This time-tested spaghetti sauce with ground turkey is flavorful and nutritious.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 55 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ white onion, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 6 basil leaves, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
- ½ (6 ounce) can tomato paste, or to taste
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, tomato, basil, and garlic; sauté until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Break ground turkey into small pieces and add to the pot; season with Italian seasoning and oregano. Cook and stir until turkey is completely browned, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until sauce has thickened slightly, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste until mixture is evenly colored; season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 to 2 more minutes.
- Add more tomato paste to thicken the sauce, or use less if you like it thinner.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 414 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 19 g |
| Cholesterol | 105 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Protein | 33 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 1352 mg |
| Sugars | 13 g |
| Fat | 25 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This is a great recipe. For years, I had been using the most popular recipes on this site for ground turkey or turkey meatball marinara but this sauce is better. You can hardly taste the turkey flavor which I am personally not the biggest fan of and the flavor of the herb blend is perfect. I did add a can of diced tomatoes instead of a chopped tomato. Wouldn’t change the outcome at all. 5/5
It is very easy to make
So delicious and Great flavor.
So good!!! I almost used the entire can of tomato paste, and added a little fresh oregano (in addition to the basil) and a splash of red wine. Delicious!!!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was excellent! I can’t imagine that it’s only 4 servings. It’s more like 8 or 10 servings for my family. It’s now my go to pasta sauce!
Liked it a lot!
Delicious
Added stewed zucchini for more veggies and used diced canned tomatoes instead of 1 fresh tomato.
Turned out great! I just used a jar of marinara sauce instead of the tomato sauce and paste.
Loved this recipe! The only difference is that I used fire roasted + diced tomatoes from the can. Turned out great!
It was OK with the additions I made: much more garlic, sriracha sauce, parmesan cheese and a whole can of tomato paste. Will look for another sauce.
Super easy and delicious. I skipped the black pepper and used crushed red pepper instead. Just enough to get the flavor and a little bite. I also added fresh spinach.
This was delicious – I doubled the receipe for the leftovers, and added in the full can of tomatoe paste. I used SAN Marzano tomatoes, and no tomato sauce, and it turned out terrific. This is a definite keeper. I also served it with Spaghetti squash, and it was a definite hit.
I and my family love this recipe.
Honestly, one of the best tomato sauces I’ve ever made.
added red hot pepper flakes, chopped red pepper (1/2) and didn’t chop the basil leaves, instead added 3 wholes in the pot.
Huge hit with the family, quick to make and healthy. And best of all, it was great over spaghetti squash as well as pasta. Thanks for sharing!
Just made this now and followed the recipe exactly with 2 minor modifications… 1. I used turkey sausages 2. Added a pinch of brown sugar Turned out amazing! I cut open the sausages and used the meat. Keep in mind, the sausages are already seasoned and salted as well so go easy if you’re adding salt at the end. The pinch of brown sugar is something I always add to my sauce which I find helps reduce the acidity of the tomatoes and paste a little. It’s sitting on the stove on low as I’m writing this and I highly recommend giving it a try! Excellent recipe!
I, too, misread the amount of tomato paste and used the entire 6oz can, so I just added more broth to make it a little less thick. I also added a tad of butter (borrowed from another recipe) and a pinch of sugar, which my Portuguese grandmother would routinely add to sauces, a dash of dried, crushed red pepper and fresh basil from our garden. It looks and smells delicious! Still simmering…
Finally, my family enjoys spaghetti! No more Ragu or Presto! I made it like the original, but also added diced tomatoes. This sauce is a hearty one & it received 4 rare rave reviews in our household!
Great sauce! I did not have fresh Basil though. I added some more Italian seasoning and a half t. of crushed red pepper