Make this easy, one-pot ground turkey and pasta recipe with the best Italian flavors in 30 minutes! Perfect weeknight meal your whole family will love!
Looking for a simple, quick dinner that your kids won't complain about? I've got you! Here's another delicious meal that will add variety to your list of favorite ground turkey recipes. 😍
This is one of those pasta dishes with mild flavors that almost makes you wonder why your family enjoys it so much. And once you realize how easy this is to make, you might just find yourself adding it to your weeknight rotation!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy Recipe Easy ground turkey pasta recipe made in a Dutch oven or large pot! Believe it or not, there's no need to follow the package instructions for cooking pasta, nor do you need to drain pasta. I literally cook pasta in the broth after the ground meat cooks - all in the same pot!
- Simple Ingredients Ground turkey, broth, seasonings, spinach, milk, and parmesan cheese. You can find Italian seasoning and fennel seeds with the other dried herbs and spices in the grocery store.
- 30-Minute Meal I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. Just be sure to follow the instructions and not get distracted or else it will take a little longer, haha!
Ingredient Notes
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients for making this recipe. Please refer to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients, including amounts.
- Ground Turkey Use lean ground turkey. If you can find 'Italian sausage' flavored ground turkey, use that instead and omit the fennel, dried parsley, black pepper, half of the salt, and half of the Italian seasoning. You can use ground beef instead, but it won't taste quite the same.
- Pasta Use whole wheat pasta or BarillaProtein+ pasta for more protein and fiber. Elbow shaped pasta or penne pasta work best in this recipe.
- Spinach Baby spinach works well in this recipe. Feel free to add even more than this recipe calls for.
- Seasoning Fennel and Italian season are key ingredients that give this recipe more of a 'sausage' flavor. As for the garlic, I prefer to cook with fresh garlic, but feel free to use jarred minced garlic or garlic powder instead.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here's a brief summary of how to make this ground turkey and pasta recipe. For the complete recipe scroll down to the recipe card.
- Add the chopped yellow onion, a pound of ground turkey, and a little bit of extra virgin olive oil to a Dutch oven or large pot. Cook over medium-high heat, being sure to stir and break the meat apart as it cooks.
- Stir in garlic and seasonings and continue to cook until the onions are soft and ground meat is browned.
- Stir in uncooked pasta and broth. Bring to a low simmer, cover, and let cook for about 10 minutes, until cooked pasta is al dente.
- Reduce to medium heat. Stir in spinach and parmesan cheese. Let sit for about 2-3 minutes. Once the spinach has wilted, it's ready to serve and enjoy!
Helpful Tips
- Cook times will vary depending on the type of pasta you use.
- Add cherry tomatoes in with the onion as it cooks or right at the end with the spinach and parmesan cheese for more color and flavor.
- If you have fresh herbs on hand, like fresh basil or oregano, chop some up and stir it in to elevate the flavor of this ground turkey pasta dish even more.
- Feel free to add another handful or two of spinach!
- Allow this ground turkey and pasta dish to cool to room temperature before storing refrigerated in an airtight container.
Dietitian Tip
The main difference between lean ground turkey, regular ground turkey is the fat content, specifically saturated fat.
Questions You May Have
When it's not ground turkey in tomato sauce, I prefer to use short pasta noodles like elbow or penne.
You definitely can, but you'll want to add about a cup more or milk when cooking it or cut back on the amount of pasta by about a quarter (so use three-quarters of a box).
Having more liquid will help keep the pasta from drying out.
You definitely can use ground beef, but it will taste different. Personally, if I don't have ground turkey, I use mild ground Italian sausage (pork) and leave the fennel out because it has great flavor that goes well with this recipe.
📖 Recipe
Ground Turkey and Pasta Recipe
Equipment
- 1 set of measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 14½ oz Barilla Protein Plus Pasta 1 box
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 small onion
- 4 cups chicken broth less-sodium
- ½ cup milk 2% or whole milk
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning divided
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic or 4 small garlic cloves, freshly minced
- 2 teaspoon olive oil extra virgin
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds whole, crushed, or ground fennel
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon dried parsley or dried basil
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add oil to a large pot or Dutch oven, heat over medium-high heat as you chop the onion.
- Add chopped onion, ground turkey, fennel, salt, pepper, and half of the Italian seasoning to the hot oil. Break apart the meat and cook for about 7 minutes, or until onion has softened and the turkey is golden brown.
- Add garlic, and the rest of the seasoning. Stir and cook for another minute.
- Add the broth and milk, then stir and bring to a simmer.
- Once at a simmer, add uncooked pasta. Stir, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir every few minutes as it continues to cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.
- Stir in spinach and parmesan.
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