About this Turkey Bolognese recipe
Easy: This is really an uncomplicated sauce recipe. All you’ll need is a nice big pan, like a large straight-sided skillet or Dutch oven. Unlike a classic bolognese, this recipe is ready in less than an hour. Delicious and good for you: You’ll love this good-for-you almost classic Bolognese! The sauce is very rich tasting and hearty yet it’s lower in fat than traditional Bolognese because it’s made with healthier ground turkey. In fact, a generous serving of pasta and sauce is less than 400 calories! Perfect Italian style dinner: Serve this classic spaghetti sauce with your favorite pasta, whether it’s spaghetti or linguine or penne. Make it a stay-at-home “Olive Garden” night with a simple green salad dressed with homemade Italian dressing and breadsticks with restaurant style dipping oil. That’s amore!
How to Make it
Begin by browning the carrots and onions, then add the meat, breaking up the clumps, and stirring until it’s cooked. Add a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste and minced garlic; cook and stir for a couple of minutes. How long it takes: just under an hour but it can simmer longer if that works better with your schedule Equipment you’ll need: large skillet or Dutch oven, pasta pot Servings: 6 Okay, back to the sauce. Deglaze the pan with a little red wine. Now that the bottle’s open, why not pour yourself a glass, too? Add the tomatoes and let the sauce simmer for a while, twenty minutes at least but really as long as you want. You’ll probably want to get the pasta water boiling now. When you’re ready to serve dinner, stir in a dash of cream, and freshly chopped basil and parsley.
What You’ll Need
This recipe has everything you’d expect in a winning pasta sauce! As always, scroll down for the printable version of the recipe.
Meat: We used a blend of ground turkey and sweet Italian turkey sausage. You could also use a combination of ground beef and pork Italian sausage, or ground beef and turkey Italian sausage, or ground beef and pork Italian sausage. Any combo of these will work! Vegetables: Be sure to finely mince your onions and carrot so that they blend in with the meat and form a uniform sauce. You’ll also be adding a large can of crushed tomatoes. Seasoning: Lots of garlic, of course, as well as fresh basil and parsley. If you’d like, sprinkle in a dash of red pepper flakes. Flavor amplifiers: You’ll also be adding tomato paste and red wine to add depth to the flavor. Heavy Cream: We use less in this recipe than many Bolognese recipes, to make it a little healthier but, of course, you’re welcome to add more! It adds a subtle richness and makes the sauce super velvety.
Make It Your Own
Slow cooker sauce: Looking for a slow cooker spaghetti sauce? Brown onion, carrots, garlic, and meat in a skillet on the stove. Add to a slow cooker with the remaining ingredients, except fresh herbs and cream. Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. Or try Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce with meat or vegetarian options. Instant Pot sauce: Did you get an Instant Pot for Christmas? Try Instant Pot Bolognese. Use different meat: Not crazy about turkey? Substitute ground beef for the ground turkey and pork Italian sausage. Make it meatless: For a meatless version, you’ll want to try vegan Bolognese with lentils and quinoa. Omit the cream: Omit the heavy cream if you’re lactose-intolerant. The sauce will still be great! Add vegetables: “Green up” your sauce with spinach leaves, stirring them in with the basil and parsley. The tender leaves will wilt almost instantly in the hot sauce. Shortcut: Rather make your Bolognese with jar sauce from the grocery store? Omit the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine, salt and pepper. Add a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce instead.
Make-Ahead Ideas
Make a double batch of sauce and freeze half to use later. Store it in a freezer container for up to a month. Thaw overnight in the fridge for best results.
Storage & Reheating Tips
Leftover sauce? This sauce reheats really well. Simply store it in the fridge in a tightly covered container for up to 4 days. Don’t worry if you already mixed the pasta with the sauce. You can reheat that, too. Warm up on the stove or on the microwave until it’s heated through.
More pasta recipes
Eat pasta, run fasta! If you’re a runner, you’ve probably heard that little jingle. Looking for more pasta recipes? Try:
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce — this one is a favorite on my site! Pizza Pasta — one pan, 6 ingredients Taco Pasta — another one pan pasta recipe Fresh Tomato Cream Sauce with Angel Hair Pasta (Pink Pasta) Chicken Tuscan Pasta Bake One Pan Rigatoni with Creamy Red Wine Tomato Sauce Skinny Alfredo Sauce made with Cauliflower
