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Our Ground Turkey Pasta recipe is a rich and hearty meat sauce made with ground turkey, mushrooms, zucchini, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes, seasonings, pasta and cheese. This is an easy ground turkey and pasta bake that pulls together in about 30 minutes and it makes a great dinner for busy weeknights. 

Ground Turkey Pasta in a white skillet.

Ground turkey and pasta bake is an easy dish that you can prep ahead of time for busy weeknights, potlucks and get-togethers with family and friends. 

Why We Love This Recipe

  • Quick and Easy. This is a delicious, quick and easy family-friendly meal to make any night of the week.
  • Budget Friendly.  We use simple budget-friendly ingredients for this dish.
  • Flavor. This Ground Turkey Pasta Bake is loaded with flavor, and with melted mozzarella cheese, it’s especially delish!

Ground Turkey Pasta Recipe Ingredients

Glass bowls filled with zucchini, mushrooms, cheese, crushed tomatoes and rigatoni.

  • Pasta. We use rigatoni, but you can use whatever tube shaped pasta you like.
  • Extra-virgin olive oil AND Butter. To cook the ground  and sauté the aromatics with.
  • Aromatics. We use simple combination of onion and garlic.
  • Vegetables. We add celery, carrot, zucchini and baby bella mushrooms to the mix.
  • Ground Turkey. We use ground turkey for this recipe. Use 93% lean ground turkey. If you use 99% lean ground turkey, the meat will be a little dry.
  • Seasoning. Lightly seasoned with dried oregano, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, black pepper and red pepper flakes.
  • Tomato. We use crushed tomatoes for this recipe. 
  • Water or Broth. We add 1 cup of water (you can use the pasta water) or chicken broth.
  • Cream. A little cream adds a richness to the sauce.
  • Cheese. We use both parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese for this dish.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Variations

  • Swap out the ground turkey for Italian turkey sausage. Or use 1/2 pound ground turkey and 1/2 pound Italian turkey sausage.
  • Use a different pasta shape like rotini or ziti if you like.
  • You can use chopped tomatoes instead of crushed tomatoes.
  • Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon granulated sugar to mellow the acidic bite of the tomato.
  • Omit melting mozzarella cheese on top and simply serve it with grated parmesan cheese.

Ground Turkey and Pasta Bake in a white skillet.

How To Make Ground Turkey Pasta Bake

  1. Cook Pasta. Cook the rigatoni according to the directions on the package.
  2. Preheat Oven. Preheat oven to 425° degrees.
  3. Cook Meat. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven. Add the ground turkey to the pan and break it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon or a metal spatula. Cook over medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes or until no longer pink. Transfer the meat to a bowl and set aside.
  4. Add Aromatics. Add the butter to the pot and a more oil if needed, then stir in the onions, celery and carrot and sauté for approximately 5 minutes or until the onions turn soft and golden. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
  5. Add Seasoning. Stir in the seasoning.
  6. Add Tomatoes. Return the ground turkey to the pot (juice and all) and stir. Add the undrained crushed tomatoes and stir. 
  7. Simmer Sauce. Simmer the sauce for about 15-20 minutes.
  8. Add Zucchini. Add the zucchini the last 5 minutes of simmering the sauce. If you add the zucchini sooner, it will get overcooked and turn soggy. 
  9. Add Cream AND Parmesan Cheese. Stir in the cream and parmesan cheese.
  10. Add Pasta. Add the cooked pasta to the meat sauce and stir. Remove from heat.
  11. Top With Cheese. Sprinkle the top with grated mozzarella cheese and put in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

Ground Turkey Pasta in a white skillet.

Tips For Making Ground Turkey And Pasta Bake

  1. Don’t overcook the pasta because the noodles will continue to cook a bit when you add them to the sauce. 
  2. No need to rinse the noodles after cooking them.
  3. The more noodles you add to the sauce, the less sauce you will have. If you like a saucy pasta dish like we do, then add fewer noodles.  We typically start off by adding about 1 cup of cooked pasta and then we’ll add a little more at a time until we have a good balance of sauce and pasta. 
  4. Cook the onions until they are quite soft and translucent.
  5. Simmer sauce slowly over low heat.

Storing Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, leftover Ground Turkey Pasta bake should last 3-4 days.

Serving Suggestions

Pasta with Ground Turkey and vegetables in a white skillet with melted cheese.

More Easy Dinner Recipes

Yield: 4 Servings

Ground Turkey Pasta

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Our Ground Turkey Pasta recipe is a rich and hearty meat sauce made with ground turkey, mushrooms, zucchini, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes, seasonings, pasta and cheese. This is an easy ground turkey and pasta bake that pulls together in about 30 minutes and it makes a great dinner for busy weeknights. 

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • 1 cup onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup carrots, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
  • 1/3 cup baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 cup zucchini, sliced
  • 1 cup water or chicken broth
  • 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  1. Cook the rigatoni according to the directions on the package. No need to rinse pasta after cooking.
  2. Preheat oven to 425° degrees.
  3. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven. Add the ground turkey to the pan and break it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon or a metal spatula. Cook over medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes or until no longer pink. Transfer the meat to a bowl and set aside.
  4. Add the butter to the pot and a more oil if needed, then stir in the onions, celery and carrot and sauté for approximately 5 minutes or until the onions turn soft and golden. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
  5. Stir in the seasoning, then return the ground turkey to the pot (juice and all) and stir. Add the undrained crushed tomatoes and water (or broth) and stir. You can use pasta water if you like.
  6. Simmer the sauce for about 15-20 minutes.
  7. Add the sliced zucchini the last 5 minutes of simmering the sauce. If you add the zucchini sooner, it will get overcooked and turn soggy. 
  8. Stir in the cream and parmesan cheese.
  9. Add 1 cup cooked pasta and stir. Then add another 1/2 cup at a time until you have a good balance of sauce and pasta. Remove from heat.
  10. Sprinkle the top with grated mozzarella cheese and put the skillet in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 712Total Fat: 51gSaturated Fat: 20gUnsaturated Fat: 31gCholesterol: 197mgSodium: 998mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 4gSugar: 8gProtein: 49g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.

© Deborah Duncan
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Dinner