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.
Table of Contents
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.
Tried it, loved it!
Quick, easy and tasty.
This was delicious.My husband and I loved it .so easy to make definitely a keeper.๐
So fantastic to receive this feedback Angela!
It was quick, easy, and flavorful!
I made just a couple of tweaks. I added red pepper flakes and garlic in step 1 with the onions. And while I think 3 cups of pasta to 1 pound of turkey is a perfect balance, I have hungry teenagers. I thought doubling the entire recipe would be too much so instead I used an entire pound of penne with 3.5 cups of chicken stock and 1 cup of dry white wine. Followed the rest of the recipe to the letter, including more garlic and red pepper flakes in step 4. EVERYONE loved it, which almost never happens in my house and this will go into our dinner rotation. Thank you!
Glad this recipe is a winning meal for your family Barbara!
One of my kids was already asking for it again. ๐ It’s been 5 days.
Love it ๐
Super recipe!! I make a few changes… either was missing ingredients, don’t eat them or just cause I like it. Did not use cheese, pepper flakes, parsley or tomatoes but instead used one diced red pepper added at the onion stage and 1tsp dried thyme (my fav spice) at the end with the garlic.
I will be making this again soon for sure. Thanks for sharing it!!
Thanks for sharing Kristina!
So easy and I love that it can be easily modified. Wouldโve been very good as is but I did make some additions- I added celery and carrot with the onion to sautรฉ, added some spicy pepperoni with the turkey (didnโt have red pepper flakes), and added about 1/2 cup of cream cheese at the end to make the sauce creamy. Shredded cheddar wouldโve been really good too. Canโt wait to make this again!!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Sarah!
This is a fast making meal that is
Incredibly tasty. I didn’t have any fresh tomatoes therefore I used diced canned tomatoes it worked out and I was so happy this one pot meal will be my go to meal in a pinch.
Yay! So happy you liked this recipe Dianna!
This is a keeper recipe! Iโve been so disappointed lately with other recipes from others, the finished product wasnโt worth the time or ingredients I wasted. NOT the case here! I didnโt have fresh parsley, so I substituted with dry and added sooner during the steaming. I also used Banza chickpea shells for the first time and it worked perfectly and tasted awesome. If youโre oil-free, you can also skip the oil for onion sautรฉ, using a tiny splash of broth or water instead. Thank you for a fairly easy and delicious recipe!
Thanks for sharing your positive feedback Aimee!
Quick and easy. My husband loved it!
WOW. Nothing more to say.
haha that’s great!