers of spinach or courgette ribbons instead of pasta.
