Turkey Bolognese with Pasta
with quick green beans
A delicious meat sauce doesn't need to take hours to make. This quick weeknight version hits the spot with rustic Italian flavors. Paired with some quick green beans, you have a hearty, healthy meal. Quick note: This meal makes two night's worth of meat sauce. You'll use the leftovers for tacos tomorrow night or you can also freeze for another easy pasta meal in the future.
Ingredients
- Ground turkey - 2 1/2 lbs
- Garlic - 4 cloves, minced
- Red onion - 1 small, diced
- Basil - 1 stalk, leaves torn up
- Rigatoni or similar pasta shape - 3/4 lb
- Cooking oil - 1 Tbsp
- Red chili flakes - 1 pinch
- Thyme, dried - 1 tsp
- Tomato sauce - 4 cups
- Sugar - 1/2 tsp
- Lemon - 1/2, juice of
- Parmesan - 2 oz
- Green beans - 1 lb, ends trimmed
- Butter - 1 Tbsp
- Lemon - 1/2, juice of
- Sliced almonds (opt) - for serving
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Turkey - Season with salt & pepper. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Garlic / Onions / Basil - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Green beans - Trim off ends (give your kids a pair of scissors and get them trimming!). (Can be done up to 4 days ahead)
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Make
- Bring a saucepan of water to boil. Salt heavily (that water should taste like the ocean!) and add pasta. Cook until al dente, tender but not soggy. Drain and set aside.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil and then garlic and red chili flakes to heated oil. Once you can smell the garlic, add the diced onions with some salt. Saute until softened, ~3 minutes.
- Next add turkey and thyme. Break up with a wooden spoon and brown for ~5 minutes.
- Add in sauce and sugar. Cook for another 5 minutes and add a squeeze of lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve half of sauce for tomorrow night's tacos (or freeze for a future pasta) and toss the remainder with pasta and serve with parmesan and basil.
- Place green beans in a microwave safe container. Add 1 tbs. (14.8ml) of water and sprinkle with salt. Cover with a lid or wet paper towel and microwave for 1 1/2 minute to 2 minutes 15 seconds depending on thickness of green beans.
- Toss with butter and lemon juice. Serve with almonds. Enjoy as a side to your rustic pasta.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
9 reviews
So easy and so delicious! Made it with ground pork instead (which was great but unfortunately increased the fat/calories). The basil garnish added a wonderful fresh and light taste to an otherwise heavy dish. Skipped the green beans and made a simple salad instead.
0 HelpfulI know it's for two meals, but this recipe makes approximately a metric ton of food. Get out your biggest pan -- ours barely held it all. Good flavor, easy to make, and easy to adapt to different tastes. Don't leave out the basil until the second helping like I did. The herbal aroma adds quite a bit to the sauce. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the green beans, because the green beans were bland and easily forgotten. Pass on those.
0 HelpfulThis wasn't amazing, but it was good. I think the lemon on both the dish and the green beans was a little citrus overkill. My picky kids like it as well.
0 Helpfulsauce was very meaty, the flavor was great! It made lots of leftovers so fiance and I got to eat it again for lunch & dinner :)
0 Helpful