Turkey Bolognese

This mouth-watering Turkey Bolognese sauce served over pasta is MAJOR comfort food. Rich and thick, it’s an aromatic dish that’s bursting with so much flavor, you’re going to want to enjoy it often.

Don’t be intimidated by the cooking time for this recipe, it’s not super difficult to make, it just requires a long simmer time. The longer your meat sauce simmers on the stovetop, the more intense and deeper the flavor. Other than stirring occasionally, it takes very little effort to cook. It’s the perfect weeknight dinner the whole family will love!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• So tasty. There’s nothing better than a warm delicious bolognese sauce over some pasta. It’s the perfect cozy meal during the colder seasons.
• Easy to make. There’s nothing complicated about this bolognese recipe. You roast the tomatoes, brown the meat, combine all of the ingredients and then simmer.
• It’s freezer friendly. Since this recipe takes a while to simmer, we like making a double batch so we can freeze half of it for later. You’re already putting in the time so you might as well double your bounty!

This is a staple in our house! It’s one of the few recipes everyone loves!

— Kim

Ingredients needed

This turkey bolognese recipe has such wonderful flavor thanks to the combination of roasted tomatoes, meat, herbs and long simmer time. It requires minimal, nutritious ingredients, most of which you probably have in your kitchen. Here’s everything you’ll need and substitutions noted:

• Tomatoes + garlic. The combination of roasted tomatoes with garlic really takes the flavor of this sauce to the next level!
• Olive oil. For roasting the veggies, cooking the meat and adding richness to the sauce.
• Seasonings. To season the sauce, we’re using dried basil, 2 bay leaves and Italian seasoning. You’ll also want to add salt & pepper to taste.
• Ground turkey. We recommend using lean (93/7) ground turkey as opposed to 99% lean ground turkey which tends to dry out and have very little flavor. Feel free to sub with other ground meats, such as ground beef, ground chicken or ground pork or a combination.
• Onion. The onion will add a wonderful aromatic flavor to the sauce! Make sure to chop it up finely.
• Tomato sauce. A can of tomato sauce along with the blended roasted tomatoes will provide the perfect consistency.
• Sugar. A small amount of sugar will cut through the acidity of the tomatoes to give a more well-balanced flavor to the sauce.
• Pasta. Serve this with any favorite pasta. Some of our favorite options are: pappardelle, tagliatelle, spaghetti and fettuccine.

How to make this recipe

This pasta sauce recipe is very simple and straightforward. You only need one pot and just about 15 minutes hands-on time. Here’s the simple method:

For the full, printable recipe, reference the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

• Roast tomatoes + garlic. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Wash tomatoes and slice into thick slices. Place onto baking sheet with peeled cloves of garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and basil. Bake 30-35 minutes or until nice and roasted.
• Brown meat. While tomatoes and garlic are baking, heat olive oil in large pot or dutch oven and brown ground turkey and onions together. Add in bay leaves, basil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and stir. Reduce heat to low and simmer until tomatoes are done cooking.
• Blend sauce. When tomatoes and garlic are finished cooking, spoon into a food processor or blender and pulse until mostly smooth (a few chunks are fine).
• Simmer. Pour tomato and garlic mixture into meat along with the can of tomato sauce and the sugar. Stir and bring to boil, then reduce to a low simmer and cook 4 hours, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. You will more than likely need more salt. Remove the bay leaves.
• Enjoy. Serve over al dente pasta, such as spaghetti. Garnish with fresh basil (or parsley) and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, if you’d like. Pair with garlic bread and an Italian salad for the ultimate Italian dinner!

Slow cooker

This recipe can easily be adapted for a slow cooker. Follow instructions for roasting the tomatoes with garlic and cooking the turkey and onion in a pan. Once blended, transfer everything with the tomato sauce and sugar to a slow cooker. Cover the crockpot, and cook on low for 4 hours. Once done, remove the bay leaves and serve as desired.

Instant pot

Roast the tomatoes with garlic, according to instructions. Then, turn the Instant Pot to “sauté” mode and cook the ground turkey with the onion. Add seasonings. Once tomatoes have cooked and that mixture has been blended, add it to the ground meat and add the tomato sauce and sugar. Mix well to combine. Switch the pressure cooker from sauté mode to manual. Seal, and pressure cook for 20 minutes. Once done, do a quick release and allow it to vent. Remove the lid, discard the bay leaves and mix. Serve as desired.

Expert tips

• Extra veggies. Many recipes call for finely chopped celery and carrots to be cooked along with the onion. If you’d like to add about a cup of each in with the ground turkey and onion mixture, that would work just fine.
• Simmer. It’s important to simmer the sauce over very low heat. If it’s not simmering low enough the sauce will just burn along the bottom of the pot and impart an off flavor, plus sauce will reduce too quickly. If your gas stove doesn’t have a smaller flame option you will likely need a flame tamer.
• Stirring the sauce. Don’t forget to stir the sauce occasionally (a timer is a helpful reminder). I recommend at least every 30 minutes.
• Emulsify the pasta. If tossing the turkey bolognese with pasta, we recommend emulsifying the pasta to ensure that the sauce coats every bit of pasta. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, mix the sauce with the hot pasta and then slowly add reserved pasta water as needed until the sauce thickens and generously coats the pasta. You should only need about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water, but it varies, so add just enough until you have a thick rich sauce coating the pasta. If you’re interested, learn more about emulsifying pasta here. 

Variations

• Low carb. For a low carb, more low calorie option, serve the sauce with zoodles (zucchini noodles).
• Pasta. This dish is traditionally served with spaghetti, but it really goes well with most shapes of pasta. If you don’t have spaghetti on hand, try another long pasta such as fettuccine, linguine or bucatini. You can also use a variety of short pasta varieties including penne, rigatoni and fusilli.
• Creamy sauce. To make a creamy bolognese sauce, during the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in about 1/4 cup heavy cream. Whole milk or half & half would work, but wouldn’t be as creamy.
• Gluten free. The sauce is naturally gluten free. If serving over pasta, just be sure to use a gluten-free pasta, spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles.

Frequently asked questions

Storage recommendations

This sauce can be made ahead and stored in the fridge or freezer. Because it takes a bit longer to cook, we like to double or triple the recipe and freeze it for later.

• Refrigerator. Store in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to about 4 days.
• Freezer. This sauce will expand when frozen, so keep that in mind when storing. Place it in an airtight container or a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. (Don’t forget to write the date on your container so that you know when you put it in the freezer.)
• Reheat. Let frozen sauce thaw in the fridge. Then, simply cook it on the stovetop or in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, until heated through.

If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and if your family loves it as much as mine does, be sure to give it a five star ⭐️ rating! Also, tag @kimscravings on Instagram with a picture of your creation. Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy delicious recipes straight to your inbox.