Turkey Bolognese

Veggie-packed, nutritious, and flavor-loaded, Turkey Bolognese is savory, filling, and easy to make – the perfect meal for weeknights.

Pair this turkey Bolognese with a quick garden salad like this Olive Garden Salad or tasty Corn Salad.

The Best Turkey Bolognese

Ground turkey can get a bad rap, but I’ve found that if it’s seasoned and prepared well, it can taste amazing. With a few “secret” ingredients, this Turkey Bolognese is every bit as tempting and addictive as beef or pork bolognese. (Not that a vegetarian Lentil Bolognese doesn’t hit the spot when you’re looking for a meatless option.)

And those few secret ingredients?

• Beef bouillon powder: I’ve been adding beef bouillon to ground turkey for a couple of years now and I swear by it — it boosts and enhances the meaty flavor. My husband is always convinced we’re actually eating ground beef with this one addition.
• Worcestershire sauce: This sauce gives the Bolognese a great umami, salty flavor and also gives it a bolder meat flavor.

Ingredients

• Olive Oil: Used to cook the veggies.
• Onion, Carrot, Celery: Add flavor to the sauce.
• Garlic: Gives a strong, flavorful taste to your turkey bolognese.
• Dried Thyme, Basil, Oregano, Salt, Pepper: Seasons and makes the sauce taste better.
• Ground Turkey: The main meat of the dish.
• Grape Juice/Beef Broth/Red Wine: Helps mix the flavors and makes the sauce richer.
• Crushed Tomatoes: The main part of the sauce.
• Tomato Paste: Makes the tomato flavor stronger.
• Worcestershire Sauce: Adds a unique taste to the turkey bolognese.
• Bay Leaves: Give a mild, herby flavor.
• Beef Bouillon Powder: Makes the turkey taste more like beef.
• Spaghetti: The pasta for the sauce.

How To Make Turkey Bolognese

1. Cook Veggies: Sauté onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil. Add garlic when they’re soft.
2. Brown Turkey: Cook the ground turkey in the same pan until brown.
3. Add Flavors: Stir in thyme, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and grape juice (or broth/wine). Scrape the pan.
4. Simmer Sauce: Lower heat. Add tomato paste, bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, and crushed tomatoes. Add bay leaves. Simmer until thick.
5. Cook Pasta: Boil spaghetti to al dente. Keep some pasta water.
6. Combine: Mix half of the sauce with spaghetti, adding pasta water to blend.
7. Serve: Top with Parmesan and optional herbs.

More Ground Turkey Recipes

• Turkey Taco Skillet
• Turkey Sloppy Joes
• Turkey Meatloaves
• Ground Turkey Recipe
• Turkey Taco Salad

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5 from 4 votes

Turkey Bolognese

By Chelsea Lords

Turkey Bolognese is a veggie-packed, savory, and filling dish that’s easy to make, nutritious, and perfect for weeknight dinners!

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• Large pot

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
• ▢ 1/2 cup finely diced carrot
• ▢ 1/2 cup finely diced celery
• ▢ 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic 3 to 4 cloves
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ Salt and pepper
• ▢ 1 pound lean ground turkey 93/7, see note 1
• ▢ 1/2 cup 100% grape juice or beef broth or red wine, see note 2
• ▢ 1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes I highly recommend Muir Glen or Cento
• ▢ 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ▢ 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ 2 teaspoons beef bouillon powder
• ▢ 12 ounces spaghetti
• ▢ Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ▢ Freshly chopped parsley or basil, optional

Instructions 

• Add oil to a large, deep pot (one big enough to hold all the pasta later!). Heat to medium-low, and add finely diced onion, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5–7 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook and stir an additional 3–5 minutes until vegetables are softened and straw colored (reduce heat if they start browning). Move veggies to the sides of the pot and increase heat to medium-high.
• Add ground turkey to the center. Brown the turkey, crumbling and breaking it up as you stir. Cook 5–7 minutes or until mostly browned through. Drain any accumulated liquid from the turkey if needed. Add in dried thyme, dried basil, and dried oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper; I add 1/2 teaspoon of each. Stir. Immediately pour in grape juice (see note 2) and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook, stirring until juice is reduced in half, about 1–2 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium. Stir in tomato paste, bouillon powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Add crushed tomatoes and stir. Add bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, 10–15 minutes or until thickened and fragrant, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust to personal preference, adding more salt and pepper as needed. Also taste for sourness—if you use high-quality tomatoes, it shouldn’t be sour. On occasion, however, you might need a teaspoon or so of granulated sugar to balance out the acid.
• There are two ways to serve: Either emulsify the pasta: (authentic way; skip to step #7) or just spoon the sauce over the cooked pasta.
• Meanwhile, follow package directions to cook the spaghetti to al dente. (Don’t forget to salt the water generously! I add 1 teaspoon salt to every 4 cups of water.) Remove about 1 cup of the pasta water before draining the spaghetti if you want to emulsify.
• Garnish with fresh chopped parsley or basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese as desired.
• To Emulsify: Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Follow package directions to cook the pasta but don’t drain (yet!). Scoop out a cup of pasta cooking water and set aside. Now, you can drain the pasta. Add half the Bolognese sauce to the pot used to cook the pasta. Add hot drained pasta right on top. Toss the pasta and sauce gently for a couple of minutes, slowly adding the reserved pasta water as needed until the sauce thickens and generously coats the pasta. (I usually only use 1/4 to 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water, but it varies depending on a lot of factors, so add just enough until you have a thick, rich sauce coating the pasta).

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: I recommend getting lean (93/7) ground turkey as opposed to 99% lean ground turkey, which tends to dry out and have very little flavor. If you can get ground turkey thigh meat, that’s even better! I also recommend ground turkey from a carton as opposed to a chub (cylindrical package)—carton turkey tends to have better flavor and is less watery.

Note 2: Traditional Bolognese uses wine instead of grape juice or beef broth. If you’d like to use wine, you can substitute a medium-body red wine such as pinot noir or merlot. You may need a pinch or two of sugar to counteract the acidity.

Storage: Make Turkey Bolognese up to 5 days ahead and reheat on low. It tastes better the next day! Use any leftover sauce over these Stuffed Shells. To freeze the sauce, ensure it has cooled, then store in a freezer-safe container and freeze up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 546kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 541mg | Potassium: 589mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 205IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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