Delicious EASY Ground Turkey Pasta Sauce Recipe

What Makes This Ground Turkey Spaghetti Sauce Special?

• It’s a delicious and healthy ground turkey recipe.
• Ground Turkey is a lower-fat alternative to ground beef (although you can also use lean ground beef)
• It’s similar to a traditional meat sauce but lower in fat
• It’s a flavorful spaghetti meat sauce your whole family will LOVE!
• Perfect for weeknight meals. If you have a batch of leftover sauce in the fridge, dinner is ready!
• It’s an easy way to add extra veggies to your diet
• You can serve this sauce with spaghetti noodles or zucchini noodles
• Delicious with Spaghetti Squash
• This is an excellent recipe for weight loss as it’s a little lighter
• A great recipe to make ahead and store for easy weeknight meals

Ideas to Add to Meat Sauce

• Mushrooms also add a delicious meaty texture—Saute mushrooms in a separate pan in olive oil until golden before adding them to the sauce.
• Diced Red Peppers work beautifully in this sauce.
• You make this sauce with lean ground beef.

Ingredients for Ground Turkey Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

• Ground Turkey – We used organic.
• Olive Oil
• Crushed Tomatoes in Puree – We enjoy San Marzano Tomatoes.
• Tomato Puree or Tomato Sauce
• Onions
• Leeks
• Carrots
• Celery
• Bay Leaves
• Fresh Garlic Cloves
• Fresh Basil
• Dried Rosemary
• Dried Oregano
• Fresh Parsley for Garnish
• Dry White or Red Wine (optional)
• Salt and black pepper
• Pasta – We used Barilla Gluten-Free Penne Pasta

How To Make It

See the recipe card below for ingredients and complete instructions.

Step 1 – Saute Garlic – Add 2-3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven. Add 9-10 Cloves of chopped Garlic. Stir for one to two minutes with a wooden spoon until fragrant. The garlic will melt into the sauce and give it that irresistible flavor.

Step 2 – Add Chopped Leeks and Onion and cook for two to three minutes, stirring often.

Step 3 – Add diced Carrots and Celery and cook on low for five minutes until Onions are translucent. Stir often.

Step 4 – Add Tomato Sauce, Crushed Tomatoes and Puree, Oregano, Basil, Bay Leaves, and Rosemary—Season with Salt and Pepper. Add optional dry white or dry red wine (1/2 cup).

Step 5 – Turn heat to a low simmer, loosely covered, and cook for 20 -30 minutes until vegetables are tender. If you like a smoother sauce, puree it with an immersion blender before adding the ground turkey. If you stop right here, you have a wonderful homemade marinara sauce. While the sauce is simmering, saute the ground turkey.

Step 6 – Add 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add ground Turkey meat and saute until cooked all the way through. Turkey turns a grey color rather than brown. Make sure there is no pink.

Step 7 – Add Ground Turkey to the Tomato Sauce and mix well. Cook Meat Sauce for 30 minutes on a very low simmer, stirring it occasionally. This is when I move the sauce to the small burner. Time to cook the pasta!

Enjoy this quick meat sauce with your favorite pasta or zucchini noodles.

Storage Suggestions for Ground Turkey Meat Sauce

• Let sauce cool to room temperature before storing. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
• Reheat on the Stovetop on low or in the Microwave.
• Mix the sauce with a whole package of cooked pasta and refrigerate.

Variations for Meat Sauce Recipe

• You can add a pound of Italian turkey sausage to this recipe (make sure the sausage is gluten-free)
• Serve over Spaghetti Squash
• Use dried herbs instead of fresh herbs
• Use ground chicken instead of ground turkey.
• Add a cup of cream, and you have Bolognese Sauce
• Use red wine instead of white wine
• Serve with Pasta and Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Serve with Spiralized Vegetables
• Layer into a homemade Lasagna

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Happy Cooking!

Delicious EASY Ground Turkey Pasta Sauce Recipe

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5 from 1 review

This delicious gluten-free turkey meat sauce is flavorful and easy to make! The secret is basil, rosemary, oregano with onions, garlic, leeks, and Canned Italian Peeled Tomatoes in Tomato Puree. This family-favorite turkey meat sauce is chunky, full of rich flavor, and fantastic for busy weeknights. 

• Author: Sherie Friedlander
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 Minutes
• Total Time: One Hour
• Yield: 10 Cups
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Mediterranean Diet
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Organic Ground Turkey – 2 – 16 oz. packages

Olive Oil – 6 Tablespoons

Yellow Onion – 1 Whole Large Onion Small Dice (1 Cup)

Leeks – 2 Medium Dice (1 Cup) If you don’t have leeks, add an extra chopped onion. The leeks add a unique flavor that we love.

Carrots – 2 Large Medium Dice (1 Cup)

Celery – 2 Spears Medium Dice (1 Cup)

Crushed Italian Tomatoes in Puree – 2- 28 oz. cans

Tomato Puree – 2 – 10 oz. cans (alternately, you can use a jar of plain tomato sauce)

Bay Leaves – 2

Fresh Garlic Cloves – 8-10 large cloves minced (fine chop)

Fresh Basil – 1 cup chopped and some for garnish

Dried Rosemary – 2 Tablespoons

Dried Oregano – 1 Tablespoons

Fresh Parsley – 1/2 Cup Garnish

Dry White Wine (optional) – 1/8 cup

Salt – 1/2 Teaspoon

Cracked Black Pepper – 1 Teaspoon Fresh Cracked

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Instructions

Step 1 – Add 2-3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven. Add 8-10 large cloves of finely chopped Garlic. Stir for One – Two minutes with a wooden spoon until fragrant.

 

Step 2 – Add chopped Leeks and Onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.

 

Step 3 – Add diced Carrots and Celery and cook for approximately five minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until onions are translucent. 

 

Step 4 – Add Tomato Sauce, Crushed Tomatoes, Oregano, Basil, Bay Leaves, and Rosemary—Season with Salt and Pepper. Add an optional 1/2 cup of good dry white or red wine (such as Cabernet.)

 

Step 5 – Turn Heat to a low simmer, loosely covered, and cook for 30 minutes until vegetables are tender. If you like a smoother sauce, puree it with an immersion blender before adding the ground turkey. If you stop right here, you have a wonderful homemade marinara sauce.

 

Step 6 – Add 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add Ground Turkey Meat and saute until cooked all the way through. Turkey turns a grey color rather than brown. Make sure there is no pink.

 

Step 7 – Mix well with cooked Ground Turkey to the Marinara Sauce in the Dutch oven. Cook on a very low simmer covered with a splash screen for 30 minutes or until the desired thickness is achieved. Turn off the flame and enjoy this quick meat sauce with your favorite pasta or zucchini noodles.

 

 

Notes

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with a bowl of grated parmesan cheese 
• Perfect over penne pasta, rigatoni, or spaghetti. 
• It also is a great layering base for Lasagna.
• This is a great make-ahead dish for a crowd. 

Storage Suggestions 

1. Let sauce cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container.

2. I often mix all the leftover sauce with a bowl of cooked penne pasta and store it for the next meal.

3. Re-heat on low simmer on the stovetop.

Keywords: Ground Turkey Pasta Sauce, Gluten-Free Pasta, Mediterranean Diet