One pot Ground Turkey and Broccoli Pasta Recipe ready in 30 minutes and made with turkey, broccoli, tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. It’s a delicious healthy dinner your family will beg you to make over and over again.
Other one pot meals we love is this one pot spaghetti, healthy hamburger helper and zucchini ricotta pasta.
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This ground turkey and broccoli pasta! It’s one of my favorite easy ground turkey recipes and is an after work dinner lifesaver.
I promise you, I sat on a chair with a cup of tea for at least 15 minutes while dinner was cooking. Only recipe that beats this one’s cook time is simple spaghetti recipe and healthy mac and cheese.
The flavors of meat, pasta, parsley and garlic are unbelievable together!
My 14 year old asked “Mom, what’s the sauce?”. Um, nothing really. Simple foods with wholesome ingredients are the best!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ready in 30 minutes: Perfect for busy weeknights, prep time is 10 minutes, idle time is 20 minutes.
- Picky eater approved: Most kids love pasta (and broccoli).
- One pot dinner: When life is busy and there is not much time, this dish is a dinner win.
- Healthy and flavorful: Low fat ground turkey, nutrient filled broccoli, fresh herbs and carbs make for a satisfying weeknight dinner!
Ingredients You’ll Need
I love making healthy pasta recipes with ground turkey! It makes your dinner lighter and then combined with superfood broccoli, it’s a nutritious powerhouse.
- Ground turkey: I used 1 pound of ground turkey. Equivalent substitute is ground chicken, but ground beef will work if that is all you have on hand.
- Short pasta like shells, penne, elbow macaroni or bow ties. I use whole wheat or whole grain pasta. Gluten free pasta like brown rice or chickpea are healthy and full of fiber too.
- Broccoli: Fresh broccoli florets or frozen. Frozen is pre-cooked, so it might need less cook time.
- Other veggies: Tomato for a pop of color and taste and onion for savory taste.
- Parsley: Use Italian flat leaf parsley rather than curly parsley for more flavor.
- Garlic: Grated garlic is more flavorful rather than minced.
- Broth: Any low sodium broth like chicken broth, vegetable broth or beef broth will work. Bouillon cubes diluted in water work as well.
- Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes: To season and taste, freshly ground black pepper is best.
- Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated Parmesan for best taste.
How to Make Ground Turkey and Broccoli Pasta
Made in one pot this easy meal is delicious, cozy and comforting any night of the week!
Saute onion: Preheat large Dutch oven, pot or large skillet over medium heat.
Swirl oil in the hot pot and spread with spatula to coat its bottom. Add onion and stir fry for 3 minutes or just enough till fragrant.
Cook ground turkey: Add ground turkey and cook just until small enough pieces are cooked through. Some pink is okay, it will continue to cook with remaining ingredients.
Cook with pasta for 10 mins: Add pasta, stock, seasonings and everything should come to a boil as you stir. Level with spatula and cook covered on low heat for 10-12 minutes.
It’s OK to open lid once to check on pasta ground turkey. Pasta should be al dente, not too soft. So it doesn’t become a mush when we cook broccoli further.
Add broccoli and let stand: When past is ready (al dente), turn off the heat. Add broccoli, tomato, garlic and red pepper flakes.
Stir, cover and let stand for 3-5 minutes or if you like very soft broccoli, keep cooking for another 3-5 minutes.
You can chop parsley and grate Parmesan cheese in the meanwhile.
Garnish and serve: Add parsley and Parmesan cheese, gently stir and watch it all come together. Serve hot.
Variations and Substitutions
- Spaghetti or any long pasta: Broken into pieces spaghetti, fettuccine or any long pasta is just as fine. Break in half or more to prevent lumps.
- If you like soft broccoli: If you like soft cooked broccoli, add it 3 minutes earlier or use frozen broccoli. I like broccoli firm similar to a broccoli salad. And this is what this recipe is.
- Tomato substitution: You can skip tomato all together or use sun dried tomatoes. Diced bell pepper is good too.
- Other vegetables: Cauliflower, another cruciferous vegetable, would be your best substitution. Diced carrots, green beans or kale would also work, adjust time accordingly. Diced sweet pepper or mushrooms could be added with turkey.
- Fresh herbs: Fresh basil could be used instead of fresh parsley.
Serving Ideas
This healthy ground turkey broccoli pasta is truly a one pot meal with fiber, fat and protein. If you are feeding hungry boys like me, you could add some additional sides.
- Side salad: Spinach salad or lettuce salad are my go to salads for serving with pasta.
- Other vegetable sides: Creamy cucumber salad or sauteed zucchini are easy sides to serve anytime of the year.
FAQs
No. You cannot replace pasta with quinoa, rice, white beans etc. because amount of liquid and cook time in this recipe is calculated strictly for pasta.
No. We add dry and uncooked pasta. It is a one pot meal.
It’s OK. It will get absorbed by pasta with time as you let it sit “to cook” broccoli and before serving. It also makes “the sauce”.
Yes. For meal prep, cook ground turkey and onion, store in the refrigerator. Chop broccoli and tomatoes, store in separate containers refrigerated. On cooking day, proceed with step 3 of putting it all together and cooking pasta.
Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days. I do not recommend freezing it as pasta doesn’t withstand freezer in general. If recipe is too large, cut it in half.
To reheat, add leftovers to a pot with a splash of broth or water and reheat on low while covered, stirring a few times. Basically you want food to steam through.
More Pasta Recipes to Try
- Turkey pasta bake
- No boil pasta bake
- Cottage cheese pasta
- Broccoli pesto pasta
- Creamy chicken spinach pasta
- Healthy taco pasta
- Caprese pasta
- Chicken pasta primavera
More Ground Turkey Recipes
- Ground turkey and potato skillet
- Ground turkey tacos
- Ground turkey quinoa casserole
- Ground turkey and zucchini skillet
- Mediterranean ground turkey stew
You may also love to browse my collection of 65 favorite easy healthy dinner recipes!
Ground Turkey and Broccoli Pasta Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 3 cups any short pasta
- 3 cups veggie or chicken stock low sodium
- 1 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 1 lb broccoli florets
- 3 tomatoes diced
- 1-2 garlic cloves grated
- Red pepper flakes a pinch
- 1/2 cup parsley finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat large Dutch oven or pot on medium heat and swirl oil to coat. Add onion and saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add ground turkey and cook for 5 minutes, breaking into pieces and stirring with spatula.
- Add pasta, stock, salt and pepper; stir and level with spatula. Then cover and cook on low heat for 10-12 minutes, checking after 10 minutes. Brown rice pasta and any gluten free pasta cooks faster than wheat.
- When pasta is al dente (not too soft, so it doesn't become a mush), turn off heat and add broccoli, tomato, garlic and red pepper flakes. Stir, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Add parsley and Parmesan cheese and gently stir. Serve hot.
Video
Notes
- Make ahead: Cook ground turkey and onion, store in the refrigerator. Chop broccoli and tomatoes, store in separate containers refrigerated. On cooking day, proceed with step 3 of putting it all together and cooking pasta.
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I wouldn’t recommend freezing.
- Reheating: To reheat, add leftovers to the pot with a splash of broth or water and reheat on low while covered, stirring a few times. Basically you want food to steam through.
- Pasta: Broken into pieces spaghetti, fettuccine or any long pasta is just as fine. Break in half or more to prevent lumps. Gluten free pasta will cook faster.
- If you like soft broccoli: If you like soft cooked broccoli, add it 3 minutes earlier or use frozen broccoli. I like broccoli firm and this is what this recipe is.
- Tomato substitution: You can skip tomato all together or use sun dried tomatoes. Diced bell pepper is good too.
I was a little concerned about adding broccoli at the end. This was a DELICIOUS meal. I added a bunch more spices (garlic and onion powder, herbe de provence, onion flakes, thyme). SO good. It’s a repeat. ๐
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed this, Camille!
First time I have even commented o a recipe, this deserves it. I made this last night, the full recipe for my 23 year old grandson and myself. I dished myself up about a cup and my grandson dished himself up about 2 cups. I got up this morning, started working in the garden and was looking forward to trying it as a cold pasta salad for lunch. When I went to the fridge, seems he got late night craving; it was gone LOL. I think he liked it! I will definitely make this again and hide some for myself!
haha yes, it sounds like your grandson really liked this recipe. Thanks for sharing Shealeen!
Tastes yummy but the pasta took waaaay longer than 10-12 minutes to cook. I also precooked the broccoli to be sure it would be done.
Hi Nancy! Not sure why the timing was so different for you. What type of pasta did you use?
Can I use a mix of broccoli and cauliflower?
Yes, that sounds great!
I totally thought this was gonna be one of those soccer mom recipes where itโs healthy but has no flavor. I was VERY wrong and pleasantly so. One of our regulars now.
Itโs a hockey mom recipe.๐ Enjoy!
You are seriously one of my favorite people on the planet right now! I discovered this site at the end of last month, and loved the first recipes so much that I just meal planned the whole month from this site. It’s now the 20th and I’ve been eating easy, healthy, delicious food all month long! And, in a very happy surprise, it’s also been great for my food budget! I’m a few hundred dollars under my usual spending. This was one of the meals I made last week and it was delicious! Light and healthy while still being comfort food pasta. I repeat my meal plans and am already looking forward to making this recipe again (and all the others too).
Yay! So happy to read this! Good for you for meal planning.
Made this tonight but a smaller portion and it was really good! Super easy. Think I spent most of the time chopping than anything ๐ Thanks for this. Definitely going to add to my collection.
Pleased to hear this Megan!
Sounds great-I’m going to make this recipe for dinner tonight.
Great! Please don’t hesitate to let me know how you like the recipe, Elizabeth!
Husband really enjoyed!
Awesome!
Hi there, Olena
I like a lot of your recipes. Will comment on some when I have a little more time.
What brand of Dutch Oven are you using ?? Maybe I should get one !!
I have a son in Victoria. Maybe I will see you there some day !! Welcome to Canada !! I live in Saskatchewan! Betty
Hi Betty! Thanks so much for your message. I use a Lodge Dutch Oven. You can find it here!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000N501BK?ref=exp_ifoodreal_dp_vv_d