This Ground Turkey Pasta is a simple, comforting one-pan dinner that’s ready in about 30 minutes. Lean ground turkey, pasta, and just a few spices come together to make a hearty, flavorful meal the whole family will love. Perfect for busy nights!

Ground Turkey Pasta is one of those easy weeknight dinners you can always count on. It uses simple pantry staples, cooks in one pan, and is packed with hearty, satisfying flavor without feeling heavy.

 

Using ground turkey keeps this dish lighter than the Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni, but you still get tons of savory flavor thanks to garlic and a few basic spices. Everything simmers together with the pasta to create a thick, comforting sauce that coats every bite.

Ingredients You’ll Need

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• Ground Turkey
• Oil
• Onion
• Garlic
• Chicken Broth – you can use low sodium to reduce the salt content
• Milk – I use skim milk because it is what we have on hand, but any type of milk works. The higher the fat content, the creamier your sauce will be.
• Paprika
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Salt & Pepper
• Uncooked Pasta – you can use any short cut pasta shape that you like. I used medium shells, but bowtie, macaroni, penne, rotini etc all work great.
• Shredded Cheese – I used shredded cheddar cheese, but you can use whatever your favorite cheese is.

How To Make Ground Turkey Pasta

• Brown Turkey. Add oil to a large skillet and brown over medium high heat. Add the onions, break apart the turkey and cook for 7-8 minutes until the turkey is no longer pink and the onions are soft. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, until you can start to smell it.
• Season. Add all of the spices to the turkey and mix to coat.
• Boil. Stir in the chicken broth, milk, and dried pasta. Make sure the pasta is covered by the liquid, and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes until the pasta is tender.
• Cheese. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese until it is melted.

Recipe Tips & Suggestions

• Thicken. Different pasta shapes will take slightly different amounts of liquid to cook. So if your sauce is thinner and your pasta is cooked you can mix together 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of cold water and mix into the pan. Let it boil for a minute until it thickens, and then add the cheese.
• Add Vegetables. You can absolutely add veggies to this dish. Some of my favorite options are bell peppers, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes or peas.
• Pasta. You really can use just about any pasta shape and type you like. I have used chickpea pasta as well as whole wheat and traditional white pasta, and they all work great. Some pasta absorbs liquid a little different, so use the thickening trick if necessary.
• Protein. You can really switch up the protein to use whatever you like. Ground beef, ground chicken and even sausage would work well in this recipe.
• Serving Suggestions. This can be a complete meal on its own, but you can also serve with Garlic Bread, a Side Salad, Roasted Asparagus or your favorite vegetable.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can reheat in the microwave. If it is super thick you can add a splash of milk to loosen the sauce as it reheats.

This can also be frozen. Let the pasta cool and then store in an airtight container for up to 3 months. I like to store in individual servings, so I can just take one out in the morning for lunch.

More Easy Dinner Recipes

• Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta
• One Pan Chicken Dinner
• Southwest Chicken Skillet
• Taco Rice
• Stuffed Pepper Casserole