When it comes to making spaghetti bolognese just that little bit healthier, you can't go past using turkey mince! This quick and easy one pot healthy turkey bolognese is filled with flavour and will quickly become a family favourite. I love making this on the stove, in the instant pot or even in the slow cooker, it's up to you! Great for getting extra veggies into the whole family.
Why you're going to love this recipe
Whether you choose to cook this on the stove or in the instant pot or slow cooker, this is a quick low prep meal that the whole family will love.
- it's an all in one, one pot dinner
- flexible, cook on the stove, in the instant pot or in the slow cooker
- turkey mince is a healthier option
- packed full of veggies
- delicious and light, but also super filling
What goes into the recipe
don't forget to scroll to the recipe for ingredient amounts and full method
- ground turkey- turkey mince is an awesome replacer for beef mince in recipes! Lower in fat, it still has enough flavour to not get lost in red sauces. If you haven't used it much before, it's also awesome in these Thai turkey curry meatballs with sweet potato noodles.
- tomato polpa- pureed tomatoes, I buy the large tins, 790 grams, but if you don't have those, you can use 2x 400 grams- the extra ten grams will not make a difference! I love pureed tomatoes, or polpa as it is called. Mutti brand is the best for this, if you can't get polpa, then using one tin of diced tomatoes and 400 grams of passata will give almost the same consistency.
- veggies- pack them in! More is more, when it comes to veggies, and getting the kids eating them is easier if they are used to them. With onions, zucchini, carrots, capsicum and tomatoes in this recipe, you can't go wrong! If your children aren't fans of any of these veggies, then I recommend grating them into the sauce. It won't have the same texture, but it will still get the veggies into them.
- chicken stock- chicken stock helps to makw the basis of this recipe and gives the pasta something to cook in. It's important to have a high liquid ration as the spaghetti absorbs a lot of liquid during cooking.
- basil- my favourite herb! I love the fact that basil gives extra freshness to any recipe. It's always best to tear, not cut basil when you need to. Cutting basil with a knife makes the edges go brown.
How to make this recipe
Most of the time spent making this recipe is chopping the veggies! Let me show you how quick and easy it is!
- Dice the onion (Image 1)
- Dice the carrot (Image 2)
- Dice the capsicum (Image 3)
- Dice the zucchini (Image 4)
- Tear the basil (Image 5)
- Heat the olive oil (medium heat on the stove, sauté in the instant pot (Image 6)
- Fry the onions and garlie until soft and starting to turn golden. (Image 7)
- Add the turkey mince and fry, until golden. (Image 8)
- Add all the veggies to the mince mixture and mix through. (Images 9 and 10)
- Put the torn basil in and stire through (Image 11)
- Add the tomato polpa to the pot, mixing through the sauce. (Image 12)
- Snap the spaghetti in half and add to the pot. (Image 13)
- Pour in the chicken stock over the spaghetti. (Image 14)
- Push the spaghetti into the sauce, getting as much of it as possible under the liquid. (Image 15)
- Set to Pressure Cook and Cook for 8 minutes, manually releasing pressure as soon as it beeps. 4 hours in the slow cooker on high, on the stove 20 minutes with the lid on. (Image 16)
Instant pot and slow cooker tips
I have an Instant Pot Duo Crisp (affiliate link) that I bought and I absolutely love it. For this recipe I used it in Pressure Cook mode. You can do the same with another Pressure Cooker.
I have also made this recipe in the slow cooker, cooking for 4 hours on high. I have had this Cuisinart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for 10 years no, and it is still going strong! I love that it can handle a big batch for family dinners.
Expert Tips and FAQs
If you have enough liquid, you can cook the spaghetti in one pot with the sauce, in the slow cooker, pressure cooker or even on the stove. For 500 grams of spaghetti, you need a minimum of 1.5 litres of liquid. In the case of this recipe, we use 1 litre of chicken stock and 790 grams of pureed tomatoes, bringing us to 1.79 litres of liquid. The veggies help too, as onions and zucchini exude liquids as they cook.
In theory, yes. In practice, the reheating from frozen of the spaghetti will make it kind of smushy.
Turkey mince is lower in saturated fat than beef mince, making it a healthy alternative to beef mince.
Simple! Don't chop, you need to tear it!
More Family Friendly Pasta Recipes
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One Pot Healthy Turkey Bolognese
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 brown onion 2
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 carrots
- 2 zucchinis
- ½ red capsicum
- 500 grams turkey mince
- 10 basil leaves
- 790 grams tomato polpa if you can't find it, use ½ diced tomatoes and ½ passata)
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 500 grams spaghetti
Instructions
- Chop the onion, zucchinis, carrots and capsicum.
- Heat the olive oil, over medium heat on the stove or on Sauté mode in the Instant Pot.
- Add the onion and garlic cook until the onion has softened and has started to turn golden.
- Put in the turkey mince and brown it.
- Pour in all the veggies and mix well through the mince.
- Add the torn basil
- Pour in the tomato polpa, mixing through.
- Sanp the spaghetti in half over the sauce.
- Pour over the chicken stock, covering all the pasta and pushingit down into the sauce.
Instant Pot
- Close the lid and chose pressure cook, for 8 minutes. Manual pressure realese at the end.
Slow Cooker
- Four hours on high.
Stove
- Push all the spaghetti well into the sauce, bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
My mouth is literally watering. My family would love this..
Adriana says
What a great idea to use turkey instead of beef