Spiced Up Ground Turkey Spaghetti Sauce is very similar to my mom's sauce she always made when I was a kid. It was my absolute favorite food when I was young.
A nice dinner salad topped with some Homemade Ranch Dressing goes perfectly with this spaghetti. You won't believe how easy my ranch dressing recipe is!
This Spiced Up Ground Turkey Spaghetti Sauce is an updated version of a post that I originally put together in 2013.
My mom made the BEST spaghetti sauce! However, my family likes their food just a bit spicier than she made.
I use pretty basic ingredients. What I do differently than mom is that I add green bell pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.
My mom used an assortment of spices, and quite honestly, I am not sure what all she used. I use a good dose of Italian Seasoning.
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Most of the time, I use ground turkey, occasionally I use ground beef. Both work, but I really prefer ground turkey. Since ground turkey has less fat in it, remember to use a bit of olive oil when cooking.
Ingredients needed
- Ground Turkey or Ground Beef
- Olive oil (if using ground turkey)
- Onion
- Green Bell Pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Garlic Powder
- Italian Seasoning
- Salt and Pepper
- Fresh Garlic
- Diced Tomatoes
- Tomato Sauce
- Bay Leaf
How to prepare the sauce
Over medium to medium-high heat, heat a large pan and drizzle with olive oil. If you use ground beef instead of ground turkey, you do not need the olive oil.
Add the ground turkey, onion, and bell pepper. Go ahead and put in some red pepper flakes if you want to spice it up a bit. I probably use about ¼ to ½ of a teaspoon. Add more if you like it spicier, or leave it out completely for a more mellow sauce.
Next, put in the garlic powder and a good handful of Italian Seasoning. I use at least a Tablespoons worth. Also, add salt and pepper to taste.
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As the ground turkey is cooking, you can use a wooden spoon or spatula to break up the meat. We don’t like big chunks of meat in our sauce, so I break it down pretty good.
I'm not sure if you can see it in this picture, but I added a good heaping teaspoon of chopped garlic. If you are using garlic powder, I would add it earlier when you add your seasonings. (I often add just a bit of garlic powder, about ¼ teaspoon, even when I use fresh garlic) Now, give it a good stir and cook for about 1 minute.
Simmer...
Add 1 can of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of tomato sauce, and 1 bay leaf. I really like to use the Hunt's Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes. To keep the sauce more on the mellow side, use plain diced tomatoes.
Now it is time just to let it simmer for a while. Turn the heat down, and don’t forget to come back once in a while to stir the sauce.
Almost time to eat!
The sauce has cooked for a while and thickened up. This Spiced Up Ground Turkey Spaghetti Sauce sure smells good!
Time to start the spaghetti cooking. (I won’t show pictures of that part, you know what to do.) For the pasta, I really like to use vegetable pasta that is now available.
Time to eat!
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Printable Recipe
Spiced Up Ground Turkey Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground Turkey ground beef can be used
- Olive oil if using ground turkey
- 1 Onion chopped
- 1 Green Bell Pepper chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes optional, adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons Garlic chopped
- 14.5 ounce Diced Tomatoes canned, Fire Roasted or Plain
- 30 ounces Tomato Sauce canned
- 1 Bay Leaf
Instructions
- Heat pan over medium to medium-high heat. Drizzle with olive oil and add ground turkey. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Cook and stir until ground turkey is cook through and is broken into small pieces.
- When the turkey is done, and garlic, stir, and cook for about 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Add 1 bay leaf. Turn heat down and simmer until sauce has cooked down and thickened up.
- *Drain off excess grease if using ground beef.
Nutrition
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If you tried this recipe and liked it, please use the stars on the above recipe card or next to the comments below to rate the recipe. If you have a question or suggestion about this or any other recipe, please leave a comment, and I will respond as soon as possible.
Gloria Jean
I so enjoy your site and your recipes. Would you please consider adding a print option so we can enjoy your recipes a little more easily. Thank you.
cookthisagainmom
Thank you for the feed back. I just recently found out that the print option wasn't working as I thought and I am currently trying to improve that feature. I am glad you enjoy the recipes. 🙂
Olivia Garcia
Love this so much, I’ve made it twice a month for a few years now!