Meat Sauce made with easy homemade ground turkey sausage and bottled sauce makes this recipe easy, fast, and full of flavor. This meat sauce recipe is perfect for weeknight meals, coming together in about 20 minutes!
Meat Sauce
Okay, hear me out. Yes, I love to make spaghetti and meatballs from scratch – I do!
But, let’s face it, sometimes I just don’t have the time to make a big ole pot!
If I’m craving spaghetti and need to make it in a pinch, I whip out this meat sauce recipe with turkey.
You know me – I can’t just brown some ground turkey up, pour in some bottled sauce and call it a day, oh no. I doctor it up, my way!
What makes this meat sauce special is, I take my basic Italian sausage spice mix I use for my deep dish pizza and make ground turkey sausage with it.
Oh yes, so much flavor in basically no time at all. This is my kind of weeknight meal!
How to make meat sauce with turkey
- Mix ground turkey with spices, garlic, and parmesan cheese. Brown turkey mixture in a small sauce pot on the stove. Drain any excess water or fat that comes out of the turkey.
- Add bottled sauce of your choice, let simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with noodles of your choice, a side of roasted peppers, and crusty bread!
Tell me an easier, more flavorful meat sauce recipe – I’ll wait!
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Tools used to make meat sauce with turkey
This spaghetti meat sauce is great served over any style of pasta you want. However, I love to make it a little lighter sometimes and use zucchini noodles!
To make zucchini noodles, I just spiral a bunch of zucchini, you need a lot because they shrink down when cooked. I’ll spiral 5-6 medium sized zucchini for this.
No need to press the water out, just add them straight to a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 4 cracks fresh black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano.
Cook until lightly browned and tender.
How to make meat sauce
Easy Meat Sauce with Turkey
Meat Sauce made with easy homemade ground turkey sausage and bottled sauce makes this recipe easy, fast, and full of flavor. This meat sauce recipe is perfect for weeknight meals, coming together in about 20 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds freshly ground (or ground fennel)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cracks fresh black pepper
- 1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese fresh grated
- 24 ounces jarred marinara sauce*
Instructions
In a medium-sized bowl, add the ground turkey, oregano, basil, garlic, fennel, salt, pepper, and cheese. Mix together until combined.
In a small saucepot over medium heat, add the turkey sausage and brown. Drain any excess water or fat that might come off the turkey. Add the jarred sauce and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with pasta of your choice. I also love this over zucchini noodles!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
*My favorite jarred sauce is Classico Reserva Marinara.
'Til Next time!
