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    Home » Recipe Box

    Ground Turkey Spaghetti with Hidden Veggies

    Published: Mar 15, 2021 · Modified: Aug 4, 2021 by Julie Park · This post may contain affiliate links

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    Our delicous Ground Turkey Spaghetti is sure to be a HUGE hit with the whole family! We have perfected a sauce for you that is kid tested and approved, and most importantly, contains hidden veggies to satisfy your pickiest of eaters! BONUS: This turkey Spaghetti recipe can me made in 28 minutes or less!

    white, big bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce and cheese on red tablecloth
    Jump to:
    • 👍 Why we Love Ground Turkey Spaghetti
    • 🤔 Why Hide Veggies in the Sauce?
    • đź›’ Ingredients
    • 🔪 Cooking Tools
    • 👩‍🍳 How to Make Ground Turkey Spaghetti
    • ✔️ Expert Tips & Tricks
    • đź§‚ Recipe Variations
    • 🍞 Sides for ground Turkey Spaghetti
    • âť“FAQ
    • đź§¶Craft for this Recipe
    • Other Pasta Dishes
    • 🍝 Ground Turkey Spaghetti with Hidden Veggies

    We love cooking with ground turkey to lighten up a meal! If you love ground turkey too, be sure to check our these belly-warming 10 Easy Ground Turkey Soups! You might also enjoy these amazing and quick Turkey Burger Sliders.

    👍 Why we Love Ground Turkey Spaghetti

    🍅 As always, this turkey spaghetti is doable in 28 minutes or less. Fast!

    🍅 Not from scratch, but still feels like from scratch. A jar of your fave tomato sauce is the base, but then you add a bunch of things to it.

    🍅 Hidden veggies add nutrition. Excellent for veggie-averse or picky eaters.

    🍅 Extremely easy to make vegan, with only 2 ingredient swaps: nutritional yeast instead of cheese & pea protein crumbles instead of ground turkey

    🍅 Oh, I almost forgot! Tested, approved and devoured by 5 kids and 5 adults ✔️

    🤔 Why Hide Veggies in the Sauce?

    While we don't believe we should dupe our kids, we also recognize that for some families, the veggie struggle is real. Hiding veggies in your veggie-loathing kids' food delivers those missing nutrients.

    My secret veggie idea was inspired by a cookbook I like: Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids to Eat Good Food, by Jessica Seinfeld (yes, Jerry Seinfeld's wife). Seinfeld incorporates vegetable purees in all of her dishes, for added nutrients. While our recipe doesn't contain a puree, it does contain incognito veggies.

    Note: All this being said, please note that we support kids consciously and conscientiously developing good eating habits for life. So, whenever possible, it's best for kids to know what they're consuming.

    đź›’ Ingredients

    ingredients for ground turkey spaghetti

    Notes in Ingredients:

    • Spaghetti- we love thin spaghetti but choose your favorite kind!
    • Onion- chopped and diced so they are barely detectable but still provide flavor.
    • Grated Carrots - these add a naturally sweet flavor to the sauce that kids love!
    • Mushrooms- finely chopped mushrooms add a savory, meaty flavor to a sauce.
    • Zucchini- this veggie cooks down very nicely.
    • Celery- chopped and cooked thoroughly to avoid the crunchy texture that some kids despise.
    • Ground turkey- compared to ground beef, ground turkey is lower in saturated fat, making it our meat of choice for this dish. But you can certainly use lean ground beef or sausage for this recipe.
    • Sauce-We like Newman's Own as a brand because it gives 100% of everything it makes to charity. But use whatever sauce you love.

    🔪 Cooking Tools

    peeler, chopping knives, cutting board, grater and mincer on grey counter
    measuring cups and spoons on grey counter
    large pot and medium/large pan on grey counter
    spatula and colander on grey counter

    Note: To be clear, you only need one knife. I used my Cutco Chef's Knife. The other knives shown are our recommended kids knives: Curious Chef Knife Set, Opinel Knife, & Made for Me Beginner's Knife for chopping, and Opinel kids peeler. 

    👩‍🍳 How to Make Ground Turkey Spaghetti

    Step 1: Cook the Pasta

    red colander full of just cooked pasta noodles

    🥄 Kid Steps: This might be a no brainer, but let your kid be the master taster. My kids love deciding when the pasta is 'done' cause it means tasting a noodle every 2 mins.

    Step 2: Prep and Cook Veggies

    stirring pan of carrots and onion on stovetop

    🥄 Kid Steps: Your kids can help prep the veggies. We recommend Curious Chef Knife Set, Opinel Knife, & Made for Me Beginner's Knife for chopping, and Opinel kids peeler. And it's weird, but swimming goggles are great for protecting little eyes while chopping onions. Kids see it as a fun costume too.

    Step 3: Add Turkey, Tomato Sauce and Seasonings

    stirring chopped veggies and browned turkey in pan on stovetop

    🥄 Kid Steps: Have your kiddo use this Calphalon Potato Masher (or any similar tool you like) to break up the turkey as it cooks. It's a fun job.

    Step 4: Mix Together pasta, sauce and cheese

    hidden veggie sauce on pasta

    ✔️ Expert Tips & Tricks

    • To plate...serve turkey spaghetti in bowl or on plate. Any steamed veggie or garlic bread are great sides.
    • You can play around with the veggie quantities, using more or less of each. Another good veggie to throw in is finely chopped celery.
    • We've found that a potato masher helps to break up the ground turkey in the pan.
    • This turkey spaghetti recipe can be made ahead and stored in the freezer for several months. It also tastes great the day after cooking and can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days

    đź§‚ Recipe Variations

    • For picky eaters: Set aside some noodles without sauce and add just a little sauce to ease your kids into the flavor.
    • For dairy free folks: Replace the parmesan cheese with a couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast.
    • For gluten free folks: Opt for a different noodle, like rice noodles, Ancient Harvest quinoa pasta (careful not to overcook cause it can get mushy), or Trader Joe's Organic Brown Rice & Quinoa Fusilli Pasta. Also make sure your marinara sauce doesn't contain gluten.
    • For vegan folks: Only 2 swaps. (1) turkey --> pea protein crumbles (huge fan of Beyond Meat's Beyond Beef Plant-Based Ground, which also happen to be gluten-free), and (2) parmesan cheese --> a couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast.

