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Home » Recipes » Course » Main Dishes

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Turkey

February 20, 2015 by Christy, Updated June 7, 2019 19 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

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This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is lightened up with ground turkey, but is so flavorful you'd never know it! 

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is lightened up with ground turkey, but is so flavorful you'd never know it!

Homemade spaghetti sauce is one of my ultimate favorite things to make. Sure, you can go with the pre-made stuff in a pinch, but making it from scratch really isn't that hard and the little bit of extra effort is totally worth it. Sure, you've got to let is simmer for a while, but that's downtime where you don't have to do anything except sit back and relax. With wine of course.

If you want to get really crazy, you can even add about half a cup of red wine to the turkey/veggie mix to add more depth of flavor. If you do this, let meat simmer in the wine for a minute or two before dumping the tomatoes in. This step isn't necessary at all and I only do it if I have a bottle of wine already open... and feel like sharing.

I also use fresh herbs here, but you can sub in about 1/3 to 1/2 the amount of dried basil and oregano. If you do this, add the dried herbs in earlier with the tomatoes.

This recipe makes A LOT of pasta sauce. I make this recipe for company because its easy to make a huge amount or you can freeze and reheat for quick weeknight meals. You can even leave the turkey out and use this as meatless marinara sauce for recipes like these cabbage rolls. This spaghetti sauce recipe is flexible and pretty much foolproof so feel free to tweak things a bit based on what you have on hand.

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is lightened up with ground turkey, but is so flavorful you'd never know it!

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is lightened up with ground turkey, but is so flavorful you'd never know it!

We are (finally!) just getting back (and thawing out) from a long weekend trip to Toronto so fresh food around the house has been hard to come by. My mother-in-law also flew in earlier this week so with all the activity going on, I really haven't been in the mood to cook.

Since cereal isn't exactly an acceptable dinner option, I realized it was about time to do some rummaging through the pantry, freezer, and fridge. Luckily, when I made this tomato sauce last week, I froze half of it for an occasion like this. (Thank you past self.)

Having homemade spaghetti sauce on hand makes it easy to bust out a quick meal like baked ziti, stuffed peppers, or whatever your tomato-sauce based imagination can think up. The options are truly endless and you can pretty much guarantee it will be delicious since anything slathered in homemade spaghetti sauce usually is. Its a given. 

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is lightened up with ground turkey, but is so flavorful you'd never know it!

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is lightened up with turkey, but is so flavorful you'd never know it!

This recipe is naturally dairy free on its own, and you can keep it that way by holding the parmesan. If you're gluten free you can use gluten free Worcestershire and use brown rice pasta to make it work for you. Slightly different texture, but coated in sauce, you can't really tell the difference.

I saw quinoa pasta at the grocery store the other day though which sounds like it could be pretty amazing. If you've tried it already, save me the suspense and let me know how it is! Also, I'd love to hear how you like this spaghetti sauce so please leave a comment to let me know how it goes. We love this recipe and hope you will too!

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is lightened up with ground turkey, but is so flavorful you'd never know it!

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is lightened up with ground turkey, but is so flavorful you'd never know it!

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is lightened up with ground turkey, but is so flavorful you'd never know it!

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is lightened up with ground turkey, but is so flavorful you'd never know it!
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5 from 6 votes

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Turkey

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is lightened up with turkey, but is so flavorful you'd never know it!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 12 servings
Calories 198kcal
Author Christy

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground turkey
  • 2 turkey sausage links (casing removed)
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 bell peppers (seeded and chopped)
  • 1 large onion chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
  • 2 large carrots (peeled and finely minced)
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 2 tsp. Worcestershire
  • 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp. fennel seed
  • 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 28. oz. can stewed tomatoes
  • 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
  • 2 tsp. fresh chopped oregano or 1 tsp. dried
  • 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
  • 1/2 Tbsp. sugar optional
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and peppers and cook for 2 - 3 minutes to soften.
  • Add carrots, garlic, ground turkey, and turkey sausage and cook while breaking into small pieces with a spatula. While turkey is browning, add salt, pepper, worcestershire, red pepper flakes, and fennel.
  • Add crushed tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and let simmer uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. During the last 15 minutes of cooking time, add chopped fresh herbs. If sauce is too acidic, add sugar to taste (normally about 1/2 Tbsp.).
  • Garnish with additional chopped parsley and parmesan cheese if desired before serving over pasta.

Notes

*This is enough sauce to cover approximately two lbs. of uncooked spaghetti noodles.
*Sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 198kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 1047mg | Potassium: 1079mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 3455IU | Vitamin C: 49.2mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 4.3mg
Did you make the recipe? I love seeing your creations!To be featured tag @FeastingNotFasting on Instagram and use the hashtag #FeastingNotFasting - please leave a star rating below too! ★★★★★

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mary says

    April 19, 2021 at 10:02 am

    I'm counting calories, so am assuming when you say each serving is 198 calories, the serving size is one cup? Just a guesstimate on my part without actually measuring it out.

