Pasta with Ground Turkey & Broccoli is flavored with a fresh, light lemon basil sauce.
You don’t need a heavy, calorie-laden sauce to make a tasty and delicious pasta dish – and our Pasta with Ground Turkey & Broccoli is a perfect example of this.
Spiral pasta is tossed with cooked ground turkey and broccoli, then tossed in a light and lemony sauce. A garnish of grated Parmesan cheese and chopped, fresh basil adds a nice finishing touch, while adding even more flavor.
This easy Pasta with Ground Turkey & Broccoli recipe also uses a common trick that ensures super flavorful pasta: You’ll initially cook the pasta just shy of al dente. Then, drain the pasta (but don’t rinse it) and immediately add it to the pan with the sauce and other ingredients to finish cooking. As the pasta cooks the rest of the way, it absorbs some of the sauce – and all of the flavor!
Great for Meal Prepping
This Pasta with Ground Turkey & Broccoli makes a great weeknight meal. You can do all of the prep ahead of time – which includes chopping the veggies and measuring out some other ingredients.
Then, when you’re ready to eat, this easy pasta dish cooks up in about thirty minutes.
Substitutions
While we made this Pasta with Ground Turkey & Broccoli, you could easily swap in other ground or crumbled meats such as ground beef, ground pork, or Italian sausage. You can also swap in or add in other vegetables including cauliflower, zucchini, spinach, and more.
We used a curly pasta (called cavatappi or cellentani depending on which brand you buy) but any other sturdy pasta shapes will work too, such as bow ties, penne or ziti.
This recipe is written to use a full pound box of pasta – so you’ll have plenty for a family meal and even some leftovers the next day. Enjoy!
You may like these other pasta dishes:
- Italian Fried Pasta
- Pasta con Tonno
- Penne alla Vodka
- No-Cook Puttanesca Sauce Over Pasta
- Pasta with Yellow Pepper Sauce
Pasta with Ground Turkey & Broccoli
Pasta with Ground Turkey & Broccoli is flavored with a fresh, light lemon basil sauce.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: entree, pasta
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
1-pound head of broccoli, or two small heads
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups sweet onion, diced (such as Vidalia)
1 cup red bell pepper, diced (about half a large pepper)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Zest of half a lemon
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
1 pound curly dry pasta, also called cavatappi
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Place a large pot of salted water on to boil.
- Cut florets from the stem and set aside.
- Peel the outer skin off the stem and cut the whole stem in half the long way. Then slice into thin slices.
- In a large deep skillet or saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and add the broccoli stems, onion, bell pepper and garlic and saute three minutes.
- Add the lemon zest, turkey, salt and pepper and saute until the turkey is no longer pink, about 3-4 more minutes.
- At this point the pot of water should be boiling so first add the broccoli florets and cook just two minutes and remove using a spider or strainer and set aside.
- Add the pasta to the same water and cook to just slightly undercooked, still a little chewy.
- While the pasta is cooking, go back to the pan with the turkey and add the lemon juice and cook one minute.
- Add the basil and chicken stock and let simmer while the pasta is cooking. The turkey mixture should simmer for at least five minutes.
- Pour the pasta into a colander to drain.
- Add the Parmesan cheese, broccoli florets and the drained pasta to the pan with the turkey and toss to combine. Cook just long enough to finish cooking the pasta. Add more chicken stock if needed.
- Serve with additional grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil.
It was very good but could have used more flavor. Maybe I’ll add Italian spice n ct time
Thanks Rita – you can always season any recipe to suit your tastes!
Thanks. I’m not much of a cook so I like to follow the recipe exactly but now I know I can add accordingly!