    🍞 Sides for ground Turkey Spaghetti

    • Garlic bread or simple rolls with butter
    • Side salad- a simple green salad will definitely complement this dish
    • Steamed veggies, like broccoli or peas (let your kids choose!)
    • Roasted asparagus or other roasted veggies of choice
    • Sliced, raw veggies, like cucumbers sliced for kids, carrots or celery stalks

    ❓FAQ

    Can you make and freeze ground turkey sauce ahead of time?

    Yes! Simply make a batch of your sauce and freeze in a sealed, airtight container. The sauce should be good for a few months or more!

    How long will this sauce keep in the fridge?

    We love having this sauce as next-day leftovers, as the flavors of the sauce have had more time to meld. We recommend eating this sauce within 3-5 days of cooking.

    What other types of pasta will work with this meal?

    You can try and pasta you'd like, though we prefer long, thin pasta like spaghetti, angel hair, fettuccini or pappardelle. Whole wheat spaghetti is also a great, healthy option, though it may add a few minutes of cooking time.

    Can other ground meats be used instead of turkey?

    Any kind of ground meat will work nicely in this spaghetti dish, including ground beef, chicken or sausage. You may vary your seasoning accordingly.

    Is ground turkey healthier than beef?

    When given a choice, I prefer ground turkey over ground beef for my family. Both ground beef and turkey provide protein and a variety of vitamins and minerals. But compared to ground beef, ground turkey tends to be lower in saturated fat.

    đź§¶Craft for this Recipe

    words unicorn and sky with rainbow pasta sprinkled on top

    Making spaghetti? Set some dry noodles aside so your kids can make this Rainbow Spaghetti Art with Words craft! Creative, educational, messy, awesome.

    Other Pasta Dishes

    • One Pot Lemon Garlic Pasta
    • Coconut Curry Recipe for Kids
    • Delicious, Simple Recipe for Pesto Pasta
    • Creamy Vegetable Pasta

    Follow Platein28 on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook and Sign up for our newsletter for all the latest recipes and crafts!

    white, big bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce and cheese on red tablecloth
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    🍝 Ground Turkey Spaghetti with Hidden Veggies

    Author: Marcie & Julie
    In the mood for spaghetti? Try our delicious ground turkey spaghetti with hidden veggies! This recipe is simple, quick and oh so good!
    Prep Time5 mins
    Cook Time23 mins
    Total Time28 mins
    Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
    Cuisine: American, Americanized Italian, Italian
    Servings: 6

    Equipment

    • chopping knife
    • peeler
    • grater
    • mincer
    • Measuring tools
    • large pot
    • medium/large pan
    • colander

    Ingredients

    • 2 teaspoon salt (divided)
    • 12 ounce thin spaghetti
    • 1 - 1 ½ Tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 small onion, chopped
    • Âľ cup carrot, peeled & finely grated (~ 1 or 2 medium carrots)
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 4 ounce mushrooms, finely chopped (~ 5 small mushrooms)
    • 1 pound ground turkey
    • 24 ounce tomato or marinara sauce (your fave)
    • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

    Instructions

    • First, fill a large pot with water, add 1 ½ teaspoon of the salt, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add pasta and cook according to instructions on package. Strain pasta when done and return to empty pot.
    • Meanwhile, heat a medium-large pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Once heated, add onion, carrot, and garlic, and cook until vegetables are tender (~ 5 mins). Add mushrooms and cook 2 mins more.
    • Add turkey to the pan and mix it into the veggies, breaking up the meat chunks with a potato masher or spatula as you go. Cook turkey until no longer pink, ~ 5-7 mins. Stir in the tomato sauce, black pepper and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cook sauce on low for 10 mins.
    • Pour sauce on top of noodles in pot. Add parmesan and mix everything together until the cheese is completely melted and everything is well incorporated.
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Notes

    • To plate...serve spaghetti in bowl or on plate. Any steamed veggie or garlic bread are great sides.
    • You can play around with the veggie quantities, using more or less of each. Another good veggie to throw in is finely chopped celery.
    • We've found that a potato masher helps to break up the ground turkey in the pan.
    • This recipe can be made ahead and stored in the freezer for several months. It also tastes great the day after cooking and can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1servingCalories: 458.35kcal (23%)Carbohydrates: 53.11g (18%)Protein: 33.65g (67%)Fat: 12.8g (20%)Saturated Fat: 4.12g (26%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.61gMonounsaturated Fat: 6.03gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 52.91mg (18%)Sodium: 1691.28mg (74%)Potassium: 882.64mg (25%)Fiber: 4.52g (19%)Sugar: 8.38g (9%)Vitamin A: 3314.36IU (66%)Vitamin C: 10.79mg (13%)Calcium: 238.5mg (24%)Iron: 2.86mg (16%)

    *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. While we are not certified nutritionists, we work with a WordPress-integrated nutrition API to calculate our recipes' ingredient values.

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    We are two sisters with young kids who want to help simplify mealtime for busy families! Platein28 is our family’s unofficial guide to wading through mealtime chaos. Here you will find quality recipes that take 28 minutes or less, with activities to occupy your kids so you can actually cook.

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