This Ground Turkey Pasta Recipe is a quick and easy weeknight meal that tastes great and is cheesy.
It has lean ground turkey and pasta covered in a creamy tomato sauce. Sure to make everyone in the family want more!
Simple Pasta with Ground Turkey
This easy pasta recipe is quickly becoming one of my favorite dinners for busy weeknights or when I don’t know what to make for dinner. It’s one of my favorite ways to use up leftover vegetable scraps because it’s quick and tasty. It also helps me waste less food and spend less money on groceries each month.
This ground turkey pasta is a real winner. It’s cheesy, creamy, and full of ground turkey. It tastes like restaurant-quality pasta, but it doesn’t cost as much.
My 7-year-old son, who usually doesn’t like tomato-based pasta sauces, licked his plate clean and asked for more. This comforting ground turkey pasta is great with a light green salad or some roasted vegetables. Everyone in the family will love it.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces of penne pasta or any other kind of pasta you like
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 pound of ground turkey
- 1 large yellow onion cut up
- 2 teaspoons of salt (divided)
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
- 5 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
- 2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
- One can (15 ounces) of tomato sauce
- 1 cup of half and half
- 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
- fresh parsley to put on top
- Red chili flakes are optional and can be used as a garnish.
Instructions
- Put a lot of salt in a big pot of water and bring it to a boil. Then, cook the pasta for 1 to 2 minutes less than the package says. Set aside 1 cup of boiling pasta water before draining the pasta. Put the pasta away.
- Put the olive oil in a large pan or Dutch oven and heat it over medium heat. For about 5 minutes, cook the onions until they are soft and clear.
- Add the ground turkey and cook over medium to medium-high heat, breaking it into small bite-size pieces. Once cooked, season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning and stir in the minced garlic. Mix to combine and continue to cook for an additional minute or so.
- Sprinkle the ground turkey with 2 tablespoons of flour and mix well to combine. Pour in the chicken broth and the tomato sauce and let it come to a simmer.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pan and pour in the half-and-half. Stir to combine.
- For a thinner sauce, slowly add additional chicken broth or reserved pasta water. For a creamier sauce, add additional half-and-half.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Add half of the mozzarella cheese and half of the cheddar cheese. Then, add the other half cup of each cheese on top.
- Reduce heat to low and cover your pan or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid until the cheese is melted. Remove from heat and enjoy!
Additional Tips
You can also use lean ground beef or ground sausage instead of ground turkey in this recipe.
I used penne pasta for this recipe, but you can use any small or medium-sized pasta shape, like bowtie, shells, rotini, fusilli, rigatoni, and so on.
Use at least half-and-half or heavy cream for the best results. If you mix anything with the tomato sauce that has less fat, it might separate.
If you want to, you can add more vegetables. Peas, mushrooms, kale, spinach, and asparagus are some of my favorite vegetables.
I hope you LOVE this simple pasta recipe with ground turkey! It’s creamy, comforting, rich, tasty, quick, luscious, cheesy, and full of protein!
I love serving this pasta with a small green salad or fruit salad when I don’t know what to make for dinner.