Ground Turkey Spaghetti Sauce

This simple Ground Turkey Spaghetti Sauce is an easy way to add veggies into your pasta dinner. Veggie packed and simmered with basil, oregano and plenty of garlic. Freezer friendly and tastes even better the second day so leftovers are always a bonus!

When "spaghetti" is the answer to the question, "What's for dinner?" you never have any complaints.

This simple Ground Turkey Spaghetti Sauce makes for a delicious way to pack some extra veggies into everyone's favorite dinner!

Why you will love this:

• It is veggie packed. This is a veggie loaded recipe that I get very little complaints on. The veggies are chopped so small and once the ground turkey spaghetti sauce is tossed with pasta and cheese, no one knows the difference. Well, my 3 year old will pick the meat out but that is another story.
• Little helpers will love helping chop veggies. This sauce and chili are my favorite ways to get the help in the kitchen. Chopping all of the veggies certainly takes the most time for this sauce recipe, so doing it along side my little one helps. Bonus: getting them to help prep the food makes them more likely to eat it!
• Leftovers are the very best. I love a dish that I can eat off of for several days. This meat sauce tastes even better the second day after all the flavors and spices have time to really meld.
• Super freezer friendly. You can make a batch or two and freeze plenty for several months or longer. This makes for a quick meal on a night when you just don't have the energy or you didn't plan dinner ahead of time.

Ingredients you will need:

• Tomato sauce is not the same as marinara sauce. Tomato sauce is typically in the grocery aisle near the diced tomatoes and tomato paste.
• I prefer a less lean ground turkey for this turkey spaghetti sauce. This adds more flavor and keeps the meat nice and moist. I typically opt for something around 85/15 ground turkey. You could use ground chicken in this recipe as well.
• Veggie packed is my game plan with this sauce. I dice things up really small and no one really complains once tossed with pasta and cheese. Add more if you please! Mushrooms are great in this sauce as well.

How to make this recipe:

• Heat olive oil over medium high heat until glistening. Add in the onions, bell peppers and carrots. Cook stirring several times for about 3-5 minutes to slightly soften. (step 1)
• Add in the ground turkey and garlic and cook until turkey is brown and cooked through. The bonus of ground turkey is that there really isn't any grease or oil to drain so you should be fine to skip draining. (step 2)

• Add in the rest of the ingredients: crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and red pepper if desired. Stir well to mix. (step 3)
• Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the veggies are all tender and the sauce has thickened. If the sauce starts to bubble too much, lower the heat to low.
• I go by the carrots on this one to determine if the turkey spaghetti sauce is ready. They usually take the longest to soften. If the sauce is not thickened to your liking, you can add an extra tablespoon or two of tomato paste. (step 4)

Notes and Tips:

• Use the carrots to help determine if this ground turkey spaghetti sauce is ready. They typically take the longest to become tender. You can even sauté them a few minutes longer in step one to help this sauce cook more quickly.
• Leftovers are even better than freshly cooked sauce. After about 24 hours of chilling, the flavors and spices have been able to meld and are enhanced. You will be so pleased eating this days in a row.
• You can make this sauce a day in advance of when you plan to serve it. Based on the fact that the second day it tastes better, you may want to opt to make it early!
• This ground turkey spaghetti sauce is super freezer friendly. Put it in a freezer safe container and seal. If air tight it should keep for about 4 months or even longer. Make several batches and freeze a ton--you will be set!

Other recipes to try:

• Ground Turkey Enchiladas with Sweet Potatoes
• Ground Turkey Teriyaki Stir Fry
• Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs
• Sun-Dried Tomato, Spinach and Feta Turkey Burgers
• Simple Turkey Pepper Skillet
• Easy Turkey Chili

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