A quick and easy meat sauce made with ground turkey and veggies that you could serve with pasta or potatoes. Suitable for babies that follow the BLW or transitioning to solids, older kids and adults. Enjoy!
Turkey is usually connected to Christmas meals and festive dinners, but can also be enjoyed all year round. I got some fun Christmas pasta the other day from the store and was trying to think of some sauce with a festive note to serve it with. As we all love meat sauce in my family, I came up with this quick ground turkey pasta sauce that tastes amazingly and is full of goodness and nutrients.
It's very similar to pasta bolognese, loaded with veggies, but also has some extra spices that complement ground turkey and add a lot of flavor. I'm not using any salt in the ingredients to make it baby-friendly, but if you have toddlers and older kids, you could add 1–2 teaspoons to your liking.
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👩🏻🍳 Why you should try my recipe
- Easy and quick to prepare.
- Ready in about 30 minutes.
- Freezable for batch prepping or busy days.
- Great for Christmas, Thanksgiving and festive meals.
- Suitable for babies that follow BLW method or are transitioning to solids.
🥘 Ingredients
To make this baby-friendly ground turkey meat sauce, we are going to use ground turkey, onion, garlic cloves, carrot, leek, tomatoes, paprika, ground black pepper, dried herbs, cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
For babies over 12 months and older kids, you could add a little bit of salt to the sauce and when boiling the pasta.
For full quantities and to print the recipe, see the recipe card below.
🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
So get your ingredients ready and let's get started!
01. I start by preparing all the ingredients. I peel and grate the carrot, dice the onion, and roughly chop the garlic cloves. To clean the leek, I cut it in half lengthwise, leaving about an inch attached at the root. This method makes it easier to separate the leaves without them falling apart, allowing me to rinse away any dirt or soil under running water. Then, I slice the leek into half slices and set it aside with the rest.
02. I heat a pot over medium-high heat and drizzle in some olive oil. Next, I add the chopped onion and leek, cooking them for 2–3 minutes until softened. Cooked leek has a wonderfully sweet flavor that complements the ground turkey meat sauce. However, if you’re not a fan, you can simply leave it out.
03. Next, I add the ground turkey and chopped garlic cloves, sautéing them for 5–6 minutes. I use a spatula to break up the turkey and stir occasionally until it changes color and most of the liquid has evaporated.
04. For seasoning, I'm using ground black pepper, sweet paprika, dried herbs or Italian seasoning, bay leaves and a cinnamon stick. Since ground turkey can be quite bland, these spices enhance the flavor without being too strong for young children. I add them to the pot and stir for 1–2 minutes to blend everything together.
05. Finally, I add the grated carrot and tomatoes to the pot. I add half a cup of water and stir everything well. I leave it to cook for 15–20 minutes until the sauce is thicker and everything is cooked.
06. When the ground turkey pasta is ready and the sauce is thick, I turn off the heat and remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. If you leave them in for too long, the sauce might get a strong cinnamon flavor or bitter from the bay leaves.
📖 Substitutions & Variations
- Instead of dried herbs, you could use some chopped fresh parsley and mint.
- You could add 1–2 teaspoons of salt for older kids and adults.
- You could use two blended or grated fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones.
🍽 Serving suggestions
Babies (6-12 months): I like to serve this ground turkey meat sauce with some short pasta or pasta shapes for a fun twist. You could add some grated cheese on top or leave it out to keep the sodium intake low. If your little one is doing well with holding a spoon, you could also serve it with some mashed or boiled potatoes.
All other ages: For older kids and adults, you could serve the ground turkey sauce with any type of pasta, spaghetti, fusilli or whatever your family likes. You could stuff pasta shells with it, put some grated cheese and bake it. Next to some steamed or boiled veggies and some pita bread or tortilla slices to scoop it. So many options! Let me know in the comments below, how you served it!
🧰 Storage
The recipe makes about 5 servings of meat sauce. You could store any leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, and consume them within 3–4 days.
The ground turkey meat sauce is also freezable. Store it in a freeze-friendly bag or container for up to 2 months.
❓ FAQ
Yes, you could use one big or two plum tomatoes instead of canned ones. Simply, blend the tomatoes in a food processor before adding them to the pot.
For extra goodness and flavor, you could also add half a pepper cut into cubes, spinach leaves or mushrooms cut into slices. You could also add fresh herbs like fresh mint, parsley or dill. Some spices that also go well are ground cumin and ground allspice.
If you tried this ground turkey pasta sauce or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
📋 Recipe
Quick Ground Turkey Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion
- 1 leek
- 1 lb ground turkey (500gr)
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 carrot
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes (or passata)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried herbs (or Italian Seasoning)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1-2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Dice the onion, roughly chop the garlic cloves, grate the carrot, cut the leek into slices.
- Place a pot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil.
- Add the chopped onion and leek. Sauté for 2–3 minutes.
- Add the ground turkey and chopped garlic. Brown for 5–6 minutes.
- Add the ground black pepper, paprika, dried herbs, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Mix for 1–2 minutes to incorporate.
- Add the grated carrot and tomatoes. Add half a cup of water and turn the heat down to medium-low.
- Cover with a lid and cook for 15–20 minutes until the sauce is thicker.
Video
Notes
- For older kids and adults, add a little salt to the meat sauce.
- Quantities in notes are for original recipe quantities.
- When the meat sauce is ready, remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
- Freezable for up to 2 months.
- Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
🥣 More to try
If you liked my festive ground turkey pasta sauce, you should try some of these recipes too:
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