This one-pot ground turkey pasta comes together in just 30 minutes and is packed with good-for-you ingredients like spinach, tomatoes, and bell peppers! The Mexican-inspired flavors are a welcome departure for those of us needing a break from standard tomato sauce.
30-minute, one-pot pasta meals recipes that are tasty and easy enough to make any night of the week make me look a whole lot just like this → 💃💃💃 because guess what?
You may think that because I’m a food blogger, I’m in the kitchen every day, whipping up recipes so that I never have to think twice about what’s for dinner. But the reality is that most days I’m NOT cooking, and when I suddenly realize that it’s not just 5:00 somewhere…it’s 5:00 RIGHT HERE…I panic.
My saving grace? Simple, bold-flavored, all-in-one meals like this one-pot pasta that don’t require a bunch of hard-to-find ingredients or have too many steps. And bonus points go to the recipe if I can scavenge my pantry for most of it.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- Cook this dish in a high-sided, 3- to 4-quart sauté pan or a Dutch so the pasta has enough room to expand as it cooks.
- 85/15 lean ground turkey is the best choice for this pasta. You can go leaner than that, but the leaner the meat, the more prone it will be to drying out.
- Since the pasta cooks right in the sauce, you’ll want to use a good quality chicken broth (I make my own homemade chicken stock and freeze it in gallon freezer bags then defrost for quick dinner recipes just like this.
What’s in This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Lean ground turkey — We prefer using 85/15 ground turkey.
- Herbs and spices — The Mexican-inspired flavors of this pasta are built up by adding cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, and chili powder.
- Veggies and aromatics — Bell pepper, onion, and garlic add flavor and texture galore to this fabulous pasta.
- Diced tomatoes with green chiles — Choose mild or hot depending on how much you love spice.
- Pasta — I used penne, but any short and sturdy pasta may be used.
- Chicken broth — The pasta cooks in the sauce and doesn’t get drained, so you need to use a flavorful liquid like chicken broth rather than bland water.
- Heavy cream — Just a splash adds richness and creaminess. Feel free to omit or replace with half and half.
- Fresh spinach — You could use chopped kale or even arugula if you have those on hand instead.
- Shredded cheese — I used Monterey Jack for a melty cheese pull, but any melty cheese like provolone, mozzarella, or even Swiss or cheddar will work here too. Or, if you want to go full Mexican flavor, queso will give a tangier, less melty bite.
- Chopped cilantro — The perfect finishing touch.
How to Make Ground Turkey Pasta in One Pot
- Cook the ground turkey. I like to add a good drizzle of oil to the pan before cooking the turkey to prevent it from drying out or sticking. Season with a blend of herbs and spices once cooked.
- Add the veggies. The onion, garlic, and bell pepper need to cook just long enough to soften (remember that they’ll keep cooking alongside the pasta).
- Cook the pasta. Into the pot goes the tomatoes with green chiles, chicken broth, and pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender.
- Wilt the spinach. Add the cream, spinach, and cheese. The spinach should wilt quickly.
- Garnish and serve. The whole dish is topped with just enough cilantro and cheese to make this dinner totally crave-worthy for every eater at the table.
FAQs
That should be fine, you just might have to adjust the cook time depending on how long your gluten-free pasta needs to become tender.
Yes, this is a flexible recipe that works with a variety of veggies.
Ground chicken is an easy swap for ground turkey; feel free to use it if that’s what you’ve got on hand.
What to Serve with This Ground Turkey Pasta
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
One-Pot Ground Turkey Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt , divided
- 3 teaspoon ground cumin , divided
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper , divided
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 medium onion , diced
- ½ cup red bell pepper , diced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced or pressed
- 1 10- ounce can diced tomatoes and green chilies
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 10 ounces dried penne pasta
- 3 cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach (2 big handfuls)
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Chopped cilantro , for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large, high-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat until it shimmers and then add the ground turkey with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon 1 teaspoon ground cumin, the oregano, ½ teaspoon black pepper and the crushed red pepper. Break up the turkey with the spices and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add the onion, red bell pepper, and pressed garlic and cook for another 5 minutes or until the turkey is browned and the veggies soften.
- Add the canned tomatoes with green chiles to the skillet or pot with the rest of the kosher salt, cumin, black pepper, chili powder and stir.
- Add the penne pasta and cover with the chicken broth, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, cover and cook until the pasta is just tender, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the cream and fold in the spinach and cook until the spinach wilts, taste for seasoning and top with the shredded cheese.
- Garnish with the chopped cilantro, sit back and watch the forks fly!
Notes
Nutrition
More Fast One-Pot Dinner Recipes
- 20 One-Pot Wonders to Make for Dinner
- One-Pot Pasta Primavera
- Mexican Shrimp and Orzo
- One-Pot Homemade Sloppy Joe Recipe
- Creamy One-Pot Chicken and Rice
- Homemade Salisbury Steaks
We send good emails. Subscribe to FoodieCrush and have each post plus exclusive content only for our subscribers delivered straight to your e-mail box.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for more FoodieCrush inspiration.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There may be affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.
Dad can cook!
So like you, I often scramble and head to Pinterest for dinner ideas to see what I can make with what I’ve got. Had no pasta so went with rice and followed everything else in the recipe and it was quite good!
Jen
This was so easy and so good!! I subbed about 8oz tomato sauce for the canned tomatoes and about 4oz of cream cheese for the heavy cream. I cut back on a salt a bit too. Definitely adding this to our monthly menu!