    Reply
    • Christy says

      May 13, 2021 at 9:19 pm

      Hi Mary - this makes an absolutely huge batch, enough to serve 12 people and the nutrition facts are for 1/12th of the recipe. Sorry, I did not measure it out so I'm not sure how much that is exactly.

      Reply
  2. Eve Hunt says

    July 08, 2019 at 2:44 am

    5 stars
    Thank you so much for wonderful recipes! What I love about your website most of all is that you post not only great recipes and descriptions but also stunning photos of food! Have a nice day!

    Reply
  3. Alisha Ross says

    June 04, 2019 at 2:24 am

    5 stars
    I love trying new recipes with vegetables with my kids. My daughter is the master at the food processor and Kitchenaid mixer. We also love baking low carb desserts from your site!

    Reply
    • Christy says

      June 11, 2019 at 10:36 pm

      Happy to hear you and your kids like my recipes! I can't wait to cook with my daughter when she's big enough!:)

      Reply
  4. Moses Brodin says

    June 03, 2019 at 12:21 am

    Well I thought I had bought ground turkey but instead bought sausage!! How could I have done that!! And thank you for the brown rice link, and yup that was the one!! Anyway I did make this tonight but instead of turkey I used ground beef! It was all I had and I wanted to make this so bad. But guess what - it was fantastic!! I know it would have been healthier with the turkey but this was, as my husband said -- give it two yums!!! Thanks again

    Reply
  5. Sheila Davidson says

    May 24, 2019 at 3:43 am

    For a creamy style sauce ... add 1/4 cup soft goat cheese.

    Reply
    • Christy says

      May 27, 2019 at 2:21 pm

      Oh my lands! That sounds so incredibly good! Goat cheese would be such a great addition to this.

      Reply
  6. Moses Brodin says

    April 17, 2019 at 9:33 pm

    This is an awesome easy fall dinner! I love the contrasting textures and flavors.

    Reply
  7. Denise says

    January 24, 2019 at 11:30 am

    NOT A GLUTEN FREE RECIPE! This recipe says it's "naturally" gluten-free yet one of the ingredients is Worcester sauce which is made from wheat and is widely known as containing gluten. Obviously those of us cooking gluten-free can skip the Worcester sauce if we are aware it contains gluten. When printing recipes online, please review ingredients and don't tout them as something they aren't.

    Reply
    • Christy says

      January 26, 2019 at 7:34 pm

      Good to know, thanks Denise! I'll add that clarification in the recipe.

      Reply
    • Yvonne says

      March 03, 2019 at 12:23 pm

      Actually, there is gluten free Worcester Sauce. I know this because my grand daughter can neither have wheat nor corn and I have purchase it.

      Reply
      • Christy says

        March 24, 2019 at 7:14 am

        The kind I buy is gluten free too (Lea & Perrins) so I assumed they all were. I'll add a note in about that brand for others wondering the same thing! 🙂

  8. Lola Rusin says

    May 16, 2018 at 1:07 pm

    5 stars
    I made this yesterday and my family absolutely LOVED it!!! This is a keeper and works within my Weight Watchers Freestyle program.
    Thank you!
    Lola

    Reply
    • Christy says

      May 16, 2018 at 2:42 pm

      Oh good!!! Happy to hear it Lola! This is one of my all time favorites. And as an aside, I almost named my daughter Lola. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Vicki says

    December 19, 2015 at 2:35 pm

    5 stars
    This was delicious! I was afraid of the fennel...but it gave the sauce the best flavor! I didn't have fresh oregano...I'm sure it would have been even better! Thanks so much..it's a keeper!

    Reply
    • Christy says

      December 19, 2015 at 3:03 pm

      So glad you liked it Vicki! I have an oregano bush so I'm always looking for ways to use it. Dried works just fine too though if you use a little less than the recipe calls for.

      Reply
  10. Kate @ Babaganosh.org says

    February 24, 2015 at 12:33 pm

    5 stars
    Great idea to use turkey in a pasta sauce - healthier and probably tastes as good as beef covered in sauce.

    I haven't tried quinoa pasta either, but it's definitely something I've been curious about and will buy when I run out of pasta reserves at home. By the way, isn't it awesome when you find frozen sauce, or pre-portioned frozen food? It makes me feel so proud of myself and so responsible when I think ahead like that.

    Reply
    • Christy says

      February 24, 2015 at 1:00 pm

      Funny you should say that - I know exactly what you mean! Just yesterday I found some leftover pulled pork in the freezer and felt like such a domestic diva.

      In other news - my freezer *might* be in need of a deep clean...

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Christy - the foodie, photographer and recipe developer behind Feasting Not Fasting, a site centered on making it easier to eat healthy. More about me…

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