Spaghetti With Veggie-Loaded Sauce

Ground turkey lightens up this classic — and to save time,it cooks in the same pot as your veggie and marinara sauce. Smaller, cut veggies in this spaghetti sauce are a great way to bump up the nutritional value for every picky eater in your family!

Course Dinner

Keyword pasta, healthy pasta, kid-friendly, noodles, spaghetti, pasta sauce

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Servings

Calories 546

Ingredients

12 oz. whole grain spaghetti noodles
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion (chopped)
2 large carrots (diced small)
1 medium zucchini (chopped small)
4 oz. white mushrooms (chopped small)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
1 lb. ground turkey
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 cups fresh baby spinach (torn into small pieces)
¼ cup fresh basil
24 oz. jar marinara sauce (sugar free)
Fresh grated Parmesan (optional)
Fresh parsley (optional)

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, cook pasta according to package directions.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil.
Once oil is hot, add onion, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and ½ tsp. salt. Stir to coat the veggies in the oil. Cook until veggies are soft, about 7-8 minutes.
Stir in minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
In another pan, add ground turkey with remaining ½ tsp. salt and pepper to the skillet and cook, breaking apart with a spatula, until no longer pink, about 6-8 minutes.
Once turkey is cooked through, add cooked veggies, marinara sauce and dried oregano to the skillet and stir.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. After the sauce has reduced slightly, add chopped spinach and basil. Cook until spinach is wilted, about three more minutes.
Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Once the noodles are fully cooked, either drain and add them to the meat and veggie sauce, mixing well, or fill bowls with noodles and top with meat and veggie sauce.
Add grated Parmesan and/or fresh parsley if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

If you prefer a thinner sauce, save ½ cup of pasta water and add it to the marinara sauce at the end.
You can use any veggies! Green, red, yellow or orange bell peppers make great swaps or additions.
Any shape of noodle will work.
This is a great recipe to double and freeze half! Simply double the amount of everything and cook in a larger soup pan. Once cooled, divide in half and freeze one portion in a freezer-safe, gallon-sized bag. When ready to enjoy, thaw in fridge overnight and reheat on your stovetop.

Nutrition