So glad you enjoyed!
Michelle
Unfortunately this dish was so spicy, we could barely eat it. I’m not sure why it’s marketed as a kid friendly dish… most kids don’t like food that makes the mouth burn. I was so excited about this dish, and I wanted to love it. But I wish it would’ve stated that this was for spicy food lovers. I followed the recipe to a T.
Ashley
Everyone loved it. So GOOD!
Teresa
I had plans for my ground Turkey and saw this recipe and decided to try this instead. I made some modifications. I used both chicken and vegetable broth, added zucchini, squash, mushrooms and I used wheat penne pasta noodles. It was so delicious I had to make it again a few days later, yesterday. My family loved it too.
Fallon
Delicious!
JB
Normally ground turkey can be rather bland, but I really liked the bold flavors of this. But I’m giving this 4 stars instead of 5 because I made a few changes that I enjoyed much more than the original recipe sounded. 1) One change was to omit the cream. I don’t see the reason for it. 2) Used 1/2 the cheese. In retrospect, the cheese can be omitted entirely. 3) Instead of cooking the pasta in the one-pan, I par boiled the pasta, and then added it for a few moments. 4) Used only 2/3 cup of chicken broth. I don’t even want to know how soupy this would have been with 3 cups of broth.
Jade
This has to be the most delicious thing I’ve ever made. Holy cow this is good! I didn’t have crush tomatoes but I had fresh pico de gallo, used frozen spinach and fat free lactose milk. I added extra seasoning like onion powder and skipped the chili powder. Also added some cream of chicken and flour to thicken the sauce because it was more like soup. My 11 year old picky eater loved it. I will definitely put this in the rotation.
So glad you both enjoyed! :)
Abby
Do you think this could be frozen and reheated for meals later?
Hi Abby, sure! Freeze for up to 2 months in individual portions and reheat from frozen.
KERRY
This is in our TOP 10 favorite dinners. And that’s saying a lot considering I’ve cooked dinner 259 times (but who’s counting!) since March. To make it even more calorie friendly I reduce the pasta to 5 ounces and add 1 large zucchini (1/2-inch diced) along with the spinach and let it sit for about 5 minutes so it still has some bite to it. LOVE this recipe!!
Sarah
Def adding this one to our menu ! Even my 18 month old loved it.
Heidi
So happy you all enjoyed Sarah!
Julia
I made this last night for Sunday dinner and everyone loved it. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for the delicious recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it Julia!
Julia
Just made this for Sunday dinner and everybody loved it. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for the recipes. Julis
So glad you enjoyed it Julia. Thanks for the 5-star rating!
Sue Murray
Really easy and fast and easily customizable. I through some leftover white wine in there.
Wine is a great addition Sue. Thanks for the comment and rating.
Debbie Yeager
I just made this and was delicious. We loved it. Will be passing this recipe on to my daughter. Thanks for the recipe.
Laura S Cox
Made this for dinner tonight, and we all really enjoyed it. My husband isn’t the biggest fan of one-pot meals, but he said he really liked the flavor, and since he does the dishes, he also appreciated that all he had to wash was a pot and a cutting board, basically. My son is very open to new foods, luckily, and he liked it so much, he wanted seconds! We omitted the cumin, chili powder, and cilantro, and tried to maintain a more Italian-inspired dish, and it did not disappoint. We increased the amounts of oregano and garlic, and after stirring in cream and spinach, we added parmesan. Great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Phyl
I made it for dinner this evening. My boyfriend and I loved it! He had two helpings, and we still have enough for tomorrow’s dinner. I like cooking everything in one pot…so much less to clean afterward.
I’m so glad you and your boyfriend enjoyed it Phyl! And less dish washing for the win :)
sarah mercer
I found this recipe by googling “what to make with spinach and ground turkey”. Turns out I had bought arugula not spinach but it still worked! Easy to follow directions and simple ingredients. My whole family loved it and I love how many veggies are hidden in this dish. This will be in the regular rotation.
So glad Google led you here Sarah, and even better that you enjoyed it. Thanks for the 5-star rating!
Muna
Made this today for dinner & it was delicious! As I have small children I reduced the amount of salt & chilli but it still has quite a kick to it. My super fussy almost 3 year old wouldn’t touch it which is a shame as he’s normally a big fan of pasta but my 10 month old loved it. Will def make it again!
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
I am so glad that your littles liked it! Hopefully your 3 year old will try it next time!
Brittany Brashear
Hi! I can’t wait to try! So do you add the pasta dry and it cooks in the turkey and sauce and broth?
Judy Iverson
Excellent dinner when I had no plan. I had to substitute butter/milk mixture for heavy cream and left off the chili pepper flakes. A great meal to add to our favorites list. Thank you!
Sarah
Absolutely delicious!! I will definitely save this recipe. Next time I would cut down on the red pepper flakes and chili powder as it was a bit spicy for me. Thank you for the recipe!
Christa
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! A fast and easy recipe, although the store didn’t have any red bell pepper I added shredded carrots in there and it was still great.
Yemisi
I used bone broth instead but I think I added too much of it. Its simmering now. And instead of green chiles I used jalapeño- I love spice! Smells yummyyy
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
It does smell incredible! Enjoy!
Nichole
Made this last night and it was delicious!!
I will definitely be making this again.
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
So glad you loved it!