Easy Turkey Bolognese made in one pot with lean ground turkey, pasta, and rich tomato sauce. A lighter, family-friendly weeknight dinner with minimal cleanup.
Heat a large deep skillet over medium high heat. Spray with olive oil and brown the ground turkey with 1 teaspoon salt, breaking into small pieces. Cook until the turkey is no longer pink, 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
Add the olive oil, onion, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have started to soften, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and garlic; stir it into the turkey mixture. Cook for a few minutes, until fully coated. Add the pasta, cooked meat, crushed tomatoes, bone broth, and Calabrian chili paste, if using. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium low to maintain a gentle simmer.
Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese.
Serve topped with extra parmesan cheese, basil, and ricotta if using.
Notes
Any short pasta that holds sauce would be good for this recipe, cooking times may slightly vary.
I found that protein pasta or bronze cut pasta doesn’t work as well for one pot pastas, protein pasta doesn’t have as much starch so the sauce ends up being much thinner. Bronze cut pasta has too much starch and comes out gummy.
Ground bison or lean ground beef can also be used.