Ground Turkey Pasta
Wondering what to make with ground turkey? Make this simple, yet elevated ground turkey pasta recipe! It's made with a meaty red sauce, a hint of cream, and tons of parmesan cheese.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 8 oz. medium dried pasta shells
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion minced
- 1 teaspoon salt separated
- 5 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 1 lb. ground turkey (we used 93% lean, 7% fat)
- 3 tablespoons homemade Italian seasoning
- 15 oz. canned tomato sauce
- ½ cup starchy pasta water
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons anchovy paste option to omit, but it's very yummy!
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta. Cook the pasta until al dente. Before straining the pasta, set aside 1 cup of starchy pasta water. Strain the pasta. Rinse the pasta with cold water and set aside for later.
- Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add olive oil. When the olive oil is fragrant, add the onion to the pan and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt. Sauté the onion for 2-3 minutes and then add the garlic to the pan. Toss with the onion and cook for an additional 1 minute.
- When the garlic is fragrant add the ground turkey to the pan and sprinkle with the Italian seasoning. Break the ground turkey up into small pieces and cook the turkey until it is almost cooked but has bits of pink still left.
- Add the tomato sauce and ½ cup of the starchy pasta water to the pan and stir to combine. Next, add the tomato paste and anchovy paste to the pan and whisk the two ingredients into the tomato sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Turn the heat to low and allow the tomato sauce to simmer and continue to cook the ground turkey (about 4-6 minutes). Taste the sauce and add ¼ teaspoon more of salt to the sauce. If you desire more salt, add ¼ teaspoon more at a time until you’re satisfied.
- While the sauce is still on a low simmer, slowly add in the heavy cream, while constantly stirring the tomato sauce until combined.
- Finally, fold the pasta into the tomato sauce. Let the noodles heat up in the sauce.
- Top with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley and enjoy.
Video
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="MeJlF9ri" upload-date="2022-02-23T22:25:52.000Z" name="Ground Turkey Shells" description="Ground turkey shells are a favorite way to use ground turkey! It's made with a delicious meaty sauce, a little cream, and macaroni shells."]
Notes
- Check the ingredient list in your Italian seasoning: The homemade Italian seasoning we make and use in this recipe includes salt and garlic. If you are using a store-bought Italian seasoning, check to see if it has salt listen in the ingredients. You may need to add more salt and/or garlic to the sauce as many store-bought Italian seasonings are salt-free.
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- Whisk ingredients thoroughly: Be sure you thoroughly whisk the tomato paste and anchovy paste into the sauce and then bring the sauce to a simmer. This is important to really cook down the ingredients.
Nutrition
Calories: 645kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 25g | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g